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o c t o b e r • n o v e m b e r • d e c e m b e r 2 0 2 2 c g w 1 3 certain vendors." ILM, Weta, Method, DNEG, Rodeo FX, Rising Sun Pictures, Atomic Fiction, and Creative Cantina all brought expertise to the project. "It's literally like making an eight-hour blockbuster," says Smith, who worked on the original Transformers, The Revenant, The Aveng- ers, and Pirates of the Caribbean, but had yet to work on a streaming series. "I come from a background of big films, so I'm used to doing 2,000 shots. That's been my experience. And to come on to this one and have four times that amount percolating around…It's been a new ex- perience for me, I have to tell you." One reoccurring effect that was needed for the series was that of a vast ocean. In Episode 3, Galadriel (an elf) and Halbrand (a human) are rescued from a ra during a storm and attack, and in Episode 5, a fleet of sailing ships prepare for an expedition from Númenor to Middle-earth. "We knew we had to generate a way of creating oceans that was reliable and repeatable," explains Smith. "We went out and shot aeri- al plates of oceans, and marine plates of oceans, knowing that some of those would be plates in the show, of course. But we also knew that we were going to shoot dozens of these plates that would only be reference for Industrial Light and Magic, who we chose to handle most of the water work on the show." According to Smith, ILM has a very strong effects sim department, good tools, and a strong VFX supervisor in Nigel Sumner. Weta also was a valuable contributor, having worked on the origi- nal The Lord of the Rings films and the demonic monster Balrog. "There's some spiritual continuity in having them pick up some of that, and we really respected that opportunity," says Smith of Weta's The VFX team shot extensive aerial and marine plates of oceans that ILM could use as a reference for water sequences. Production took place in New Zealand.