'Rings' magic - up close and personal

Bilbo Baggins' suit of elven mail lay unappreciated in a mathom house in the Shire for years, The Lord of the Rings author J. R. R. Tolkien wrote.

But the treasures created by the team who brought Tolkien's fantastic vision to big-screen reality are expecting a much bigger audience than curious hobbits for The Lord of the Rings - The Exhibition, which opened at Te Papa, Wellington's Museum of New Zealand, on Thursday.

Thousands are expected to see the show - the most comprehensive display of props and costumes from the trilogy of movies yet staged - while it is on display in Wellington.

From New Zealand, Te Papa tours the show to the British Science Museum in London, to Boston and Sydney. Depending on demand, it may go on ... and on.

"We got the best of what was available," says exhibition producer Steve Lahood. "There are other smaller exhibitions around the world - there's one in Toronto, for example, and it's got some quite good pieces - but they're flying the best by jet to us.

"All of this material is still required for pick-ups ... Most of it's the actual stuff that's in the films, or things that developed to be in the films, such as the original art works."

Lahood and his company Story Inc were natural choices to assemble an exhibition about The Lord of the Rings.

Lahood, exhibition designer Dean Cato and writer James McLean have all worked in the film industry, and had many friends among the movie's cast and crew - many of whom helped to assemble the exhibition.

With the decision to go ahead with the exhibition coming through late - and the determination of all concerned to have the exhibition ready by the time the second film, The Two Towers, opened on Thursday - the team worked against the clock to complete what is a very ambitious display.

The film's backer, New Line Cinema, understood the exhibition's value and it and Peter Jackson came on board immediately, Lahood says.

That meant almost unrestricted access to Rings costumes, props and artwork - apart from those being held back as a surprise for the third movie, The Return of the King.

"When this started we all did the Weta Workshop tour [the effects studio where the reality of Middle Earth was created] and just like everybody else we were just gobsmacked by the items, they were just so good," Lahood says.

"We were thinking, 'We should just bring some lights in here and call this the exhibition.'

"What we've tried to do here is say that what used to be costumes and props are now art objects, so we need a different approach to showing people how they were made.

"You want to capture and translate some of the energy and madness and magic."

More than merely show off a bunch of well-crafted props, Lahood and his team wanted to provide a movie-making experience.

Interactivity and immersion are Lahood catchcries, as anyone who has seen his work at Te Papa and in Rotorua's museum would recognise.

Simple things such as a display explaining the scene where Gandalf and Frodo sit together on Gandalf's cart, and Sir Ian McKellen towers over Elijah Wood, are shown with a simple explanation of scaling.

Other effects magic such as motion capture technology are also explained.

"If you follow the exhibition quite scientifically, you will know a great deal about the movie-making process and how far Peter has taken it," Lahood says.

"Film one was groundbreaking, and film two is out there. From what we've seen, it will take the rest of the world years to catch up."

There will also be simpler examples of interactivity, such as allowing exhibition-goers to test the weight of the weapons and armaments that were turned out for the movie's battle sequences.

"What we can do is demonstrate how the various types of armour were made, and you can get to test the weight of identical swords made for different purposes," says Lahood.

"Some were made for riding so they wouldn't flap but wouldn't kill you if you fell off.

"Some were made for fighting. They're the right weight and balance but they have no edge and are made out of aluminium.

"Others were made for close-ups. They're steel, genuine, and they would kill you."

The people who wielded the weaponry are not forgotten. Each central character has a display dedicated to them, with details of the character and their history, plus details of the actor who brought them to life.

They - like most of the displays - have audio and visual components.

Some footage is from specially filmed interviews, some are clips taken from the interviews conducted for The Lord of the Rings DVDs, and Peter Jackson and producer Barrie Osborne - who also arranged all the clearances for the exhibition - gave Story Inc access to footage nobody had ever seen.

"The centrepiece of the exhibition is the One Ring," Cato says.

"It's lit underneath, the elvish script surrounds you, and there's a rock-formed hand of Sauron descending to grasp it. At same time, you hear the voices of people clamouring for the ring, to use it or destroy it."

What excites Lahood most about the exhibition is the chance to display Weta's artistry.

He fondly points out the detail-work in the suit of armour worn by Sauron in the battle scene at the start of Fellowship of the Ring.

"Someone has designed this armour, then it's all been beaten out of real steel and all this etched intaglio work done on it, for a very underlit scene. It's remarkable.

"That's why we see what's on display here as art."

- NZPA

Herald feature: Lord of the Rings