The footage coming from the monitor was stunning, presenting the entire Shire in all its beauty. Xu Qing had rarely seen such an angle before.
She was an outgoing and bold person and knew that Gilbert wasn't someone with a bad temper.
Curious about the use of drones in filmmaking, Xu Qing asked, "Who came up with this idea? It's so advanced!"
Before Gilbert could answer, Anna responded, "Xu, our director used drones for filming as early as 1991, though the technology wasn't very mature back then."
Xu Qing looked at Gilbert with wide, curious eyes. Gilbert casually replied, "It's nothing special. Even before me, people had tried using drones in filmmaking.
I just helped push the technology forward. But right now, drone filming is still in its early stages and can't fully meet our needs."
Although it was cheaper than filming from a helicopter, drone filming was still quite expensive—one flight cost more than three times a standard ground shoot.
But that was a minor issue. The trilogy's budget had already exceeded $300 million, so in comparison, the cost of these shots wasn't a big deal.
For better visual effects, these high-cost filming methods were necessary.
This particular scene, featuring Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Elijah Wood as Frodo, was shot in the picturesque Shire.
Gandalf, driving his cart, passed through flowers and trees, humming a little tune as he went along.
Then, Frodo appeared and said, "You're late."
Gandalf turned toward the camera, revealing his face. "A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins.
Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."
After that, the two exchanged looks, couldn't hold back their laughter, and finally embraced.
"You didn't think I'd miss your Uncle Bilbo's birthday, did you?" Gandalf patted Frodo's face before letting him climb onto the cart.
This scene was simple and was completed quickly.
Next came a series of intercut shots. Gilbert communicated with the cinematography team, ensuring that the beauty of the Shire was fully showcased.
Ning Hao occasionally followed behind Gilbert, eavesdropping, as he noticed that Gilbert would discuss his filming ideas in Chinese with the actress Xu Qing.
Gilbert moved around the set with his assistant directors, coordinating with department heads and checking prop placements to prevent anything from appearing in the frame that shouldn't be there.
"People would never guess that this beautiful scenery was actually filmed in China, at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Finding this location took quite some effort," Gilbert said.
Xu Qing, full of curiosity, asked, "I've noticed that you film a lot of scenic shots, but a movie's runtime is limited. You won't include all of these in the final cut, right?"
"Some of them will be in the final cut," Gilbert explained. "Tolkien created a vivid Middle-earth in his books, but that's just words.
Words spark limitless imagination, but I need to turn that imagination into reality—to build a world that feels real and believable.
So the Shire shouldn't just exist in people's descriptions. It should exist like this."
Ning Hao, following behind, overheard this conversation and shook his head.
No wonder Hollywood directors were ahead of them—their advanced understanding of filmmaking was something young directors like him needed to learn.
To be honest, Ning Hao used to think that only artistic and self-expressive films counted as real cinema.
He had once believed that most of Gilbert's films, except for a few like The Sixth Sense and Chicago, were too commercial.
But now, he realized that had been his own prejudice.
Looking at the carefully built Shire set—the hobbit costumes, the villages, the flowers, the streams, the grasslands, and the fields
This breathtaking scenery had taken over a year to construct since The Lord of the Rings production team moved in.
When all of it was captured on film, how could anyone say this wasn't cinematic art?
If this didn't count as cinema, then nothing could.
At that moment, Ning Hao's long-held beliefs began to shift. He started to imagine—this was what filmmaking truly was.
And one day, he wanted to make films like this too.
Regardless of Ning Hao's thoughts, Xu Qing was completely captivated.
She realized that the tall, handsome Hollywood director in front of her, who was as good-looking as a movie star, sparked a strong desire in her to understand him better.
In private, she had looked into Gilbert and knew that he was a well-known Hollywood playboy. He had several girlfriends, and there were many women who maintained ambiguous relationships with him.
But that only proved his charm—these women couldn't bear to leave him.
Otherwise, if they were only with him because he was a famous director, then Oscar-winning actress Naomi Watts, who had already become a top star, wouldn't still be with him.
This made Xu Qing have a thought: I'm not bad-looking either. Could I find my own place in his world?
However, she noticed that Gilbert didn't have the bad habits of some domestic directors.
For him, work was work, and personal life was personal life. He never mixed the two together.
She had also seen a few actresses still in training on the Qingdao set—Anne Hathaway and Elizabeth Banks.
Although she was confident that her looks were on par with theirs, she wasn't sure if she was Gilbert's type. After all, cultural differences often led to different standards of beauty.
The more time she spent around him, the more she wanted to know, and the deeper she found herself drawn in.
One particularly interesting scene in the film showed Gandalf and Frodo riding in the cart, while a group of Hobbit children chased after them, shouting for Gandalf to set off fireworks.
According to producer Charles Roven's suggestion, they originally planned to select local children, apply makeup, and film the scene with them.
However, during test shooting, Gilbert found that the results weren't ideal, mainly because some of the close-up shots couldn't be executed properly.
And if the scene was only shot from a distance, it would lose its impact and fail to achieve the desired effect.
So Gilbert came up with an alternative solution—he reached out to Santa Croce School in Los Angeles.
Since it was vacation time, he arranged for the school to organize a summer camp in China, allowing children and their parents to take part in the filming.
As a result, most of the Hobbit children seen in the Shire were actually kids from the summer camp, while many of the Hobbit adults in the background were played by their parents.
These American families, who had traveled thousands of miles to China and stood at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, were awestruck by the beauty of the Shire and the surrounding landscapes, which rivaled anything from the books.
One of the parents told Gilbert, "Honestly, I had no idea such a breathtaking place existed in the world.
I think I'll come back again. This scenery is something everyone should experience."
Gilbert smiled and replied, "This isn't the only beautiful place. There are countless stunning landscapes across this land, each more incredible than the last."
The parent nodded in agreement. "I can see now that choosing to film here was the right decision. There couldn't be a more perfect location for this movie."
China's landscapes first won over these parents and children.
And when The Lord of the Rings trilogy was released, it was bound to trigger a wave of tourism, drawing more people worldwide to discover this magical land, breaking down biases and misunderstandings.
If he could achieve that, then Gilbert would consider his second chance at life well spent.
Of course, boosting tourism revenues would also require supportive policies—perhaps simplifying visa approval procedures.
According to Tian Congming, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism was already studying a Lord of the Rings Tourism Route Plan.
They saw great potential in the film's promotional impact and were eager to take proactive steps.
The summer camp children worked closely with the crew to complete all of the Shire's filming. Since it was impractical to have them travel back and forth, the team decided to shoot all of the Shire's scenes in one go over a month and a half.
The final few days of filming were dedicated to Bilbo Baggins' birthday party.
"Tony, are all these fireworks real?" Gilbert asked special effects supervisor Tony Ridley as he looked over the prepared pyrotechnics.
"Of course," Tony nodded. "The variety of fireworks here is beyond anything you can imagine. When I made my request, I initially thought it would be impossible for them to produce what we needed.
But they did it—they created exactly the fireworks we wanted."
"Good," Gilbert nodded, then reminded the safety supervisor, "Make sure these fireworks are stored properly and that all safety checks are in place before filming. I don't want any accidents."
The safety supervisor assured him that he and his team would double-check everything thoroughly, not missing a single detail.
For the party scene, Gilbert insisted on making everything real—including the fireworks.
The reason was simple—CGI fireworks were too expensive, but hiring a local Chinese fireworks manufacturer to create them was incredibly cheap.
And the variety of fireworks was so impressive that even Tony was amazed—if you could imagine it, they could make it.
Thanks to China's skilled fireworks makers—and considering how exhausting the past month and a half had been for the crew, along with the fact that the summer camp kids were about to leave—Gilbert decided to make everything real.
That included the bread, the meat, the vegetables, and even the ale.
After filming wrapped, all of it would be used for an actual feast, enjoyed by the crew.
Charles Roven was a bit pained by the expenses—though prices in China were lower, the crew was huge.
Spending tens of thousands of RMB on a single meal wasn't exactly cheap, and this wasn't even the wrap party.
But Gilbert just laughed and reassured him, "Charles, don't worry about the cost—it's just a few tens of thousands of RMB. Have we ever thrown a wrap party for less than a hundred thousand dollars? Besides, this roasted chicken leg is fantastic."
As he spoke, Gilbert waved the chicken leg in front of Charles.
Charles rolled his eyes, snatched it from Gilbert's hand, and took a big bite. Still unsatisfied, he said, "I need some ale."
"Haha! Looks like you've fully embraced it," Gilbert clapped his hands. "That's the spirit! Tonight, we're all Hobbits—let's enjoy the feast!"
And so, after filming wrapped, the Shire became the setting for a grand celebration.
The long-hungry crew transformed into Hobbits, devouring all the food and ale, finally releasing all the pressure they had accumulated during the intense filming process.
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