The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim - Edoras Layout

Working on this production was a real full-circle moment for me. The Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings films are what inspired me to pursue this career, so contributing to that world - the world that had such a profound influence on me - meant a great deal.
This film is set 183 years before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. One of my primary tasks was visualizing how iconic locations from those films would have looked in this earlier era.
One of my biggest tasks on this project was envisioning Edoras for this earlier era. I had my own detailed model of the Golden Hall as a starting point, and using satellite terrain data of Mt. Sunday (the original filming location), I began the process of reconstructing the rest of city. It was crucial to me that the design retained a strong visual connection to its depiction in The Two Towers, while also offering a more comprehensive view of the city. I projected film screenshots onto my digital model, making sure buildings were placed in their correct location.
This model was then used by the production to serve as a guide for the city’s layout and background art.