Having a huge event film in its post-production stage up until only a few days from its world premiere is not exactly unheard of in the motion picture industry, especially when it involves the completion of crucial visual effects and music. Such is the case with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which is still being worked on as its theatrical opening looms largely with less than three weeks to go before it bows on 2D and 3D movie screens across the U.S.

To give us a modest taste of the massive amounts of work that go into making The Hobbit look and sound as epic and unforgettable as it needs to be director Peter Jackson is here with the ninth in a series of video production diaries.

You can watch the video here below.

Other than a brief sojourn to Abbey Road Studios in London to observe composer Howard Shore working his musical magic (and to gaze in awe upon a microphone John Lennon once recorded with), the diary mostly tracks the extensive final leg of the Hobbit post-production. We visit with director of photography Andrew Lesnie as he oversees the color timing, look in on effects artists at Weta Digital working to finish off hundreds of visual effects shots, observe concept artists John Howe and Alan Lee coming up with new last minute drawings and designs, observe actors in motion-capture suits battling – and being – goblins, and finally bear witness to how the overworked post-production team combats the stress of finishing one of the most anticipated movies of all time – by consuming lots of alcohol and having pillow fights.

The Hobbit: An Expected Journey opens on December 14, 2012.

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[Source: Empire]