Whenever I’m writing, I always try to find interesting locations that provide a great backdrop to the action. In some ways, the location you choose for a scene is just as important as the characters you place in it. It can set the mood and atmosphere of the story, before the characters have even said a word.

It seems that Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, agrees. Here is a short film taking you to some of the locations they used when filming The Hobbit in New Zealand. Many are real places that don’t rely on CGI or big set designs to make them look authentic, because they already are!