I wanted Thorin to lead with that quiet authority. I wanted him to inspire loyalty instead of command it, and that’s exactly how Peter Jackson works.
— Richard Armitage, actor
I've been watching the two extra discs that accompany "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" and realized that there were lessons in leadership in those behind-the-scenes chapters. I'm impressed by the extraordinary levels of commitment this movie's crews display. Their director, Peter Jackson, does not look the part of a leader. He's disheveled and barefoot much of the time, and he seems to delight in putting his actors into uncomfortable situations. The camera following the crew reveals frustrations, conflicts, and confusion, but it also reveals a loyalty to Jackson and other team members that I admire. So what did I learn?
A vision can prevent conflict, misunderstandings, and misdirection
“I regard myself as being sort of the final filter, so everything that ends up in the movie is there, because it's something that I'd think was cool if I saw the film that somebody else had made. I’m very much trying to make the film that I’ve enjoyed, but I’m open to ideas, I need a huge team of people to help me, everybody contributes and I try to encourage people to contribute as much as possible. I think that the job of a director really, is to sort of funnel all the creative into one centralized point of view."
— Peter Jackson, referencing his work on "King Kong"
All the crew members know they are there to make a movie or to support the people making the movie. But there are numerous ways to make a movie or tell a story. Jackson is constantly sharing his vision and refining it. You see visuals and models and other displays throughout working areas. Each of these is a reminder of the vision, at the higher level of the scope of the movie, and at the lower levels such as a costume design. It's easy for crew members to align their actions with his vision. And they know they have achieved success once he signs off on an idea or concept.
It's Jackson's vision that allows him to guide his crews across major differences. This is particularly evident when he is trying to explain what he needs to hear from the orchestra recording the soundtrack. Jackson has had no musical training. He can't give the conductor, Conrad Pope, specific instructions because he doesn't know the language of music. But he does know his vision. So instead of saying something like "bring in more timpani with a synchronized pulse," he explains his vision for the story. He can explain the level of tension he wants the audience to experience along with a character, for example, and let the conductor and musicians use their expertise to create that tension in the music.
“He knows what he wants, but he doesn’t pretend to be musical in any way. He let me go on with it, but he also knows his movie, so he would tell me something needs to be less energetic, or more relaxed, or whatever. He knows the colors and templates of what the song should be rather than how the melody should go.”
— Ed Sheeran, singer-songwriter
A culture of trust is of paramount importance
"I always trusted him. If there was a way that I had seen something and he had seen it differently, I would ... trust his vision. We were in brilliant hands."
— Elijah Wood on filming "Lord of the Rings"
It's obvious that crew members trust Jackson's vision and that they trust the process. The Hobbit movies were slated to be only two movies. When it was determined that there would be three, they had a huge problem with the lack of a climax for the second film. And they were already shooting that film. How were they going to take the minimal vision of "Huge action sequence of Smaug chasing dwarves through Erebor" and transform it into a story and individual responsibilities?
The problem was tackled as a team. No one thought he was the one who had to solve the problem. Each person thought she was responsible for getting the group to a solution. Alan Lee--a visual artist, not a writer--is credited with providing the catalyst for the climactic ending. He had sketched the image of a mold breaking on a molten gold statue and spewing gold over the dragon. Team members took that idea and built upon it with their own skills.
During green screen shooting, Jackson was directing without knowing exactly what the new story would be. He only had the idea of a chase, the size of the dragon, and a location for the action. He said, "I didn't really have a clue. They had to trust me because I was having to show up on set and give the illusion of someone who knew what they were doing--knew that there was a plan."
Actors accepted the ambiguity. Martin Freeman said, "You have to kind of give up so much of what you're doing to trust, and what you're doing to the knowledge that in a year's time it will look fantastic." Actors and crew had a faith in what they were producing together and in Jackson's ability to eventually flesh out his vision and guide it through to full execution.
Group culture matters
How did they learn to trust each other so much? I think much of it developed because of the group culture. Some of the crew had worked with each other before, building that trust over time. The various studios such as Weta and Park Road refer to themselves as a neighborhood. They behave as good neighbors who want to maintain goodwill and community.
There is a respect for all the various talents required to make the movie. Ra Vincent, set decorator, commented, "The sharing of knowledge was incredible and I don't think there was a single person on the production who didn't feel like they were part of something really special."
It's obvious from the behind-the-scenes videos that people bring their entire selves to their jobs. It's OK to be emotional, to be passionate, to tease each other, to geek out, to celebrate small milestones, to help out someone on another team. Peter Jackson is not the only strong personality on the production.
The culture is supportive and challenging. People are moved out of their comfort zones, but with support. For example, actor Evangeline Lilly had a dialogue coach, an emotion coach, a language coach, and a stunts coach to support her performances. Cameo appearances are offered to several of the crew and to Jackson, and his status doesn't prevent one of his cameos from being cut due to his less than stellar performance.
The culture is also one of listening. There are team meetings called to generate creative ideas, but there are changes made on the shop floor because someone has a better idea or spots a problem. Even what might be called an employee engagement gift is chosen because someone was listening. In this case, the wine bottles blown for the Woodland Realm were a huge success, so the producers made gifts of bottles modeled from the ones used on set.
As a marketer I'm very impressed with the way Jackson includes his audience in this culture. From listing every fan club member after the final credits in the extended edition of "The Lord of the Rings" to producing numerous short videos posted on social media during each film's production, he lets the audience join in. He acknowledges their passion for Tolkien and Middle Earth. He even talks about how a comment on social media about Smaug's appearance caused him to ask for a minor redesign to show gold and jewels encrusted within its scales.
A "yes, and" mindset leads to extraordinary results
Not having a climax wasn't the only major problem to be faced; they also needed to create a dragon and sets for cultures unknown in our world. It seems like everyone avoided saying that something couldn't be done. Instead they acted like an improvisational theater group and kept asking questions like: How can I contribute to telling this story? How can we make this more real? What can we do better? How can we give Peter or the actors what they need?
This is the type of thinking that produced a carved chess set in Beorn's home, five different designs painted onto 290,000 bronze plated dwarven coins, exhaustive research into spider silk, and numerous models created to test ideas. Even items very unlikely to be seen on camera were created with real care and pride.
Pride isn't always a sin
"I tend to surround myself with people who are cleverer than me. Whatever the skill, whether it's makeup or digital or art department, I challenge them to come up with better ideas than me, to surprise me with how good it is. I would guess that my best leadership quality is picking the right people."
— Peter Jackson, upon receiving the Sir Peter Blake leadership award
People were not too proud to help out on set, for example pitching in to retrieve the gold-plated items from Smaug's mound that gravity and movement had pulled to the bottom between takes. The two or three people designated for that type of work had the help of a large portion of the shoot crew.
The type of pride the videos show is in the work of one's peers. There are numerous shots of actors and others pointing out the achievements of others. Team leaders didn't hesitate to celebrate accomplishments along the way, even to the point of dragging an artist out of his office to share a drink with the rest of the particular team to whose tasks he had contributed.
Individuals obviously took pride in their own work as well and were given the resources to do their best. The potter supplying the Lake Town set might have been under pressure to produce, but he was also given the freedom to use his creativity and add a few embellishments that would keep him interested in and proud of his work. Alan Lee was able to add a carving honoring his design partner John Howe into the lintel of a door.
Even the filming of what would become the two additional discs accompanying the video of the movie must have contributed to the feeling of pride. If someone is interviewing you about your work and filming your team, you know that your contributions are being valued by the producers.
Leaders can lessen pain by sharing it
"It was just kind of an assault in my opinion. People didn't know what to do. It was great to have Pete come in and shape it up. ... He pretty much at that point sat with us and saw it through."
— Brent Burge, supervising sound editor
I was moved to write this article after seeing how dedicated and devoted the sound crew was. They were given about two weeks worth of work to do in 48 hours without the final cut of the movie to work from. They faced a huge challenge with some good self-talk ("We're OK. We shouldn't be panicking."), with humor and a belief in themselves. Their leadership acknowledged the challenge and the pain they were about to experience. And Jackson joined them for those final hours.
David Farmer, sound designer, said, "Peter was in a great mood. I don't think I've ever seen him happier on the whole show than in these final hours." And the video shows Jackson making jokes, sometimes at his own expense.
Jackson said, "I couldn't allow myself to be tired. I had to get at it with this sort of driving relentless pace because I knew that if I did that everyone would rise to the occasion." He also acknowledges that he's not proud of putting people through that kind of experience.
The viewer gets to see a lot of pain in that sound studio. People look beat up and exhausted. They haven't slept for hours yet they keep working. They keep asking how to make it better. And Jackson was there with them, in the trenches.
Here are how two people talk about this experience after the clapping, drinks, and hugs that follow completion of the work.
"You can't imagine the challenges we go through in the process and at the end of the day I think everyone is walking around with a big silly smile."
— Christopher Boyes, re-recording mixer
"I know he says the next one won't be like this. It doesn't matter if it is or if it isn't. Again you're gonna work for this guy. You will go to the ends of the earth and then you'll go beyond."
— Michael Semanick, re-recording mixer.
Looking back on my
Everything DiSC Work of Leaders training on the importance of vision, alignment and execution, it's so easy to see these tasks at play in Jackson's work. He holds the responsibility for the vision, and alignment of staff comes from asking them to help shape the final vision. You see the contributions to the vision in every storyboard and preVIZ, in all the visuals that line meeting rooms, and from the comments of his actors. Their alignment towards the final goal encourages them to execute on their specific tasks, sometimes well past what should really be expected of anyone.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore