So when you were shooting, you had monitors with different units - even ones that were far away?

Yeah. I remember one time we were shooting at the foot of a volcano in the middle of the north island - which actually erupted while we were doing post on The Frighteners and almost delayed the movie getting out - we were at the base of this volcano which had actually been an army base and we came in and cleaned it out. Pete's shooting a very significant fight sequence for the third movie and there are lot of actors and stunt guys around and there's a lot of background guys. That's a complicated thing to shoot - three cameras, a lot of choreography, a lot of dialogue involved - there's a lot going on to make sure it's right.

While he's doing that, there's another guy to his left shooting a little moment from film number one. And there was me up on this rise filming something from film number three. I had two cameras and he had two cameras - all told Peter had like seven monitors in front of him. And I'd shoot something, and sure enough - after three takes, I'd get a radio: "Hey Rick, that was great - just do a little of this and we can move on." It was amazing. And it was always really relaxed. To me - I don't know how he was able to keep track of everything.

Does pre-viz help bring these longer DVD cuts together since you have to add stuff back to the footage that was cut for the theatrical cut?

We haven't really used it in that way - it hasn't been necessary. The extended cut - it's been different on every picture, and it will be interesting to see what happens on film three, but Peter knows what he's putting back in because he was going through that process when he was cutting the original. In that sense, no. He already knows what he's putting back in. Granted, he has to finesse it a little bit to make it fit in the film, but it's not like he has to go back to those original things. Pre-viz is usually done at the same time as principal photography, so by this time it's been a few years. Even WETA does its own Imageworks, he only maybe incorporates if the shot isn't done and he's waiting on a temp. Then he'll grab that.

Working with someone as creative as Peter Jackson - does it ever make you want to go off and do something yourself?

I definitely just want to produce. It was a great experience doing whatever you want to call it - I did it for 15 weeks. The actors were really kind to me - let's face it: They signed on to work with Peter Jackson. And to come over to a blue screen stage and shoot just part of an element - that can get kind of tedious at times - but they were really great. It was a good process.

I just have more respect for the kind of decisions someone like Peter has to make. It was amazing the amount of visual attention he had. He never forgot anything. If I ever had a question, he had an immediate answer - we're talking over three movies. He could be shooting something from film one and I'd be doing a plate from film three and he was always on top of it. I thought that was impressive, considering the strain he was under - the long hours. And also, he was one of the writers, so if there was another round of rewrites that had to go out that night, he was in on that. He wasn't just waiting to show up.

It was always very impressive that he could keep track of all these things at once - and with such grace. He wasn't a screamer - he just works hard and throws a lot of humor into it. And that really trickled down to the rest of us.

Has your experience on Lord of the Rings ruined future experiences for you?

I hope not. It's been pretty amazing. I was lucky enough to work for Zemeckis and he made some pretty amazing movies while I was there - Forrest Gump, Contact - I remember thinking that when Gump was out - we called it a ‘little epic'. Lord of the Rings really kept getting bigger and bigger. It was quite an experience.

We were blessed, though. Even though it was pretty insane and three movies at once, that created a timeframe that allowed things to evolve, and I think we were really saved by that ability to evolve over a long period of time.

Were they any projects you had to miss out on while you were on Lord of the Rings?

I was just talking to my friend Steve, who is now a co-producer on Polar Express - when he was in Fiji on the beach shooting Castaway - he was trying to make it sound really tough, being in the water all day long. Sometimes I was a little envious of that when we were out freezing. It was such an amazing experience, shooting on the sides of mountains - it's something I'll never be able to compare.

What are you doing next?

Don't know yet. I'm taking some time off. I'd love to work on Kong, but I've been away from my family too long - I was there six years!