Director and producer Peter Jackson takes time out from filming The Hobbit to show us around the set and the busy wardrobe and props departments. We get an idea of the scale of the preparations that go into filming an epic blockbuster movie.

Peter Jackson, director and producer of The Hobbit, continues his video diary narrating the rather stunning scenes at the shoot. The dwarf and wizard actors have arrived and are talking through and visualizing their parts in the movie.

Pre-production is finally over, and today is the first day of the shoot. The cast and crew come together for a traditional Maori welcoming ceremony, and Peter Jackson and members of the cast offer words of thanks and encouragement.

Bilbo Baggins the Hobbit was just minding his own business when Gandalf the Wizard drops in. One by one, a whole group of dwarves drop in, and before he knows it, Bilbo has joined their quest to reclaim their kingdom, taken from them by an evil dragon named Smaug.

There’s a magic in dwarves' song, and something stirs deep inside of Bilbo. For once in his life, might he be persuaded to leave the comfort of Hobbiton and see the great mountains, trees, and waterfalls that lie beyond the Shire?

The dwarves have long held great wealth, hidden in golden hordes. In verses of song, they tell their history of generations at work beneath the mountain who formed their gold, silver, and jewels into fine treasures and works of art.

The dwarves tell of the terrifying dragon, Smaug, his destruction of the human town of Dale, and how he drove them from their mountain, stealing their hoards of gold. Bilbo also learns the perilous nature of the adventure that awaits him.

The dwarves stumble across a group of trolls feasting on mutton. Instead of avoiding them, they send forward Bilbo, their “expert burglar," to steal the meat from under the trolls’ noses.

Bilbo and the dwarves come to Rivendell, where they are enchanted by elven music and hospitality, and discover magic runes that guide them on their quest. But, back on the road, a violent storm halts their progress, and as they shelter in a dark cave, goblins attack!”

Gollum eyes Bilbo as a juicy meal, but little does he know that the hobbit has found the one thing he prizes the most, his precious golden ring! Losing a battle of wits and then the ring, Gollum flies into a rage, and Bilbo discovers just in time that the ring has magic powers.

Eagles swoop from the skies to pluck Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves from peril. But what are the eagles’ intentions? Do they mean to dash the group against the rocks? Or could this really be a goodwill rescue, and a favor returned after many years?

Bilbo helps the dwarves escape from an elven dungeon by hiding in wine barrels. After floating down an underground stream, they wash up in a town built on a lake, where a small colony of humans are living a perilous existence near the dragon Smaug. There, Thorin, leader of the dwarves, and grandson of King of the Mountain, declares his return!