If you’re a screenwriter, filmmaker, fiction writer, director, or if you just plain love movies, you need to understand the importance of location in filmmaking, and there’s no better place to understand it than on location in New Zealand, a legendary place steeped in filmmaking history.
Join award-winning screenwriter-director-producer Bill Boyle and experience the stunning landscapes and locations of Middle-Earth.
Imagine waking to the sound of church bells in an ancient walled city.
You inhale the aroma of a cappuccino and cornetto at a café in a Roman amphitheater-turned-piazza and watch local families and friends greet each other with kisses.
A shopkeeper welcomes you and with a song.
The air bubbles with laughter, music and the buzz of conversation.
16th century ramparts encircle a tiny Tuscan city. You bicycle along its verdant top and drink in the breathtaking mountain views.
Gandalf: I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.
Bilbo: I should think so—in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can’t think what anybody sees in them …
Gandalf: You’ll have a tale or two to tell when you come back
Bilbo: You can promise that I’ll come back?
Gandalf: No. And if you do, you will not be the same.
While being passionate may be “one step short of crazy,” it definitely goes beyond mere excitement, and telling passionate stories goes beyond your own personal passion.
Passionate stories are about our biggest life issues – love, death, religion – and let’s not forget life-sustaining food and wine!
Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick. – J.R.R. Tolkien
On Location in Middle-Earth:
The Importance of Place in Screenwriting
You’re about to embark on an unexpected journey.
Come along with award-winning screenwriter Bill Boyle on an epic tour through Middle-Earth to explore the power of place in screenwriting.
Bill is the lead proponent of a style of screenwriting called The Visual Mindscape of the Screenplay, a visual approach to screenwriting that allows the reader to experience a story as it unfolds, engaging them at a visceral level.
Bill has sold or optioned everything he has written and attributes much of his success to this method of screenwriting.
As Gandalf said, “The world is not in your books and maps, it’s out there.”
Well, in order to put the world in your books, maps and screenplays, you need to experience “out there” and understand the power of place.
If you’re a screenwriter, filmmaker, fiction writer, director, or maybe you just plain love movies, the importance of location cannot be ignored. There’s no better place to understand location in filmmaking than on location in New Zealand, as you experience the stunning landscapes and locations of Middle Earth.
You have to leave home to experience a place in a visceral way, to let it stir your soul and awaken something inside of you.
Through a combination of classes and experiences in filming locations in Middle-Earth, you’ll learn about: locations as allegory; location and the opening image; atmosphere through location and natural elements; location to set mood and tone; place as character; sense of place in characters and location sound production.
It’s time to leave your Hobbit hole.
Come on, Sam. Remember what Bilbo used to say: “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” ― Frodo
Your 10-Day Journey through Middle-Earth
Your journey begins when you fly into Auckland. At orientation, you’ll meet Bill Boyle, Diana Osberg and your fellow travelers and we’ll enjoy dinner together.
After an overnight stay in Auckland, our merry band will head south into the magical land of Middle-Earth.
At the end of our journey, we’ll stay in the lovely resort town of Queenstown. Then we’ll say farewell. You’ll depart from Queenstown on your flight back to the Shire — or wherever your home may be.
I'm ready to leave the Shire.
What will you experience on your journey?
Short cuts make delays, but inns make longer ones. – Frodo Baggins
Inns for Weary Travelers and Hobbits
Auckland – One Night
Hotel Mercure Auckland
Rotorua – One Night – Holiday Inn Rotorua
Wellington – One Night
James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor, Wellington
Christchurch – Two Nights
Rendezvous Hotel Christchurch
Near the city center; shopping, sightseeing, restaurants & bars nearby
Queenstown – Four Nights
Crowne Plaza, Queenstown
Crowne Plaza Queenstown is located in a fantastic central location, overlooking Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables mountain range. Crowne Plaza Queenstown combines the best in location, service and comfort whether you are travelling for business or leisure. Overlooking Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables mountain range, Crowne Plaza Queenstown sits in the heart of Queenstown’s Central Business District. Just across the road is Steamer Wharf where you will find great dining, bars and entertainment. Alternatively, you can depart here for a cruise on the TSS Earnslaw Vintage Steamship. Skyline Gondola is also just 5 minutes on foot. From luxurious bedding to spacious accommodation, we know the importance of a great night’s sleep. Our location gives many of our rooms lake or mountain views. You’ll receive a warm welcome from the moment you step inside the vibrant Lobby.
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. – Thorin II Oakenshield
Your Delicious Meals
Sometimes we’ll dine as a group and sometimes you’ll be able to break out on your own to explore the many dining opportunities in the places we visit.
Your retreat package will include:
9 Breakfasts:
We’ll begin each day with a hearty breakfast at our hotel before continuing on our journey.
3 Lunches:
Champagne picnic lunch on Edoras tour
Picnic lunch Milford Sound Coach and Cruise – Ex Te Anau
Winery tour and tasting with lunch in Central Otago
4 Dinners:
Group welcome dinner in Auckland
Traditional Maori hangi dinner in Rotorua
Group dinner in Christchurch
Farewell dinner in Queenstown
Maori Hangi Dinner
The sharing of food is an important part of the Maori custom. We’ll share a special evening at a Maori Cultural Center in Rotorua and enjoy the delicacies of a traditional hangi buffet feast, followed by a typical New Zealand dessert.
Champagne Edoras Lunch
During our Edoras Tour, you’ll relish a delicious champagne picnic on the mountaintop as you delight in the 360-degree views over incandescent lakes and vast river plains surrounded by the Southern Alps. This spectacular landscape was transformed into Edoras, the capital city of the Riders of Rohan in the The Lord of the Rings.
Hobbit Meals
We humans will eat plenty of delicious meals on our journey, but not as many as Hobbits. Did you know that Hobbits eat seven meals a day? My goodness! No wonder Frodo didn’t want to leave the Shire. Here’s the traditional Hobbit dining schedule:
• 7:00am – Breakfast
• 9:00am – Second Breakfast
• 11:00am – Elevenses
• 1:00pm – Luncheon
• 4:00pm – Afternoon Tea
• 6:00pm – Dinner
• 8:00pm – Supper
Hobbitses love to eat, my Precious!
The power of the ring is calling me, my Precious!
They say that a great sorceress lives in these woods. An Elf witch of terrible power. All who look upon her fall under her spell… and are never seen again. – Gimli
Middle-Earth Highlights
I want adventures, thank you. Yes, today.
At Journey’s End: Lovely Queenstown
At the end of our journey, you’ll be rewarded with a four night stay in the glorious resort town of Queenstown, on the shore of the South Island’s Lake Wakatipu, set against the dramatic Southern Alps. All of our rooms at our lake-side hotel enjoy lake views. You’ll think you’ve gone to Hobbit heaven!
Retreat Schedule
Mordor. The one place in Middle-Earth we don’t want to see any closer. And it’s the one place we’re trying to get to. It’s just where we can’t get. Let’s face it, Mr. Frodo, we’re lost. – Samwise Gamgee
What’s Included
- Putting Passion on the Page and Screen program with Heather Hale
- Seven nights’ accommodations in the chic Hotel Ilaria and Residenza dell’Alba in Lucca, Italy
- Round trip shuttle from Pisa Airport to the hotel
- Daily continental breakfast at the hotel
- One lunch at a winery
- Three dinners with wine (welcome dinner, Luminara festival dinner, and farewell dinner)
- Walking tour of Lucca
- An exquisite evening of Puccini opera in recital
- Tour of local olive mill
- Winery tour with tasting and lunch
- Day tour and park admission to the colorful fishing villages of the Cinque Terre
- Optional VIP session with Heather Hale with additional night at Hotel Ilaria and Residenza dell’Alba (additional cost)
What’s Not Included
- International Flights*
- Meals, tips, souvenirs, and other items not listed in the inclusions above
*Although international flights are not included in the retreat package, you may book your international flights through our travel partner, Journeys of the Spirit, and enjoy group rates.
You and I, Sam, are still stuck in the worst places of the story.
Facilitators
As film is first and foremost a visual medium does it not make sense that the screenplay which is the spine, heart and soul of the film also be a visual experience? – Bill Boyle
Bill Boyle
Bill Boyle is an award winning screenwriter who has become one of the most popular script consultants in the industry. Creative Screenwriting Magazine rated him among the top 10% of screenwriting consultants. He lectures at universities and film schools throughout Canada and the United States, has taught at UCLA Extensions and is quickly gaining a worldwide following, with clients in North America, Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Bill distinguishes himself from most of the other screenwriting gurus in that he also maintains a successful screenwriting career. Films based on his screenplays have received multiple awards and recognition including: Palm Springs Film Festival “Critics Choice” * Atlantic City Film Festival “Audience Choice” * Toronto Reel World Festival “Best Canadian Feature” * ACTRA nomination for Best Dramatic Writer * Canadian Film Awards Finalist * Recipient of the Harold Greenberg Fund * Chicago Film Festival Special Jury Nomination.
He is the lead proponent of a visual style of screenwriting called “The Visual Mindscape of the Screenplay” and notes in his book The Visual Mindscape of the Screenplay (released in 2013) that the visual mindscape method “… allows the reader or viewer to ‘discover’ elements of the story rather than being told. By being able to actively participate in the unfolding of the story, the overall experience for the reader becomes a more visceral and luminous experience. I feel this is the true magic of the screenplay.”
Bill’s workshops were not only immensely helpful, but inspiring as well. He always gives generously of his vast experience, talent, and insight. Every meeting with Bill further inspires my passion for this craft. He’s changed the way I look at screenwriting.
Lois Simmie
Diana Osberg
Diana Osberg is the owner and founder of Mia Terra Retreats. She produces extraordinary retreats to inspire writers, artists and creative souls. Diana is a screenwriter and has worked in the entertainment industry for over 30 years in production, creative development and administration.
Diana is a world-traveler, or as she likes to put it, a “world citizen,” and loves to go on unusual adventures. She has helmed a 165 meter barque in the Strait of Gibraltar, sailed as crew on tall ships in New Zealand, Spain and the Canary Islands, participated in an English immersion program with Spanish business people in Spain, and tracked Mustangs in the wilds of the Nevada mountains on horseback. She has kissed the Blarney Stone, but did not get the gift of the gab. She’ll have to kiss it again, I guess.