I guess the 3D cube effect isn't so appropriate and effective there... the thing is, I wanted to show that they were going in opposite directions from the same place, and I tried various transitions and was most satisfied (though not entirely so) with this one. Before that I tried to get the maps to line up but it was just impossible. Maybe I'll try a fade after all. We'll see. I'll experiment further with it.

I'm really annoyed about the picture quality when I zoom in. Urghh. And Premiere doesn't have different zoom options so I don't know what resizing algorithm it uses. Hopefully it won't be so bad when I use the original DVD sources (though I suspect the pixellation won't improve much). I wonder if the picture quality would be better if I used AviSynth to double or triple the resolution of the image, and then scaling everything down in Premiere... though I'm not sure how well Premiere would handle downsizing.

It's true that a dissolve would be more consistent with the rest of the credits. I just wanted to have something a little different between the producers' and actors' credits, but I'll try it the other way and see how it looks. I should also change the font of my added credits so that its consistent with the rest. Do you know if the font used in the movie is available on the 'net (or something very similar) and what it's called?

Sorry, but the Missing signs are staying in. =P I would consider changing the way its done, or the wording, but I'm not taking it out. (Apart from being clever, there is also a technical reason for it -- I can't just cut out those credits because of the long fades from each still to the next, each of which is non-static -- notice that the camera actually zooms in as each still is on screen.) Anyway, this version isn't only aimed at newbies -- it's also for fans of LOTR (like myself) who want to enjoy the whole story on screen in a (relatively) short period of time. In fact, in a way I think this version is more faithful to the spirit of the novel in a way -- the novel is very plot-driven (or at least that's the impression I got each time I read it), while the movies often flounder about and make storms out of drizzles -- especially in TTT, which was my least favorite of the three movies, where much of the movie serves no purpose whatsoever to the plot (though ironically it was also the movie that benefitted the most from the extra and extended scenes). The Helm's Deep battle was a brief skirmish in the book -- one of many battles that were raging all over Middle Earth.