From the trailers it doesn't seem to have suffered
and I'm sure if they can produce production values as good as this they can produce some good Special Effects when they need them - even in After Effects you produce Explosions, fire, smoke, Magic effects for Gandalf etc. LotR wasn't that Special Effects intensive as Peter Jackson himself ruled out CGI for the issue of making the Hobbits smaller and the Elves bigger - they simply use the old method of placing one actor further in the distance. The only real CGI intensive bit was Gollum, Nazgul's Wyrvens, Cave Trolls and the Balrog - only Gollum will be in this movie.
(
maiden is filmed before a live studio audience, Tue 13 Jan 2009, 11:08,
Reply)
and the huge
battle sequences which make the film watchable, and motion controlled camera work, and the huge amount of compositing...
(, Tue 13 Jan 2009, 12:22, Reply)