Principal photography took place between 28 January and 5 March 1957 at Bray and Pinewood studios. The sets for the monastery were constructed at Bray by production designer Bernard Robinson, assisted by art director Ted Marshall and draughtsman Don Mingaye, and required detailed research in books and libraries. Nigel Kneale was particularly impressed by the monastery set, feeling that it acted not just as a background but as a participant in the story. These sets were later reused for the series of "Fu Manchu" movies made in the 1960s, starring Christopher Lee. Assistance was provided by members of a Buddhist temple in Guildford to choreograph the monks chanting. Most of the extras were waiters in Chinese restaurants in London. It was realised early in production that there was insufficient space at Bray for the sets depicting the snowscapes of the Himalayas and so production shifted to Pinewood. Each element of the set was built on a wheeled rostrum so the set could be reconfigured to show many different panoramic backdrops. The set was decorated with artificial snow made of polystyrene and salt. Matching the footage shot in the Pyrenees with the scenes filmed in Pinewood represented a major challenge for Guest and his editor Bill Lenny. Guest had a Moviola editing machine brought on set so he could view scenes from the location shoot and synchronise them up with the scenes being shot at Pinewood.