Earlier today, Prime Video shared the title treatment for their upcoming series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Centering on the Second Age storyline from J.R.R. Tolkein’s books, the show is believed to explore major players like Sauron, Galadriel, Elrond, and more during their formative years during a time when Middle-earth was at peace. (You can read the official synopsis of Rings of Power here.)
There’s much theorizing to be done about all of the adventures we could see in the first expansive look at the Second Age — something that occupies the appendices of Tolkein’s saga — but for now, we want to take an exclusive look at the making of this impressive title treatment.
Back in late 2021, we had the opportunity to witness part of the filming of the title sequence right here in sunny Los Angeles (under strict COVID protocols, of course). Looking at the video, it’s easy to assume that it’s your standard CGI opening credits sequence. But one doesn’t simply digitally create an opening for a Lord of the Rings property.,
Special Effect Advisor Douglas Trumball made sure of it, in fact. Trumbull has always had a practical-first mindset, which he broke down for IGN. “I always try to find an organic — or analog — solution instead of the knee-jerk reaction to use computer graphics,” he said. “The reason for this is: every time I try this, I get some delightful result that is, in some respects, unexpected. There are magical things that happen in nature — gravity, fluids, lighting — that one couldn’t really design using computer graphics.”
Watch this exclusive behind-the-scenes video of the making of the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power title sequence:
A whole lot of small details came together to create what can only be described as literal movie magic. For starters, the hills and valleys you see throughout the title treatment are actually a huge (sustainably sourced) hunk of reclaimed redwood. And that water? That’s actually molten metal.
“There was a desire in shooting this title reveal to have a wash of water come through, which I thought was a very beautiful idea,” Trumball explained. “The question was ‘well, would it be water, or would it be something else?’ to give the ‘burbling’ effect. That’s a very difficult thing to do with computer graphics because it’s in the realm of fluid dynamics which are very hard to calculate. They’re some of the most challenging elements of computer graphics to execute and you can wait days and days for some frames to render. Whereas, if you’re on a set and you have REAL hot, molten metals and super cold water interacting with this, you’re almost CERTAINLY going to get some surprising visual effect which — on camera — will look really great, particularly if it’s shot at 5000 frames a second.”
Of course, you can’t repeatedly pour molten metal into a piece of wood and expect it to survive the experience. But the production team was ready! Additional plates needed for the project were made out of compressed sand.
This allowed production to shoot multiple pours with the Phantom Flex 4K camera until they got the exact effect they were looking for, as well as opening up the opportunity for the team to shoot the treatment in a whole host of languages.
A Phantom Flex 4K isn’t the kind of camera you sneeze at. Director Klaus Obermeyer broke down what made him go with that specific rig. “We wanted to capture something that was not visible with the human eye,” he explained. “The molten metal, and its characteristics, are made exceptionally fascinating when you shoot ultra-slow motion which enables you to see the swelling, cooling, and undulation and energy of the molten metal in a way that you could never experience with normal human perception. The only camera that was capable of shooting a high enough frame rate to enable that outcome was the Phantom Flex 4k.
How were the effects achieved, you wonder? That’s where the magic comes in. In order to accomplish the mystical twinkles that jump from the river of metal, the team used a whole host of different mix-ins that resulted in different kinds of effects.
In addition to playing with different kinds of metal (aluminum and bronze) for the pours themselves, the crew also experimented with things like sparkler dust, argon pours, liquid hydrogen and more.
Foundryman Landon Ryan — the owner of the shoot location and metal fabrication expert — gave us insight on what it was like collaborating on a project like this.
“This is the first time I’ve ever worked on a production,” explained Ryan. “I’ve never seen molten metal like this. I’ve always been acutely aware of how metal functions. But this is another level. It’s a deeper understanding. I’ve never been able to slow down physics. At this juncture it was a way to view a world that is impossible to see with the naked eye.”
Fans of the Peter Jackson films may note the shift from gold to silver in the title treatment, but everything you see in these few moments is a part of a greater plan by the team behind the project. You can expect the silver to play an interesting role in the series to come…
In the meantime, what do you think of the title “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” and all of the practical work that went into creating the effects in the video? Sound off in the comments!
Continue reading...
There’s much theorizing to be done about all of the adventures we could see in the first expansive look at the Second Age — something that occupies the appendices of Tolkein’s saga — but for now, we want to take an exclusive look at the making of this impressive title treatment.
Back in late 2021, we had the opportunity to witness part of the filming of the title sequence right here in sunny Los Angeles (under strict COVID protocols, of course). Looking at the video, it’s easy to assume that it’s your standard CGI opening credits sequence. But one doesn’t simply digitally create an opening for a Lord of the Rings property.,
Special Effect Advisor Douglas Trumball made sure of it, in fact. Trumbull has always had a practical-first mindset, which he broke down for IGN. “I always try to find an organic — or analog — solution instead of the knee-jerk reaction to use computer graphics,” he said. “The reason for this is: every time I try this, I get some delightful result that is, in some respects, unexpected. There are magical things that happen in nature — gravity, fluids, lighting — that one couldn’t really design using computer graphics.”
Watch this exclusive behind-the-scenes video of the making of the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power title sequence:
A whole lot of small details came together to create what can only be described as literal movie magic. For starters, the hills and valleys you see throughout the title treatment are actually a huge (sustainably sourced) hunk of reclaimed redwood. And that water? That’s actually molten metal.
“There was a desire in shooting this title reveal to have a wash of water come through, which I thought was a very beautiful idea,” Trumball explained. “The question was ‘well, would it be water, or would it be something else?’ to give the ‘burbling’ effect. That’s a very difficult thing to do with computer graphics because it’s in the realm of fluid dynamics which are very hard to calculate. They’re some of the most challenging elements of computer graphics to execute and you can wait days and days for some frames to render. Whereas, if you’re on a set and you have REAL hot, molten metals and super cold water interacting with this, you’re almost CERTAINLY going to get some surprising visual effect which — on camera — will look really great, particularly if it’s shot at 5000 frames a second.”
Of course, you can’t repeatedly pour molten metal into a piece of wood and expect it to survive the experience. But the production team was ready! Additional plates needed for the project were made out of compressed sand.
This allowed production to shoot multiple pours with the Phantom Flex 4K camera until they got the exact effect they were looking for, as well as opening up the opportunity for the team to shoot the treatment in a whole host of languages.
A Phantom Flex 4K isn’t the kind of camera you sneeze at. Director Klaus Obermeyer broke down what made him go with that specific rig. “We wanted to capture something that was not visible with the human eye,” he explained. “The molten metal, and its characteristics, are made exceptionally fascinating when you shoot ultra-slow motion which enables you to see the swelling, cooling, and undulation and energy of the molten metal in a way that you could never experience with normal human perception. The only camera that was capable of shooting a high enough frame rate to enable that outcome was the Phantom Flex 4k.
How were the effects achieved, you wonder? That’s where the magic comes in. In order to accomplish the mystical twinkles that jump from the river of metal, the team used a whole host of different mix-ins that resulted in different kinds of effects.
In addition to playing with different kinds of metal (aluminum and bronze) for the pours themselves, the crew also experimented with things like sparkler dust, argon pours, liquid hydrogen and more.
Foundryman Landon Ryan — the owner of the shoot location and metal fabrication expert — gave us insight on what it was like collaborating on a project like this.
“This is the first time I’ve ever worked on a production,” explained Ryan. “I’ve never seen molten metal like this. I’ve always been acutely aware of how metal functions. But this is another level. It’s a deeper understanding. I’ve never been able to slow down physics. At this juncture it was a way to view a world that is impossible to see with the naked eye.”
Fans of the Peter Jackson films may note the shift from gold to silver in the title treatment, but everything you see in these few moments is a part of a greater plan by the team behind the project. You can expect the silver to play an interesting role in the series to come…
In the meantime, what do you think of the title “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” and all of the practical work that went into creating the effects in the video? Sound off in the comments!
Continue reading...