The Creative Kitchen That Brought Amazon's 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power' To Life
Image Source: About Amazon
Making an unforgettable story that is cherished and remembered fondly by fans for years to come is a lot like making a sandwich. While the choice of meat is certainly an important choice to get a proper base for flavor, the need for additional, high-quality ingredients is equally as essential, if not more so. There exist a variety of sandwiches with innumerable combinations of ingredients, though the one immense hoagie that continues to be sung praises about its structural integrity is none other than the epic fantasy, The Lord of The Rings.
With savory elements such as practical effects, makeup, costume design, foley, lighting, and beyond, one can't help but wonder why such an integral part of filmmaking is often underrated (and oftentimes, under-valued) by other 'sandwich makers'. Fortunately, it appears that the spin-off slider known as The Rings of Power recognizes the value of these often overlooked arts, even going as far as using 20 different visual effect studios (or, if you're still hungry for the sandwich metaphor, 20 kitchens) to help with set designs alone.
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Image Source: Collider
Specifically, it took approximately 1,500 visual effects artists to breathe unique life into the expansive land of Middle-earth, which includes vast, stormy seas. According to VFX producer, Ron Ames, the sequences of Galadriel and Halbrand voyaging across raging, violent waters took weeks of perfecting to make the setting look especially dangerous.
Even if Halbrand and Galadriel had to suffer through harsh weather, at least they had the clothes on their back to help protect them. Head costume designer Kate Hawley and the rest of her team are to thank for this, as they are the ones responsible for crafting over 2,000 outfits for the cast. Much like a delicious sauce to spread over bread, it helps when it is both hand-made and authentic. Hawley's costumes were designed with the usage of vegetable dyes and berry juice stains in mind, as they help add unique hues to each piece. This helps keep outfits varied enough that the scrupulous eyes of die-hard fans will be able to differentiate discrepancies that add character and realism to the various citizens of Middle-earth.
Image Source: Variety
Being able to see the attention to detail is highly necessary, although it extends beyond how everything looks. This is especially noticeable with the cruel, bloodthirsty orcs. Robert Stambler and Damian Del Borrello are the sound editors that supervised audio and foley for The Rings of Power, which include the variety of diseased-sounding vocals the orcs bray out. Anyone familiar with the Middle-earth games knows that orcs come in all sizes, castes, and personalities. This is also true in The Rings of Power, as certain orcs, particularly leaders, will speak full sentences while 'inferior' orcs merely grunt and growl wordlessly.
While too many cooks usually spoil the sandwich, The Rings of Power proves that a dedicated and gifted team can put their talents together and create something groundbreaking (and delicious).
For a taste of The Rings of Power, find it served up on Prime Video.
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Source(s): Variety
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