The fantasy and history genres are littered with epic skirmishes, some memorable, some less so.
So, we broke it down into individual skirmishes and moments for each hero character."
It’s a massive moment, where multiple story lines converge for the first time.
Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Ismael Cruz Córdova, and Charlie Vickers on ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’.Matt Grace/Prime Video
The key, he says, was evoking the right mood without sacrificing visibility.
“I feel for the cinematographers who have been caught in that because it’s a hard balance.
“Ismael did a huge amount of that and got beaten up pretty good.
Orcs gather on ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’.Prime Video
That’s what I wanted Ismael to do.
I think he’s going to be a superstar.
The stunt team rehearsed for weeks, figuring out the perfect fall angle from the roof.
Behind the scenes of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’.Matt Grace/Prime Video
“Filmmaking is really community art-making,” Disenhof adds.
A film set like this is constant chaos and madness, and somehow, magic happens.”
Later in the episode, the Numenorean cavalry arrives at dawn, charging the orcs on horseback.
The cavalry arrives on ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’.Matt Grace/Prime Video
“It wasn’t like that.
It was really intentionally done.”
Mother Nature also had to cooperate.
Behind the scenes of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’.Prime Video
That meant the crew had a limited time to capture the big charge.
“I shot it as the sun was peaking on the horizon,” Armstrong remembers.
It’s not the sort of thing you’ve got the option to rehearse.
Stunt coordinator and second unit director Vic Armstrong on the set of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’.Prime Video
We’d rehearsed it days before, but shooting on the day is always difficult.
He compares the episode’s pacing to a piece of music and the volcano is the grand finale.
“We tried to make that seem as real as possible,” he adds.
“We pulled footage from real volcanoes.
We looked at all the history of that kind of geological destruction.
Our goal was to make it look like a documentary.”
The entire episode was a massive undertaking but the filmmakers say it was worth the effort.
“Everything has to be scheduled and timed for when their wardrobes are ready.
Then, you have to give the special effects team time to make stuff.
It’s a huge logistical task with every department.
