*ooof*: The One Ring

Hooray! I am still here. Who would’ve thought that? Why am I excited? Well, indulge me and watch the little video I made for you, dear readers, and then we’ll talk more…

Have you recovered from the squeaky voice and the Djerman aksent? Now you know a little bit more of me 😉 Let me just put it down in writing again: Thank you so much for the amazing, unexpected journey you have taken me on. If you want to stay with the analogy then Servetus is the Gandalf to my Bilbo,  bringing me on an adventure that is unpredictable but life-changing. And you are my fellow travellers, the dwarves. That leaves the question – who or what is Smaug? And which role does Armitage have in this little scenario? Maybe he is “the one ring” – golden and shiny, with magic powers, and yet dangerous to possess, to be possessed by?, soul-corrupting – destructive? No, in the right hands the one ring is a treasure, and if we all look after it, only good can come from it.

Now that I have thrown that ring analogy at you, I have to illustrate this post with a Thorin still – for the organic feel. Not really what I had in mind when I started this post hours, days, weeks ago… But hey, life is ever a surprise, so I am embracing the flow and giving you this:

Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield
In the official French THTDOS poster
Sourced via RAnet

An unusual sight: Thorin is still. He stands, Orcrist’s hilt clutched to his chest, his head turned to his right. A breeze is playing with his hair. He may be standing on a mountain, just about to turn around, listening intently to a faint noise, or maybe he has already spotted whatever has captured his attention. The slightly cocked head indicates that he is concentrating on a noise, zoning in sensorily on whatever that may be. In any case, there is an atmosphere of stillness emanating from this image, despite the hair blowing in the wind. In fact, the flowing tresses emphasise the absence of motion in this shot. With the sword held protectively against him, Thorin stands erect, proud and strong. He is pausing. Is this the stillness before a storm? A brief reprieve before the drama will reach its pinnacle? While he is wearing is magnificent fur-lined coat, he has got a different type of armoured top on. The chain-mail top indicates that he may be dressed for battle. The lack of blood, grime and scratches tells us that the battle has not started yet – but will begin soon. As such, this image is a fitting illustration for the second instalment of TH, as part 2 will lead us closer, but not entirely to the climactic ending of the story.

But the drama is already indicated hinted at. What? After Guylty has just talked about stillness and pause? Well, the drama is in the light. What we have here is called “rimlight”. In photography, rimlight (also called “backlighting”) shines from behind the subject towards the camera. In order to avoid blinding the camera, the light itself has to hide behind the subject himself – or be obscured by parts of the set-up, the backdrop, or by rigging it from the ceiling. In practice, rimlight can be arranged in a 90 degree range behind the subject, thus covering a quarter of a circle right behind the subject. How high or low you place the rimlight determines where on your subject you will receive the gleaming effect of the backlight.

Rimlight serves two different functions. In a practical way, it allows the subject to stand out from the background. That is important in this instance as both the colours of the landscape behind Thorin, as well as his outfit consist of similar shades of grey and blue. While the fawnish pelt stands out against the background, the effect is more visible on Thorin’s coat: the dark grey of the leather reflects the rimlight and almost gives the impression of a gleaming silhouette, a white rim that defines the outline of the subject. Rather than blend in with the background, the similarly coloured subject is given a clear contour.

But the application of such lighting also has a dramatic aesthetic use in the image. It dramatises the subject. The rimlight strongly hits Thorin’s majestic profile. This is almost a gloriole effect (I have written about that before in connection with a Tracey Nearmy shot from Sydney), i.e. the bright light of the rimlight creates a halo-like sheen around the head of the sitter.  In that sense, it adds a theatrical effect to the image. Thorin’s forehead and profile are strongly illuminated by the backlight, the reflection causes a pronounced white glare. This does not only distinguish Thorin’s face from the hair that is behind him and picks out the three-dimensionality of the image, but also creates an other-worldly atmosphere that is fitting to the character. As befits him as a king, he is given status with the gloriole effect – his noble profile is picked out, and the impression is created that he is being singled out by a light that shines upon him from above – an artistic device that we are familiar with from religious iconography. We may associate a feeling of holiness or mystery with this depiction of Thorin, fitting for a king and a leader on a righteous quest.

There is, of course, other light in the image as well – otherwise we would not be able to see much of Thorin’s front. The so-called key light illuminates Thorin from front above and allows for the details of the costume and the face to be visible. Without it, the grey strands in Thorin’s hair would be too subtle to make out. (It is also possible that a third light – a so-called fill light – has been used in this shot. This is employed to balance the contrasts in the image.) But the defining lighting here is the strong backlight that has been used to aid the characterisation of the subject as a magnificent, God-like creature.

And boy has it made an impact! The photographer and/or art director are capitalising on Armitage’s own impressive profile. The prosthetic forehead and eyebrows help to make the profile even more pronounced. It is amazing how these details come together in the shot – the strong forehead which we associate with a fierce and feisty leader/fighter. The obscured eye(s) which are leaving an element of mystery to the protagonist – we do not know what he is looking at, we cannot gauge from a look at his eyes what he may be thinking. The clearly depicted hands clutching the sword to his chest speak of determination, possibly apprehension. The slightly tilted head indicates concentration and evaluation. The erect posture can be read as pride and readiness to fight or to acceptance of responsibility for whatever may be next levelled at the subject.

A lot of care is taken with such shots, and no doubt it would have taken an hour or two to produce a number of scenarios and poses that the art directors would then choose from for the marketing material of the film. The tools and techniques of photography are being masterfully employed for the characterisation of the subject. Together with the acting abilities of the subject they create a look and feel for the character that is in keeping with the film in general and the context of the character in particular. The viewer is given both a ready-made characterisation of Thorin as well as a cliff-hanger: This is the majestic king under the mountain. But what will his next steps be? You will find out in cinemas from December 11th 😉

PS: I have left a little pressie for you on my “other” blog.

All text © Guylty at me + richard armitage, 2013. Please credit when using excerpts and links. Images and video copyrights accrue to their owners.

~ by Guylty on November 12, 2013.