Lens to match "Lord of the Rings" scene

Samuel Berger · October 28, 2011

Hi, there. We're recreating a shot of Galadriel from Lord of the Rings for a vfx class final project. The idea is to redo the shot where Galadriel is tempted by the ring and consumed by its dark appeal. I'm attaching the screenshot of the original here.

I would love some help from you guys in choosing the right lens for achieving this framing in exact the same way. We're using a Canon T3i for the filming. The class is a compositing and visual effects class. The final image would be cropped to achive the correct aspect ratio in Fellowship. The model will be shot in front of a green screen.

To be specific, any ideas how distant from the subject I would have to be, and what focal depth (if I can use my zoom). I'm not a great cinematographer, I'm actually the one shooting the scene by default since I'm the only one in our compositing class with the camera. ;-) Not too worried about the aperture etc. because the goal is to colour correct the footage and add glow, etc. The main concern is getting a good, useful shot.

Many thanks!

Sam

Edited October 28, 2011 by Samuel Berger

Stuart Brereton · October 29, 2011

Stick an 18mm on and crop for 2.40:1. Shouldn't be far off.

Chris Millar · October 29, 2011

Weird , that shot was memorable amongst my mates and most people I talk to for being in the bottom 5 worst effects shots for the trilogy...

Maybe you're stuck with it ... Do you like it ?

Samuel Berger · October 29, 2011

Thanks Stuart, I'll give it a go with the 18mm.

Chris, as bad as you guys may think it is...it's still memorable! ;-) I don't dislike it. The films themselves are visually BEAUTIFUL but extremely painful to sit through. 9 hours of walking and not enough Cate Blanchett. But yeah, we're stuck with it. ;-)

Chris Keth · November 5, 2011

I would be concerned about shooting stop. Looking at that still, you can see that her face is sharp-ish (it's a soft looking film..." and her clothes flow in and out of focus with the wind. I'd aim for wide open, which depending on your camera might not be enough still.