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Hi everyone,

I'm currently doing a paper at university in film music, analysing the composition & sound design of various films. We've been assigned to groups & ours has decided to analyse the Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring. I've found these videos on designing sound

http://designingsound.org/2009/12/the-sound-design-of-the-lord-of-the-rings-the-fellowship-of-the-ring-and-the-two-towers/

As well as some interviews and articles about the composer, Howard Shore. Does anyone here know of any good resources to look up in regards to LOTR? Either sound design wise or in regards to composition. I'm told there are some good interviews on the extended DVD versions of the film, or are they what is already on Designing Sound? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Oliver

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If I'm not mistaken, the clips on Designing Sound's site are from the extended DVD's special features. All three films have a special segment on the sound design for each, although my favorite is on the Two Towers disc where you can hear soloed passes of the different audio stems for part of the Helm's Deep battle sequence. I say get ahold of the extended DVDs rather than just scanning for clips online, since there are other features to be found only on the discs. Good luck.

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    And you'll get the sound at full quality to boot. – ianjpalmer Aug 9 '10 at 9:03
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There's a wealth of material on those extended discs. That stems segment on the Two Towers discs is cool, but I'd argue not the most important or enlightening material on those discs. I can't remember off the top of my head whether those videos on designingsound.org are all that's available on the discs for the first two films. I'd grab or rent copies of the extended materials just to be sure. There are some interesting discussions on using sound (both music and fx) to reinforce the idea that the ring itself is a character in the films.

Plus, being a Lord of the Rings fan from the age of ten, I enjoy the extended cuts much more. And I'll say it right now, I don't care that Tom Bombadil wasn't in the films. Trying to work him would have broken the flow. That's right, I said it.

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  • Thanks for the help, i'll make sure to get my hands on a copy (or all three). I think one of our major points will be to discuss the musical portrayal of the ring, as well as the eye of Sauron. And yeah, Bombadil would not have worked very well, though i'm still gutted they ditched Glorfindel but I guess Arwen needed a bigger role. – Mech Aug 12 '10 at 2:32

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