The title sequence of the presentation of The Rings of Power it is more than just a delicate introduction to the world of the series. It is also one of the most heartfelt tributes that the production dedicates to JRR Tolkien and his legacy. In particular, by paying tribute to the writer’s understanding of the complex and often unique mythology he envisioned.
It was about transferring one of the best known points about Tolkien’s creation myth to a visual version. A point that required work, scientific exploration and months of testing until the ideal result was found. According to the author’s work, reality and the world as we know it, it was created through the vibration of music and sound.
So the series’ design team made the decision to recreate the discoveries of 18th-century German physicist Ernst Chladni. The scientist discovered the effects of sound vibrations on matter and is the forerunner of acoustic research.
Several of Chladni’s experiments were included in the now famous introduction to The Rings of Power. The scene tries to celebrate the Tolkian perception of creation through a careful visual staging. According to the production team told Variety, the intention was to interpret, literally, the passages that describe the origin of the world. “We wanted to represent a universe that was both primordial and timeless, taking inspiration from Tolkien’s Ainur. We devised the title sequence built from the world of sound.”
The Rings of Power is the new phenomenon that everyone is talking about and that you can not miss
An amazing scene in The Rings of Power created through science
For Mark Bashore and Katrina Crawford, creators of the production’s opening sequence, celebrating Tolkien became a challenge. Especially in a story that is not directly based on a specific narrative or story of the British.
Both artists decided to create a concept that would subtly introduce viewers to The Second Age. An unprecedented scenario for most readers of the author’s work, because there are only details about it in loose stories and subtle references. Much older than the Third—on which Peter Jackson’s One Ring trilogy was based— the time point of The Rings of Power it’s a literary mystery.
Focusing on that sensation of transcendence and antiquity was a task that required approaching the work from its general idea of reality. Bashore insists that thanks to Crawford, the design team found a suitable method for such an undertaking.
“She came up with this idea of portals to other worlds and integrating it into the opening sequence,” Bashore explained to Variety. “You have 90 seconds or sometimes less to psychologically transport people to a place where they are ready (to understand the plot). It is often the only thing that survives between seasons. Everything else in the The Rings of Power change. The directors, the writers, the shows change, but the only thing that remains is the introduction.”
A long and complex process for a small technical wonder
The team of The Rings of Power he spent time and effort exploring the science of kinematics. A natural phenomenon that makes the sound visible to the naked eye in physical effects. “We came with the idea of a main title created from the world of sound, not the world of film,” Bashore detailed. To achieve the complicated purpose, the group of artists first tried to find the ideal procedure to show the effect they imagined.
The search started from the basics. Bashore experimented with different materials and techniques for weeks on end. But none resembled the visual impression he wanted to reproduce. Nevertheless, Crawford, a doctor in molecular biology, managed to find the precise mechanism. After several days of trying different sounds, surfaces and materials, he managed to make a handful of sand create patterns with Gregorian chants.
However, the discovery that it was possible to fuse music with a specific visual effect was only the beginning. The team continued to experiment with all kinds of materials, sounds, and acoustic wave spectra. The idea was to find the combination that would allow total control and that, in the end, will provide the opportunity to merge specific notes. That included using sounds like operatic high notes, Gregorian chants, and unique arpeggios. Also musical instruments such as the ocarina, the steel triangle and guitars.
The world of The Rings of Power that was born from a melody
Ultimately, the team opted to use sand of different sizes and textures. All under the vibration of a single hertz frequency tone generated through a computer. The sequence was shot frame by frame, with the intention of gradually including the music composed by Howard Shore.
For Crawford, Tolkien’s creation myth was a “sublime” inspiration, which “then becomes something bigger”. For the artist, it was about analyzing how the idea on paper could be transferred almost textually to physical reality. “There are so many layers where the metaphor really worked. So you can do individual frequencies and get patterns.”
The team strove to capture the sense of wonder that Tolkien carefully describes in his works. “You see a diamond and it feels like magic, but when I play chants, these (shape) sounds wobble and change. you analyze the transformation where things are created and deconstructed. That transformation is a metaphor for everything. For the birth of the world, for the rupture, for the destruction, for the epic of The Lord of the rings”, he detailed.
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Secrets in a small scientific work of art
In fact, the initial sequence is not random at all. Each frame—which includes mountains, trees, islands, and a continent—has a purpose. However, the predominant point is the nine rings, which are represented little by little within the central pattern. Crawford and Bashore wanted to honor Tolkien, but also announce some plot twists from The Rings of Power.
“We wanted to be totally in tune with Tolkien’s universe,” Bashore said. “You start with something abstract and end as an idea, it would produce the feeling of an endless cycle.”
As if that wasn’t enough, there are also some hints of things to come. “(The sequence) takes into account all the episodes from the first season, revealing new things in it,” Crawford explained. “We are not trying to mislead you, but to give you the idea that things may not be what they seem.”
A sign, without a doubt, of the way of interpreting several of the most debated points of the series: its ambiguity. Until now, The Rings of Power They keep secret the identity of some of their characters and also, the central villain of the season. Is the key found in your credit sequence? Only time will tell.