Shooting The Rings of Power Aaron Morton

Aaron Morton, Director of Photography originally from New Zealand, was one of those responsible for taking us back to Middle Earth. The first season of “The Rings of Power” has once again teleported us to this well-known fantasy world and this work has depended entirely on professionals like our interviewee. From this story you will learn about the great challenges that the cinematography teams faced in filming this epic adventure, as well as Aaron Morton’s views on the technological trends that will define the future of filmmaking.

Who is Aaron Morton and how did he enter the world of cinematography?

Probably, like most people, I got into cinematography through a love of the movies, didn’t know how it worked but knew I was interested in learning more.

What was your progression like, where did you start and how did you get involved in bigger productions?

After High School, I got a job as a PA at a small production company, met freelance camera people, DP’s, started assisting on short films for them, which led to “Xena, the Warrior Princess”. Started as the 2nd unit Loader; loved the camera department, loved the film making process, the way the set works, the systems. Over the years I shot a lot of off shore work that came to New Zealand. Then started working away more and more, so working back home in New Zealand for 18 months on “The rings of power” was a dream.

Speaking of “The rings of power”, when you joined the project, what stage was production at? Were you able to give your point of view on the visual aspect in pre-production or did you adapt to a look that was already set?

When I arrived, they were about to start shooting the first episode. So, a lot of preparation had already been done. I ended up shooting some scale unit work for the first two episodes before I started preparing my own shows.

The look and feel of the show was being set as I started, so I was able to be a part of that. Oscar Faura, who shot the first two episodes, with Sean O’Neil, the Gaffer and his team, had done an enormous amount of work in terms of lighting rigging and fabrication of some incredible lighting tools I was able to take advantage of. Jay Munroe, our Key Grip, was also instrumental in achieving the big epic scale of shooting we were aiming for.

Does Aaron Morton have a personal style? Did you have to adapt to the appearance characteristics in “The rings of power”?

I’m not sure if I have a personal shooting or lighting style. I’ve done lot of period, fire and candlelit lighting over the years that certainly helped on this show. I felt privileged to be there. It’s great to be part of the history of books and lore in general, but also of the cinematic history established by the great Andrew Lesnie.

To develop this initial season of “The rings of power”, what technical and human teams were involved?

Biggest team would have been the Art Department, led by Ramsey Avery and Jules Cook. They designed and built everything in front of the camera. They were incredible artists and creators.

I was able to be present during the construction of the sets, so I was able to adjust and modify certain parts to fit the position of the lenses or the way we were going to shoot.

The film crew: camera, lighting, grip, art, wardrobe, special effects, makeup, hair; they were really amazing.

The VFX team played a key role in the overall look. They provided the magic in the flashy shots, but they also did hundreds of shots that integrated and extended the physical worlds, which will probably go unnoticed on viewing, but had a huge effect on the overall look.

What has been the biggest technical challenge you have faced in filming this season? How have you solved it?

The biggest technical challenge was undoubtedly the scaling of the different characters. I mean the process of making a human sized actor look like a Harfoot or Dwarf sized character. Because this is such a big part of the show, Ron Ames, VFX Producer, and Jason Smith, VFX Supervisor, had a team of people working on this from the start. The Scale team would work with our director, Wayne Yip, and me on defining the shots. Then they would go off and figure out where the camera would need to be to shoot the live-action shots in forced perspective, either to scale the actors up or down in relation to the characters in the scene.

What technology did you rely on to develop this capability?

We use the Technodolly, a 15-foot motion-controlled telescopic crane. It’s a device that allows us to repeat movements with frame accuracy. We calculate what the scaled camera position needs to be to make the other character in the scene look bigger or smaller, and then repeat the movement at that scaled distance. It’s that easy.

What is the biggest technological innovation you have introduced in the filming this season of “The rings of Power”?

It would probably be the systems developed by VFX for our scale work.

But we also used some amazing previs systems, developed by Third Floor, which helped us imagine Numenor and design city plans.

We also had N-cam on set so we could see live what would be composited on our blue screens.

There are higher and higher resolutions, how does this affect the cinematographer?

For me, dynamic range and color are more important factors than resolution, but there are many excellent camera systems that meet all these requirements in different ways.

HDR is becoming a standard now that HDR monitoring solutions are available, has it become the norm, and does it change the work of a DOP?

It’s already the norm in terms of the level at which we finish a project. This reinforces the idea that you have to understand how the image works to get the most out of it.

Another of the great revolutions that this industry is experiencing is Virtual Production. Have you had the opportunity to shoot with this technology? How should they evolve and what facilities do they bring and can they bring to your work?

I’ve shot in a virtual production environment and it’s amazing what you can achieve with the right planning. It’s a great way to work for the right kind of production. I love the way you can use the screens themselves as lighting tools, shooting in environments that would be too expensive or unsafe to go to. However, it’s not right for every job either. So knowing when it’s the right tool is also important.

What will be the next big revolution that will affect the work of the Director of Photography?

Cameras themselves are now so good, I’m interested in tech that can help me on set more.

It’s already started, but more integration of Rock and Roll style lighting tools, into Cine style lighting units, basically a lamp that is high output, any colour, internal shutters, can remotely pan and tilt and is quiet.