November 7, 2003

Sunshine in Mordor? Don't Worry...
Bob Praz

I've seen this question asked before, but I can't recall if I actually answered. Anyhow, the most likely reason why we see a lot of these early pictures of the movie with uncharacteristic skies is because the digital effects have not been inserted yet. Most of the images that are released before the movie comes out (including those in books such as the official Photo guide) are pictures that were taken on set or taken from an early, unedited version of the film. That means that any elements that were to be added digitally are missing, of course. Skies are one of these elements, especially in big wide shots.
In Mordor, a place perpetually covered by dark, thick, volcanic clouds (which obviously can't be found anywhere in New Zealand), the sky would need to be made digitally (by matte painting, most likely).
We've also seen a lot of pictures from the Siege of Gondor and such that seem to have clear skies and sunlight, even though it's actually supposed to take place under darkness. Same thing applies here: the post-production team will incorporate matte paintings or suchlike to change the skies and background, while digital grading is used to darken the entire picture to make it look like there's no sun.

PS: In case you’re wondering, the reason why they probably shoot a lot of this kind of stuff in very clear weather anyways is so that, of course, they don’t need to shoot under bad conditions, but also because it’s probably easier to change the lighting and color of the scene if the picture is already well illuminated; if it’s too dark or overcast, I suppose it limits what the guys at Weta digital can do with it. That’s also why even night shots are heavily illuminated in movies, otherwise you wouldn’t see anything: it’s easier to remove light than to add it, if necessary.

So another LONG article finally ends...