A very pivotal scene in Lord of the Rings is when Gandalf confronts the Balrog.
You shall not PASS!
Not Weta Workshop but more of a low budget Palmetto Bug Workshop:-)
The first shoot I did with a makeshift dry ice fogger - it shot out fog nicely but after several minutes with the camera only being 2.5 feet away from the machine and the wind blowing it directly in my position at times it may have caused my camera to freak. I turned my camera off after one of the burn off for the Balrog fire had gone out. I took it off the tripod to check it out inside - the camera would not turn on! F@*&#! Long story short - after letting it sit for an hour off, warming up inside house, and doing a quick recharge of battery (it had been 2 out of 3 bars) it turned back on. The dry ice was gone by then and the shots that I got were far from great. Took some that night without the fog. Checked it out the next day...sigh, the staff is a bit too far away from the duck.
2nd night: rebuilt the set and took about 40 more shots.
This is the shot I was modeling it off of but could not get the fog/smoke to work
Inside Moria - Outdoors on my back porch. Black trash bags taped to the wall, the floor, and across the table foot to hide it. A chair draped with a black velvet robe to hide the sliding glass door that was visible off to the side. One small side table that I placed this gothic stone planters on either side (that is the stone column you see in the background)
The Bridge of Khazad-dum was created from four cut strips of black foam board and glued together. I then spray-painted it with Rustoleum's Stone Texture Canyon Moss Spraypaint. Taped on end to the table with duct tape and the other end to a chair.
Ganduck the Grey - The rubber duck is a small 1.5 x1.5 goodie bag favor. Hat was created from grey felt and glue gunned to hold shape. Hair was taken from a previous Ganduck the Grey shot. Grey robe was created from white tissue paper that glue gunned onto the duck. I then carefully colored the robe grey by using a silver sharpie
Glamdring; Ganduck's Sword - Sword was from my youngest child's toy figurine of Link: Legend of Zelda and glue gunned onto the side of the duck.
Ganduck's Staff - Asparagus that was trimmed. Inserted a needle into bridge and slide asparagus onto it so it would remain in an upright slanted angle.
Balrog - Anyone who played the PC game Diablo II will recognize the figure. It was a gift from a friend several years ago to my husband. You SET the toy on FIRE! No. Force perspective and angle. I had a wire stand that I wrapped a strip of white cloth soaked in lamp oil 2.5 inches behind and to the side of the Balrog. Once all elements were ready I set it on fire. I went through about 9 strips total over 2 nights. I am sure the neighbors think I am crazy. And you can see some ash from previous lightings that I decided to leave in for it adds character.
Balrog's Whip Created from metallic red yarn wrapped around one floral wire and frayed at the end. The shape gave me the biggest challenge because I kept looking in the viewfinder and going back to adjust it so that it would not obscure the Balrog's right hand or be obscured by Ganduck's Staff.
Lighting. One dim flashlight on the chair behind Ganduck aimed at the Balrog's face. One 60w lamp with a red bulb on the floor below and just off to the side of the Balrog. One small industrial light seated on chair off camera to the right of the Balrog pointing at a 45 degree angle up and porch ceiling. One very small flashlight on same chair with industrial light aimed at staff and Ganduck. The fire from the Balrog's back also lit the scene. The second shoot had several incense sticks burning down by the lamp with the red bulb but of course the great shots don't have the smoke in them because the wind was against me.
Alternate crop, gamma, and touch-up
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Wow! What a set-up! My goodness, you constructed a complete empire on your porch. Some very serious work went into this, and the characters are all well defined, and incredibly attired. All your hard work with the whip resulted in it being perfectly placed. There is only ONE issue I have with the entire scene, and that is lighting. Despite the five light sources you mention, it is just way too dim (especially on this monitor - I'll check my other one tomorrow). The bridge (which sounds gorgeous) is barely visible to me. I would love to see you 'shop it and boost the fill a bit so I can better appreciate all the thought and work you went to. Kudos for massive effort, though.
Very nice concept, with or without the LotR title reference, but the photo is rather murky. It's clear you worked hard on the set-up, but I'm wondering if poor lighting marred your efforts.
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