Sound Designing Doom for ‘LOTR: The Rings of Power’ Season 2

In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 7, a massive battle wages between the Uruks and Elves as Sauron struggles to keep Celebrimbor focused on his task of finishing the nine rings of power. The battle lasts for most of the episode – starting with a barrage from Uruk siege engines, moving to a cavalry charge, and finally finishing with the inevitable close combat. It was an action-packed episode requiring tons of sound work!

New to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series are Sound 24’s Oscar-winning supervising sound editor/sound designer Glenn Freemantle MPSE and MPSE Award-winning supervising sound editor/sound designer Ben Barker. Here, they talk about their overall approach to sound for the show, and break down their sound design for key scenes in S2, Ep. 7 “Doomed to Die.” They talk about creating new sounds for the nine rings to connect them to the realms of men, Uruks, and Elves, how they conveyed the power and force of the destruction during the siege, how they created contrast between the Uruk and Elven weapons, how they created tension during Celebrimbor’s tough decision to escape, and more!

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power | Season 2

How did you prepare for the sound of Season 2 of TLOTR: Rings of Power?

Ben Barker (BB) and Glenn Freemantle (GF): We watched a lot of The Lord of the Rings! We watched the films and Season 1, which, if I’m honest, was awesome fun! We wanted to stay true to the Tolkien world and the journey that world had taken us on before. But also, after a chat with the showrunners, we wanted to evolve the sound design. We set about breaking down and making sure we expanded on every sound Middle-earth had to offer. The worlds of Lindon, Mordor, Eregion, and Khazad-dum were given atmospheric sounds for each unique location, and then sounds within those worlds also had their unique ID.

Our concept through the series was to give each space its own style and try to tell a story with pretty much every sound.

Our concept through the series was to give each space its own style and try to tell a story with pretty much every sound. For example, with the Dwarves, we tried to have a connection with granite sounds where possible, for the Uruks it was industrial sounds, and the Elves were all about clean precision. As well as that, whenever we had Sauron in a scene, we wanted to create an ominous influence, like the audience could feel something crawling over their backs or could feel a chill come over them. To do this, he was always surrounded by unsettling tones and dark movements.
 

Celebrimbor creates the nine rings for mortal men – can you talk about your sound work for this opening sequence?

BB and GF: Throughout the show, there are rings for men, Elves, and Dwarves. Each needed to feel sonically unique yet also connected. The shared sound, which can be heard early in this sequence, is a high metallic resonance, created by using Ina GRM Tools plugins to stretch and filter recordings we made of various bowed metals, bells, and gongs. It is designed to convey the physical material of the rings but also their beauty and perfection.

We then asked the dialect coach, who is a Tolkien language specialist, to write various spells and incantations in ‘Black Speech’ (the language of Mordor), which we recorded and processed to use as a layer to represent Sauron and his corrupting influence on the rings.

We then asked the dialect coach, who is a Tolkien language specialist, to write various spells and incantations in ‘Black Speech’ (the language of Mordor), which we recorded and processed to use as a layer to represent Sauron and his corrupting influence on the rings. As part of the same palette, we recorded and pitched down some male breaths and vocalisations, which are meant to hint at Sauron himself. We also used this to pay homage to the original films, as it was a distinctive sound already associated with Sauron and the ring.

Throughout the series, the rings for Elves are similarly designed using processed incantations in Elvish but with a breathier, more musical and feminine timbre, also layered in are high female sung notes which are stretched into long tones using a program called Paulstretch.

The rings for Dwarves incorporate earthier textures such as low animal growls and rock movements, but also processed recordings of coins dropping to describe their greed and lust for gold, which the rings induce in them.

What were some of your sonic challenges or opportunities for the siege of Eregion? (I love the sound of the siege engines, the fire bombs, and the giant rocks falling into the river!) Can you talk about what went into your sound work for this scene?

BB and GF: Thank you! Everything for us was an opportunity; we love a challenge! We wanted to convey the weight and sheer size of the siege of Eregion. The scale of the visuals was described to us as huge in early spotting sessions, so we worked hard on conveying that. The siege engines were generating so much power and force, so we had to match that through sound whilst keeping it real. All the impacts, whooshes, fireballs, etc., were made with organic elements, so we had the grounding. Along with that, we wanted the cinematic effect, so we used various techniques of sound design to support each sound and give it that “Rings of Power” magic!
 

What went into the sound of the battle between the Uruks and the Elves? This sequence takes up most of the episode, and there’s a ton of sound work here. Can you talk about the crowds, the fighting, the Uruks’ machines (like the one used to pull parts of the wall down), the Uruks facing the Elven cavalry, the Elven swords, etc.? (I love the almost bird-like quality of the arrow-bys!)

BB and GF: We wanted to create a difference in sound across the board for the Uruks’ fight with the Elves, to give each army and their weapons an individual, if subtle, style. The Uruks’ swords, machines, etc. had a very industrial, low texture to them, as if everything had a gritty, dull aspect to it. We recorded and used iron and other dense metals for the hits of the Uruk swords. Their bow and arrows had more of a twang sound to them, and the wall-smashing machine was put together with very low wood and metal sounds.

In contrast, to give us that texture, the Elves had a much cleaner and more precise, tight sound to them and their weapons. The swords were primarily made from steel hits to give us a more traditional tight sound, and all the arrows had a flutter to them as they passed by, like a better brand of arrow!
 

Celebrimbor slices off his thumb to escape Sauron. Can you talk about your sound work for this scene, like the sound of the cutting machine slowly opening as he seriously considers this avenue of escape?

BB and GF: It starts with the struggle that Celebrimbor has with the handcuffs. We use quick and tight sounds as he struggles to break free. Then, as his eyes catch sight of the cutting machine, every sound from here on has a slightly slower, more detailed approach to it. We wanted to kind of hint at the thought process that Celebrimbor was going through. The slow, deep spring sounds were designed to highlight his decision process, slowly arriving at the mind space that his only option of escape was to slice his thumb off. We ended the scene with an aggressive shing!
 

Rían’s fire arrow finds its mark in the bucket of pitch, and it explodes. What went into the sound for this scene?

BB and GF: It was a scene where we wanted to create a single moment, to break the intense soundscape of the battle and highlight the precision of the shot – a single arrow to breach the tide. In the mix, we gradually started to strip everything back sonically for that shot, so we were at one with Rían. The idea was to create some space in the battle to highlight Rían’s final moments. This moment of almost silence then pushed us into the huge explosion, which really had an impact sound-wise and swung the battle against the Uruk army.
 

What went into the sound of the Troll?

BB and GF: The sound of the Troll came off the back of outstanding accompanying music from composer Bear McCreary!

We tried to give the Troll a grungy/punk metal feel, distorted, crunchy movements, and heavy bass drum-like footsteps to complete his vibe. An interesting fact was that we used our VFX Supervisor’s voice for the Troll. The showrunners’ idea for the creature was to give it presence and strike fear into the Uruks, which is pretty hard to do, but hopefully we got there.
 

What went into your sound work on the scene when Celebrimbor throws the nine rings into the fire?

BB and GF: The sounds for this scene were designed around the very last moment. We worked on the connection of the fire into the explosion in the next scene. The idea was to get a continuation of the flames to highlight the explosive reaction to Celebrimbor’s action.
 

What was the most challenging sound, or scene for sound, in Ep. 207?

BB and GF: I think we’ve got to say the battle. It was a major part of the episode, and the story leads to this pivotal moment in the season. The challenge was bringing all of the elements together with their individual textures and blending them with the dialogues, the crowd, and the score.

The challenge was bringing all of the elements together with their individual textures and blending them with the dialogues, the crowd, and the score.

To help us create a dynamic mix, we organised a loop group to re-record all of the Uruks in battle (and all of the Uruks through the series). At Bray studios, where the production was based, we had an outstanding group of actors who put their voices on the line to give us some really dynamic fighting. All the recordings took place outside as well to try and give a reality to the battle cries and shouts. We think it really worked.
 

Why did you choose Ep. 207 for award consideration? What are you most proud of regarding your sound work on this episode?

BB and GF: It was a difficult choice for us to choose a specific episode, as we felt the series as a whole was such a journey through the Tolkien world. But in the end, we settled on Ep. 207, as we felt it gave us and the audience a real sense of the LOTR soundscape. Battle sequences have always been a part of this magical story, whether it be film or series, and we were very lucky to have that in this Rings of Power episode.

A big thanks to Ben Barker and Glenn Freemantle for giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the sound of Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Season 2 and to Jennifer Walden for the interview!