It is Tolkien video time again! And this time, I put me hobbity paws on that most elluf of poems, "Gil-Galad was an Elven King". Here is how it turned out!
It is video time again
After having made videos of "Far over the Misty Mountains Cold" and "Song of Durin's Awakening" (see links below), I pondered hard and long on which song to tinker with next. Luckily. I got some kind comments from master Larry over on Larry's Hobbit Music this summer, whose version of Misty Mountains I had used in me video. He mentioned that the one song he received the most comments about was "Gil-Galad was an Elven King". So naturally I had to give that one a go!
One problem in making the video is that I have next to no real understanding of Tolkien's elves. Finding a way to tell the story of the poem was a challenge. In the end, I decided to try for a rather simple, lingering, melancholy movie, with few cuts, long takes and next to no special effects. The one thing I wanted to do, though, was to play a bit with light, making the picture darker and more oppressive as the poem grows sadder, showing the transition from day to night. But the hobbit in me still wanted a glimmer of hope in the end.
Mix and match
Another challenge was to find a good music mix, based on Larry's original midi. I wanted the song to last a bit longer than the original, to get that slow melancholy build-up and allow time for the light cycle. Similar to Misty Mountains, I also added a few tracks to get a more epic feeling as the song progressed. I can't claim to have mastered the art of music mixing at all, though, and I am sure that professional musicians may weep openly over some of the choices made here giggles. In the end, though, I am reasonably happy with the end results.
Special thanks to the hobbits in the Grand Order of the Lost Mathom for input and suggestions for the video. Them were most appreciated!
A hobbity elluf video
So here yer go: Gil-Galad was an Elven King. I hope yer enjoy it! Comments are very welcome, as are suggestions for more songs to make videos of in the future!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud5fdztEHlE Gil-Galad was an Elven King
More music videos
Here are the links to me other music videos based on Tolkien's poems: