Hobbits vs Cinematography
 In the LOTR films thereâs always a huge height difference between the tiny hobbit characters and the tall human characters they interact with. This means that a crucial part of any sceneâs toneâ even if you donât consciously notice itâ is whether the hobbits are shot in a way that downplays how small they are, or in a way that emphasizes how small they are.
Like: there are two scenes where Frodo (a tiiny hobbit) talks to Boromir (a tall powerful man). In one scene, the film downplays the height difference, and in the other scene, the film emphasizes it.
The first scene is the one where Boromir comforts Frodo after Gandalfâs death. (âYou carry a heavy burdenâ donât carry the weight of the dead.) The cinematography⢠makes you feel like the two of them are equals.Â
We get medium shots of Frodo sitting on the ground:
And medium shots of Boromir sitting on the ground with him:
The camera angle is neutralâŚ.like, weâre not looking up at Boromir, or down at Frodoâ weâre looking directly at both of them.Â
The two characters both take up the same amount of space in the frameâ making it feel like theyâre basically the same size.
The two of them are sitting on the ground together, while the characters around them are standing. This makes it feel like Boromir is âdown on Frodoâs levelâ in a way that the other characters arenât.Â
So we know that Boromir is much taller than Frodo, but in this scene it doesnât *feel* like he is. It feels like theyâre equals, two ordinary people who are going through the same shit, and are equally powerless to stop it.
But the scene where Boromir takes the Ring is the exact opposite!Â
In this scene, the height difference between the two is emphasized to make Boromir seem threatening.
Remember how the camera angle in the other scene was neutral, so that you were just looking into the characterâs eyes? In this scene youâre always looking UP at Boromir, like heâs incredibly tall/standing above you:
And looking dOWN at Frodo, like heâs very tiny:
The environment itself emphasizes the camera angles, which I think is really neat! The scene takes place on a steeply sloping hill. So any time we look up at Boromir, weâre also looking uphill. Anytime we look down on Frodo, weâre also looking downhill.
Frodo is also standing next to that enormous fallen stone statueâ which makes him seem even smaller by contrast. The giant statue head behind him makes Frodo feel impossibly tinyâŚâŚ so small that heâs smaller than a faceâŚâŚâŚ.
Also again: in the previous scene, theyâre shot so they look like theyâre basically the same size in the frame. Boromir doesnât look that much bigger than Frodo.
But in this scene, Boromir is often put in the foreground while Frodo is in the backgroundâŚ.so you get shots like this, where Boromir is a HUGE looming figure in the foreground while while Frodo is a tiny-looking small guy in the background;
This is why the scene feels instantly wrong in a way their previous conversation didnât.Â
Even though Boromir begins by saying basically the same thing he did in their previous conversation (âyou carry a heavy burdenâŚâ âyou suffer, I see it day by dayâŚâ) it feels threatening this time. Youâre deeply aware of how much taller and more powerful Boromir is than Frodo, you really feel the power imbalance between them and youâre instantly aware that Frodo is in danger.
And itâs not just these two scenes that are careful with the cinematography like this? Itâs EVERY SINGLE SCENE that involves a hobbit talking to a taller person.Â
Another obvious example is the opening with Gandalf in the Shire.
In the early scenes, Gandalf is supposed to feel like a harmless hobbit friend who is basically One of the Hobbits. So heâs always stooping down, or kneeling, or sitting down, and the camera angle is almost always neutral.Â
We know heâs bigger than the hobbits, but it doesnât feel that way, because the height difference is being downplayed.
But then he gets angry at Bilboâ and CINEMATOGRAPHY SHIFT
The camera is angled UP at Gandalf, and DOWN at BilboâŚGandalf is giant in the foreground, while Bilbo is tiny and in the backgroundâŚ.for the first time in the film, we actually realize how much bigger Gandalf is than the hobbits.
But then another cinematography shift! As Gandalf reminds Bilbo of their friendship, the camera angle becomes neutral again, and Gandalf is down on Bilboâs level again:
Once you see it, you canât unsee it: most major tone shifts in Lord of the Rings generally involve switching from one mode of shooting the height difference to the other.Â
When a likeable tall character becomes threatening to the hobbits, the film switches from downplaying the height difference to emphasizing it.Â
When an intimidating tall character becomes friendly, the film switches from emphasizing the height difference to downplaying it.
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