Julian

The most important factor in deciding which method to use is how the camera will be moving. Is it going to move around much? Is it going to get any closer to the trees? Is it going to travel around the trees? If the camera is going to be fairly static, you may as well just use still images for the trees.

I've been trying to compare it against stills from the movie, and one thing I've noticed is that the detailing on the head should look craggier. Perhaps you should increase the bump map percentage? Or have you considered making the bump maps into displacement maps as well? But the most important thing is, I don't think you should use depth of field because it makes the Balrog look small, like a badly shot model.