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1
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We went to
some pretty gnarly places.
2
00:00:06,132 --> 00:00:07,925
It was like,
"How are we gonna make that?"
3
00:00:08,885 --> 00:00:10,094
Shit, that's the throne.
4
00:00:11,095 --> 00:00:12,305
I was so excited at the idea.
5
00:00:12,889 --> 00:00:15,725
It feels like it's gonna hit you in areas
I don't think you want to be hit in.
6
00:00:16,184 --> 00:00:18,060
You are awe-inspired by it.
7
00:00:18,144 --> 00:00:20,855
and it's kind of like,
"Oh, my God, this is serious."
8
00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:34,911
Right from the very beginning,
we had to live up to the huge,
9
00:00:34,911 --> 00:00:37,997
almost unscalable expectations
of the original series.
10
00:00:38,998 --> 00:00:41,167
Game of Thrones
was its own thing.
11
00:00:42,210 --> 00:00:44,962
And it was a cultural
phenomenon, and it was brilliant.
12
00:00:45,588 --> 00:00:47,507
This is something else.
It's a different story.
13
00:00:47,507 --> 00:00:50,176
The scale of this story
is told in a different way.
14
00:00:50,676 --> 00:00:53,095
Something that set the original
Game of Thrones apart
15
00:00:53,179 --> 00:00:55,723
from any other fantasy series
is that, ultimately,
16
00:00:55,807 --> 00:00:57,558
you cared about
those characters.
17
00:00:57,850 --> 00:01:01,354
What I liked was that it
still had the Game of Thrones flavor,
18
00:01:01,354 --> 00:01:02,855
but actually was
a different take.
19
00:01:03,356 --> 00:01:04,857
This is our journey now,
20
00:01:04,941 --> 00:01:08,903
and we've got to make the
most of our experience on this show.
21
00:01:09,403 --> 00:01:12,782
I can't tell you
how many conversations there have been about,
22
00:01:12,782 --> 00:01:14,158
"Let's start at Thrones,
23
00:01:14,242 --> 00:01:15,952
and then let's be good
at Thrones,
24
00:01:15,952 --> 00:01:17,495
and let's evolve it out."
25
00:01:18,454 --> 00:01:22,959
I realized that we needed a
combination of old hands and new blood.
26
00:01:23,376 --> 00:01:27,338
It was quite a lot of pressure because the
work was so good, of course, on Game of Thrones.
27
00:01:27,338 --> 00:01:29,340
We've got a standard
to live up to.
28
00:01:30,216 --> 00:01:32,218
We talked a lot about,
"How can we make this different,
29
00:01:32,218 --> 00:01:35,304
but still keeping it within
the Game of Thrones world?"
30
00:01:35,972 --> 00:01:38,599
The intention was never to do
season nine of Game of Thrones.
31
00:01:38,683 --> 00:01:42,812
It was to try and find
something new and different.
32
00:01:43,479 --> 00:01:47,108
It's always a weird moment
because you get that great call,
33
00:01:47,108 --> 00:01:48,693
which is that we're gonna
go make this thing.
34
00:01:48,693 --> 00:01:50,695
And you're happy
for a few seconds.
35
00:01:50,695 --> 00:01:53,823
And then you realize, "Oh, shit, I
now have to go make this thing."
36
00:01:58,119 --> 00:02:01,539
The Great Council felt like
a good way to start people off.
37
00:02:01,539 --> 00:02:03,207
So it's the first scene
of the pilot.
38
00:02:03,291 --> 00:02:05,293
It's the opening scene.
It's really important to get it right.
39
00:02:05,293 --> 00:02:11,424
Go, two, three.
One, two, three. One.
40
00:02:11,424 --> 00:02:12,967
Viserys was on one side
41
00:02:12,967 --> 00:02:14,635
and Rhaenys was on
the other side.
42
00:02:14,719 --> 00:02:17,680
And literally,
in front of the whole court,
43
00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:21,225
the council voted for
who was going to succeed.
44
00:02:21,851 --> 00:02:26,772
Rhaenys is standing there feeling like
she's a contestant on Blind Date.
45
00:02:26,856 --> 00:02:29,609
That's great. And then, Paddy,
if I could step you out.
46
00:02:29,609 --> 00:02:32,320
So we're gonna do the
same thing, but without Paddy in.
47
00:02:32,695 --> 00:02:33,863
So I'll tell you a secret.
48
00:02:33,863 --> 00:02:36,198
It's actually been shot
in the Throne Room.
49
00:02:36,616 --> 00:02:38,951
Halfway through building
the Throne Room proper,
50
00:02:39,035 --> 00:02:41,120
we get them to paint it
mostly green,
51
00:02:41,204 --> 00:02:43,956
and then we build the stand
and the throne.
52
00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:48,294
A lot of VFX work, so it seemed
we don't need to spend a load of money
53
00:02:48,294 --> 00:02:50,713
building the whole Harrenhal
as a kind of practical set.
54
00:02:50,713 --> 00:02:53,090
What we need is the background
to the throne.
55
00:02:53,341 --> 00:02:56,510
So we built one
end section in a green-screen stage,
56
00:02:56,594 --> 00:02:59,055
and then the rest
is placed virtually.
57
00:02:59,513 --> 00:03:01,515
Harrenhal was semi-destroyed.
58
00:03:01,599 --> 00:03:03,893
So you're seeing outside
of the hall itself
59
00:03:03,893 --> 00:03:05,478
into the environment outside,
60
00:03:05,478 --> 00:03:07,229
which is fully CG,
which is great.
61
00:03:07,647 --> 00:03:10,399
Harrenhal had been
seen in Game of Thrones,
62
00:03:10,483 --> 00:03:13,027
but what we had to do
in this one is
63
00:03:13,027 --> 00:03:14,362
invent a lot more detail.
64
00:03:14,862 --> 00:03:17,698
If you look closely,
you can see there's a number of
65
00:03:17,782 --> 00:03:19,867
English cathedrals
and churches that we referenced.
66
00:03:19,951 --> 00:03:21,661
There's a bit of Whitby Abbey
in there.
67
00:03:21,911 --> 00:03:26,374
And we integrated key references
in George R. R. Martin's books.
68
00:03:26,791 --> 00:03:28,542
It's meant to be a huge hall,
69
00:03:28,626 --> 00:03:31,712
so we've tried to get
that sense of scale
70
00:03:31,796 --> 00:03:33,047
in the opening shots.
71
00:03:33,506 --> 00:03:35,299
You are awe-inspired by it,
72
00:03:35,383 --> 00:03:37,927
and it's kind of like,
"Oh, my God, this is serious."
73
00:03:37,927 --> 00:03:40,137
I remember
we spent a whole day on that
74
00:03:40,221 --> 00:03:42,723
with the crowd and the maesters walking
the box up to the old king.
75
00:03:42,807 --> 00:03:45,351
The actor
who played the king
76
00:03:45,351 --> 00:03:48,104
did not want to do
any speaking parts,
77
00:03:48,104 --> 00:03:50,773
but loved the idea of doing
a non-speaking one.
78
00:03:50,773 --> 00:03:52,483
It was actually
Michael Carter,
79
00:03:52,483 --> 00:03:54,276
Bib Fortuna from
Return of the Jedi.
80
00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,488
So I was losing my mind
and telling myself to be cool,
81
00:03:57,488 --> 00:04:00,783
and not go start quoting Huttese
to him or anything like that.
82
00:04:01,784 --> 00:04:03,285
Our reference for this was
83
00:04:03,369 --> 00:04:07,331
a really royal, flamboyant,
kind of wedding almost.
84
00:04:07,415 --> 00:04:10,918
And so, I wanted to sort of
bring that element of grandeur to it,
85
00:04:11,002 --> 00:04:13,379
but obviously in a space
that's quite derelict.
86
00:04:13,629 --> 00:04:16,882
It was one of those kind of, "I
hope this all looks okay when we're done."
87
00:04:16,966 --> 00:04:18,050
Because if you saw that set,
88
00:04:18,300 --> 00:04:20,720
it's kind of insane when you see
the finished product that,
89
00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:21,846
"Wow, this is really epic."
90
00:04:21,846 --> 00:04:23,264
'Cause so much of it
was green screen.
91
00:04:23,806 --> 00:04:30,813
It is declared that Prince Viserys
be made heir to the Iron Throne.
92
00:04:34,942 --> 00:04:36,027
In the original books,
93
00:04:36,027 --> 00:04:37,153
George always
described the throne
94
00:04:37,153 --> 00:04:39,780
as being made from
thousands of swords.
95
00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:42,825
I wanted to make
a hybrid version
96
00:04:42,825 --> 00:04:45,036
that still honored the throne
from the original series.
97
00:04:45,036 --> 00:04:48,789
The throne kind of spread out
and became this carpet of swords.
98
00:04:49,165 --> 00:04:52,501
Suggesting that, at some point
in time, the throne changes.
99
00:04:53,252 --> 00:04:54,587
So Ryan had said to me,
100
00:04:54,587 --> 00:04:57,882
"This throne is made from
the swords of the conquered."
101
00:04:58,591 --> 00:05:00,468
And somehow,
that was a key thing,
102
00:05:00,468 --> 00:05:02,178
that this was all about
the power
103
00:05:02,178 --> 00:05:04,388
of this Targaryen dynasty.
104
00:05:05,556 --> 00:05:06,849
When I first approached it,
105
00:05:06,849 --> 00:05:08,934
I was just duplicating lots
and lots of swords.
106
00:05:09,018 --> 00:05:10,436
And that sort of
killed the computer, basically,
107
00:05:10,436 --> 00:05:11,771
because there was just
so many swords.
108
00:05:13,189 --> 00:05:14,356
It looked great in concept,
109
00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:16,025
but it was like,
"How are we gonna make that?"
110
00:05:16,358 --> 00:05:18,819
So my idea was, basically, to
create a structure out of steel rods,
111
00:05:19,236 --> 00:05:21,739
and we wrapped the whole thing
in plaster bandage.
112
00:05:21,739 --> 00:05:22,740
So when it was wet,
113
00:05:22,740 --> 00:05:25,409
it just sagged
on that steel structure.
114
00:05:25,493 --> 00:05:27,161
So it looks like
it was melted already.
115
00:05:27,161 --> 00:05:29,413
This is the biggest hero prop
I've made, really.
116
00:05:29,497 --> 00:05:30,790
And it's the most recognizable.
117
00:05:31,165 --> 00:05:34,585
We probably had about six or eight
people for four, five months of that.
118
00:05:35,044 --> 00:05:36,462
I think we purchased,
made, and cast
119
00:05:36,462 --> 00:05:38,923
about two and a half thousand
swords, minimum.
120
00:05:38,923 --> 00:05:40,257
And there was
a lot of logistics
121
00:05:40,341 --> 00:05:42,468
and working out how that
can be done safely as well.
122
00:05:42,468 --> 00:05:45,012
There's a lot of blades
poking out of the ground there.
123
00:05:45,387 --> 00:05:47,515
When we showed up
for the first time,
124
00:05:47,515 --> 00:05:50,309
there were these signs
that just said, "Danger."
125
00:05:50,309 --> 00:05:53,479
They were terrified that somebody was
just going to trip and impale themselves.
126
00:05:56,690 --> 00:05:59,985
We realized we needed to change
the columns in the throne room.
127
00:06:00,069 --> 00:06:03,739
And that needed to be a way
in which we could show the past.
128
00:06:04,281 --> 00:06:07,701
So we did a lot of
artwork before Conrad and his team got those.
129
00:06:07,785 --> 00:06:10,830
And then it was turned into
a three-dimensional model
130
00:06:10,830 --> 00:06:13,332
before we then cast into
the bigger scale.
131
00:06:15,167 --> 00:06:17,336
They look great
on a drawing that big,
132
00:06:17,336 --> 00:06:20,422
but when that is
a six-meter item,
133
00:06:20,506 --> 00:06:23,092
you have a lot of planned area.
134
00:06:23,425 --> 00:06:26,887
So we wanted to put
some detail in those.
135
00:06:28,180 --> 00:06:31,433
We looked at
the history of the Targaryen battles
136
00:06:31,517 --> 00:06:33,018
and dragons
and all that kind of stuff
137
00:06:33,102 --> 00:06:35,646
for what that history
and that tale could be.
138
00:06:36,230 --> 00:06:38,566
It had a lot of
emotional impact as well
139
00:06:38,566 --> 00:06:41,193
because when Viserys sits
on the throne,
140
00:06:41,277 --> 00:06:43,821
the weight of history
is on his shoulders
141
00:06:43,821 --> 00:06:46,991
because his previous kings
are looking down upon him.
142
00:06:46,991 --> 00:06:48,325
And then at the end of the room,
143
00:06:48,409 --> 00:06:50,161
there's the partially carved column,
144
00:06:50,161 --> 00:06:52,037
which will eventually
become him.
145
00:06:53,706 --> 00:06:58,127
It speaks to how important the history
of the lineage is to the Targaryen dynasty.
146
00:07:02,798 --> 00:07:04,717
I mean,
that whole set is fantastic.
147
00:07:04,717 --> 00:07:06,135
It does exactly
what it's meant to do.
148
00:07:06,135 --> 00:07:08,304
It's big, it's intimidating,
and it looks cool.
149
00:07:09,597 --> 00:07:12,641
It is
one of the most beautiful sets
150
00:07:12,725 --> 00:07:14,602
I've ever seen
in my entire life.
151
00:07:14,935 --> 00:07:18,147
And I think because that throne
is so iconic,
152
00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,901
to be able to build on what
has already been established
153
00:07:21,901 --> 00:07:23,569
has been pretty unbelievable.
154
00:07:24,028 --> 00:07:26,530
When I walked
on that stage the first time,
155
00:07:26,614 --> 00:07:28,115
it was an emotional moment,
I think.
156
00:07:28,449 --> 00:07:31,035
Seeing that realized, and realizing
that we're actually making this thing.
157
00:07:31,035 --> 00:07:34,455
It was just kind of like,
"Oh, shit. That's the throne."
158
00:07:34,455 --> 00:07:37,208
When I walked into the
throne room for the first time,
159
00:07:37,208 --> 00:07:41,670
there was a sort of moment
that I had of like, "Oh, wow."
160
00:07:42,004 --> 00:07:43,505
And then the first thing I did,
you know,
161
00:07:43,589 --> 00:07:45,633
was climb up the stairs
and sit on it.
162
00:07:46,133 --> 00:07:47,593
I did not get to sit
on the throne,
163
00:07:47,593 --> 00:07:48,928
and I'm furious about that.
164
00:07:48,928 --> 00:07:51,430
I'm disappointed that
I'm not sitting in it right now.
165
00:07:51,430 --> 00:07:53,432
And I was a bit,
sort of, like, precious on it.
166
00:07:53,432 --> 00:07:55,434
I didn't want to turn around
and see someone sitting on it.
167
00:07:55,726 --> 00:07:57,561
I want to sort of sling 'em off.
168
00:08:00,898 --> 00:08:02,233
This is the age of dragons.
169
00:08:02,233 --> 00:08:03,317
At this point in the history,
170
00:08:03,609 --> 00:08:05,152
there have never been
as many dragons in the world
171
00:08:05,236 --> 00:08:06,654
since the time of Old Valyria,
172
00:08:06,654 --> 00:08:08,614
when there were
a thousand dragons alive.
173
00:08:08,614 --> 00:08:11,242
And what we really
tried to do was
174
00:08:11,242 --> 00:08:13,786
create a world
where dragons existed.
175
00:08:14,161 --> 00:08:18,707
I think that dragons in this
are symbolic of a number of things.
176
00:08:18,791 --> 00:08:20,751
The reason that
the Targaryens are considered
177
00:08:20,751 --> 00:08:24,004
as being closer to gods
is because of their dragons.
178
00:08:24,088 --> 00:08:26,382
So symbolically,
they have this role.
179
00:08:27,216 --> 00:08:30,344
Father, has something happened?
180
00:08:34,348 --> 00:08:35,975
Balerion was
the last living creature
181
00:08:35,975 --> 00:08:38,477
to have seen Old Valyria
before the Doom.
182
00:08:40,604 --> 00:08:42,439
It's greatness and its flaws.
183
00:08:44,858 --> 00:08:46,902
When you look at the dragons,
what do you see?
184
00:08:46,986 --> 00:08:47,987
Cut.
185
00:08:47,987 --> 00:08:50,322
- A big fat...
- A dragon.
186
00:08:55,744 --> 00:08:58,706
You see Balerion's skull
and you see the size of dragons.
187
00:08:58,706 --> 00:09:01,959
Because the size of dragons then
were much larger
188
00:09:01,959 --> 00:09:04,295
than the dragons that you saw
in Game of Thrones.
189
00:09:09,508 --> 00:09:13,887
I mean, that thing is epic.
You would not want to face down the Black Dread.
190
00:09:14,722 --> 00:09:16,724
We did some very rough
original sketches
191
00:09:16,724 --> 00:09:19,893
that very quickly went to
the concept artist.
192
00:09:20,769 --> 00:09:22,187
I sculpted it in ZBrush,
193
00:09:22,271 --> 00:09:24,732
and then we 3-D printed
a version of it.
194
00:09:24,732 --> 00:09:27,067
And that was really useful
for the sculptors.
195
00:09:27,610 --> 00:09:30,487
That was
a brilliant thing to make.
196
00:09:31,155 --> 00:09:35,409
And it was about
nine meters long, so it's huge.
197
00:09:38,579 --> 00:09:41,540
A shortcut, structurally,
when you make something big,
198
00:09:41,540 --> 00:09:43,792
is let the teeth
rest on each other
199
00:09:43,876 --> 00:09:46,253
and become columns, effectively.
200
00:09:46,337 --> 00:09:48,797
In order to make this look
more aggressive,
201
00:09:49,465 --> 00:09:52,593
we wanted thinner,
spikier teeth.
202
00:09:52,843 --> 00:09:54,178
So we made the teeth separately.
203
00:09:54,178 --> 00:09:57,056
We rigged out the mouth
with metalwork,
204
00:09:57,056 --> 00:09:59,183
so it would stay open
of its own accord.
205
00:10:01,852 --> 00:10:06,440
We made it over about
seven weeks with about four sculptors.
206
00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:10,361
And then, of course, at the end,
there's a lot of painting to do.
207
00:10:10,361 --> 00:10:12,780
Texturing, alterations,
you know.
208
00:10:12,780 --> 00:10:16,158
These things can go on forever.
209
00:10:19,370 --> 00:10:22,998
Powerful, but not invincible.
210
00:10:25,125 --> 00:10:27,586
At the time that
Game of Thrones took place,
211
00:10:27,586 --> 00:10:29,713
there was less respect
for the dragons.
212
00:10:34,218 --> 00:10:35,886
And therefore,
we felt this time,
213
00:10:35,886 --> 00:10:39,139
it should be in more of
a respectful cathedral.
214
00:10:39,223 --> 00:10:42,059
So we build this set
with a big dome ceiling
215
00:10:42,059 --> 00:10:46,021
and placed it on an altar
so that it paid due deference
216
00:10:46,105 --> 00:10:48,107
to the importance of the dragons
in our story.
217
00:10:48,107 --> 00:10:53,153
Straightaway, if you want to just frame
up on the whole of Balerion's skull,
218
00:10:53,237 --> 00:10:54,446
you're shooting off the set.
219
00:10:54,905 --> 00:10:57,825
You can only build a set
to a certain height within a stage.
220
00:10:57,825 --> 00:10:58,992
In most of the shots in there,
221
00:10:59,243 --> 00:11:01,829
you're looking slightly up
at that enormous skull.
222
00:11:01,829 --> 00:11:03,247
So we're adding ceiling to that.
223
00:11:03,747 --> 00:11:05,666
On set,
I like to sort of doodle
224
00:11:05,666 --> 00:11:08,293
and figure out how we're going
to do a set extension.
225
00:11:08,377 --> 00:11:10,712
So I do a bit
of photoshop paint mode.
226
00:11:10,796 --> 00:11:12,381
And it allows me, occasionally,
227
00:11:12,381 --> 00:11:14,299
to actually turn it round
and show it to the director
228
00:11:14,383 --> 00:11:15,801
and say,
"What do you think of that?"
229
00:11:15,801 --> 00:11:18,637
And then sort of get
sign off on a concept art piece.
230
00:11:18,637 --> 00:11:21,223
And then that goes to me
and it goes straight to
231
00:11:21,223 --> 00:11:24,101
whichever vendor we're gonna use
to do that work.
232
00:11:24,101 --> 00:11:25,811
It's turned out beautifully.
233
00:11:28,063 --> 00:11:33,068
A Targaryen must understand this
to be king... or queen.
234
00:11:35,571 --> 00:11:37,322
When you see her there,
I mean,
235
00:11:37,406 --> 00:11:39,491
it is a bit of deer
in the headlights
236
00:11:39,575 --> 00:11:40,784
because her father's told her,
237
00:11:40,868 --> 00:11:42,703
"The fate of the world sits
on your shoulders.
238
00:11:42,703 --> 00:11:44,580
And oh, by the way,
you're gonna be queen one day."
239
00:11:45,038 --> 00:11:50,836
I, Viserys Targaryen, protector
of the realm, do hereby...
240
00:11:52,045 --> 00:11:54,256
I'm so sorry.
241
00:12:01,847 --> 00:12:04,016
Rhaenyra sees it
as the first time
242
00:12:04,016 --> 00:12:05,517
that she's good enough
for her father.
243
00:12:05,601 --> 00:12:07,603
Her dad has spent
her entire life
244
00:12:07,603 --> 00:12:09,021
trying to get a male heir,
245
00:12:09,021 --> 00:12:11,523
and then it's like,
"Oh, wow, you see me."
246
00:12:12,149 --> 00:12:13,692
It was funny
'cause I'd said,
247
00:12:13,692 --> 00:12:17,446
"It's important that we see
a combination of fear and pride."
248
00:12:17,446 --> 00:12:19,156
She was like, "Well,
how am I gonna play that?"
249
00:12:19,156 --> 00:12:22,576
And I said, "Don't fuck it up."
250
00:12:23,827 --> 00:12:28,624
She brought so much
modernism and power to her dress.
251
00:12:28,624 --> 00:12:33,378
The way she was wearing it was Medieval French.
It was so...
252
00:12:33,837 --> 00:12:37,382
That's where I tried to get back
into some Byzantine element
253
00:12:37,466 --> 00:12:40,719
because it was
supposed to be a robe,
254
00:12:40,719 --> 00:12:44,973
which had been worn by three,
four, five generations before.
255
00:12:45,057 --> 00:12:50,896
The robe that Rhaenyra wears took
three people ten weeks to embroider.
256
00:12:50,896 --> 00:12:52,606
It really is a work of art.
257
00:12:57,277 --> 00:12:59,988
Quite a stark
sort of looking makeup for that.
258
00:13:00,072 --> 00:13:01,657
We've embraced
that look of, like,
259
00:13:01,657 --> 00:13:04,493
you know, she doesn't know
what's gonna hit her.
260
00:13:05,327 --> 00:13:07,162
We use lots of platted pieces
261
00:13:07,246 --> 00:13:09,998
to create a beautiful
sort of off-the-neck look,
262
00:13:10,082 --> 00:13:13,877
which allowed the headpiece
to sit onto that.
263
00:13:13,961 --> 00:13:16,588
It worked wonderfully
with the costume.
264
00:13:16,672 --> 00:13:18,799
The crown was beautiful.
265
00:13:18,799 --> 00:13:22,511
The cape was beautiful.
It was a fun day.
266
00:13:23,220 --> 00:13:26,306
I shot the crowning
sequence of Cersei back in the day.
267
00:13:26,390 --> 00:13:29,518
So we've got some nice little
bits in there that were mirroring things
268
00:13:29,518 --> 00:13:32,020
from previous episodes
that we've done on Thrones.
269
00:13:32,104 --> 00:13:34,815
There's a wish fulfilment
for an audience
270
00:13:34,815 --> 00:13:36,108
of things they want to see.
271
00:13:36,108 --> 00:13:38,151
We're not here
to not give it to them.
272
00:13:38,235 --> 00:13:40,487
We're here to give them
the thing that they want,
273
00:13:40,571 --> 00:13:42,072
just not in the way
that they're expecting.
274
00:13:42,322 --> 00:13:46,368
Let's try that. All together.
Three, two, one, bow.
275
00:13:46,785 --> 00:13:51,582
And two, three, and up.
And turn, Milly.
276
00:13:53,834 --> 00:13:55,794
We really wanted
to ground people back
277
00:13:55,794 --> 00:13:57,796
in the world that they knew from
the original Game of Thrones,
278
00:13:57,796 --> 00:14:01,383
and bring fans back to some names
that they knew from the original series.
279
00:14:03,677 --> 00:14:05,178
I, Rickard Stark,
280
00:14:05,470 --> 00:14:08,807
Lord of Winterfell
and Warden of the North,
281
00:14:09,349 --> 00:14:11,810
promise to be faithful
to King Viserys,
282
00:14:11,810 --> 00:14:15,105
and to his named heir,
the Princess Rhaenyra.
283
00:14:15,105 --> 00:14:18,191
I promise this to the old gods
and the new.
284
00:14:18,525 --> 00:14:21,945
This is very much the same world
that you left behind the last time around.
285
00:14:22,029 --> 00:14:27,534
I do hereby name
Rhaenyra Targaryen heir to the Iron Throne.
286
00:14:35,459 --> 00:14:39,880
Father-daughter relationships sometimes seem to
be the other way around.
287
00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:42,841
Viserys is struggling
with his role as king.
288
00:14:42,841 --> 00:14:46,178
And Rhaenyra has
the sense and the thought
289
00:14:46,178 --> 00:14:48,388
to come up with solutions
and plans.
290
00:14:49,598 --> 00:14:50,849
It's a real final moment
for her,
291
00:14:50,849 --> 00:14:53,185
being forced to say goodbye
in that way,
292
00:14:53,185 --> 00:14:55,354
and having it put on her
to do it.
293
00:14:56,188 --> 00:14:59,232
She's basically cremating
her mother and her brother.
294
00:14:59,983 --> 00:15:02,527
It's quite traumatic,
actually, if you think about it.
295
00:15:03,862 --> 00:15:05,822
That certainly
was a favorite location.
296
00:15:05,906 --> 00:15:09,159
If you just see the image of it,
it just sort of sings House of the Dragon.
297
00:15:09,159 --> 00:15:11,411
One of the things
I learned in Thrones is
298
00:15:11,495 --> 00:15:15,207
the practical nature
of the sets and locations.
299
00:15:15,207 --> 00:15:16,667
It's worth holding onto.
300
00:15:16,667 --> 00:15:18,794
So as a result,
we go to lots of places.
301
00:15:18,794 --> 00:15:21,004
The producers turn to me
and say,
302
00:15:21,088 --> 00:15:22,714
"Oh, but, you know,
it's so this, it's so that."
303
00:15:22,798 --> 00:15:25,425
I just think, "That's why
this is the right place."
304
00:15:28,261 --> 00:15:32,307
I mean, the amount of effort
that went into that prior to shooting,
305
00:15:32,391 --> 00:15:34,559
to set up a base there,
to make this all work,
306
00:15:34,643 --> 00:15:35,811
I think is insane.
307
00:15:36,061 --> 00:15:38,063
The logistics of it were huge.
308
00:15:38,063 --> 00:15:39,064
We went to hotels,
309
00:15:39,064 --> 00:15:40,941
and then we had a bus
to the location,
310
00:15:40,941 --> 00:15:43,151
and then we had a variety
of different vehicles.
311
00:15:43,235 --> 00:15:45,737
The Land Rover Defender
ride into that place,
312
00:15:45,821 --> 00:15:48,949
you know, seeing mud kicked up
six feet over the high windows.
313
00:15:48,949 --> 00:15:51,868
We were using a beater
trailer that they use for shoots
314
00:15:51,952 --> 00:15:53,120
to bring everybody down.
315
00:15:53,412 --> 00:15:55,872
And then from there, we had to
sort of walk out to the set.
316
00:15:55,956 --> 00:15:57,624
We went to some
pretty gnarly places
317
00:15:57,708 --> 00:15:59,501
throughout the course
of the shooting of the show.
318
00:15:59,501 --> 00:16:03,004
But I think that might have been
our most difficult to access location.
319
00:16:03,630 --> 00:16:05,549
And then we found out
that throughout the coast of Cornwall
320
00:16:05,549 --> 00:16:07,426
you're not allowed to use fire,
which is a bit of a bummer
321
00:16:07,426 --> 00:16:08,719
when you're trying to shoot
a funeral,
322
00:16:08,719 --> 00:16:10,053
especially when it's cremation.
323
00:16:10,762 --> 00:16:13,849
Location work is always a
trial because people don't want you
324
00:16:13,849 --> 00:16:17,894
to make a mess or change
the landscape or burn anything down.
325
00:16:17,978 --> 00:16:20,147
But thankfully, due to
modern filmmaking techniques,
326
00:16:20,147 --> 00:16:22,149
it rarely knocks you down
for too long.
327
00:16:22,524 --> 00:16:24,484
The dragon interaction
in that shot
328
00:16:24,568 --> 00:16:27,821
was a really good
example of collaboration between departments
329
00:16:27,821 --> 00:16:30,323
because, obviously, the special effects team
had to be involved in that.
330
00:16:30,657 --> 00:16:33,243
We were using assets
from Game of Thrones.
331
00:16:33,243 --> 00:16:36,288
Dragon fire and comped that in
where we can,
332
00:16:36,288 --> 00:16:38,248
and the rest of it is just CG.
333
00:16:38,248 --> 00:16:41,585
It's convoluted, but it's turned
into a really beautiful thing.
334
00:16:42,002 --> 00:16:43,170
Dracarys.
335
00:16:48,884 --> 00:16:55,265
-♪ ♪
336
00:16:57,058 --> 00:16:59,352
One of the challenges
of telling a story about a time
337
00:16:59,436 --> 00:17:02,230
where there's great decadence
and a period of very long peace
338
00:17:02,314 --> 00:17:04,024
is how do you create drama
out of that?
339
00:17:04,399 --> 00:17:06,902
And we really knew a tournament felt
like a great way to do that.
340
00:17:07,235 --> 00:17:10,530
May the luck of the Seven
shine upon all combatants.
341
00:17:10,614 --> 00:17:11,990
When I first read
about the tournament,
342
00:17:12,365 --> 00:17:16,203
I thought, "Oh, it's going to be
in a field with some trees around it."
343
00:17:16,203 --> 00:17:17,913
And maybe there'll be
some flags.
344
00:17:19,372 --> 00:17:22,334
I talked to the guys about
the tournament very early on
345
00:17:22,334 --> 00:17:24,336
because I wanted
to bring something stronger
346
00:17:24,336 --> 00:17:27,464
and more powerful to support
the Targaryen dynasty.
347
00:17:28,048 --> 00:17:31,551
Jim produced this
drawing of basically the Colosseum.
348
00:17:31,635 --> 00:17:35,263
And I said, "Really, Jim? Have
you got the money to build that?"
349
00:17:35,347 --> 00:17:36,807
And he goes, "Yeah, yeah."
350
00:17:37,599 --> 00:17:38,975
Which I should never have
listened to.
351
00:17:39,392 --> 00:17:41,853
As soon as we saw
the mirrored half-moon shape that he did,
352
00:17:41,937 --> 00:17:44,731
it was glorious,
and we saw a real need for it.
353
00:17:44,815 --> 00:17:46,566
They would, of course,
have royal tournament grounds,
354
00:17:46,650 --> 00:17:48,485
It would be in the city
surrounded by the buildings.
355
00:17:48,485 --> 00:17:49,736
It just made sense.
356
00:17:51,488 --> 00:17:53,657
Probably one of
the biggest challenges was:
357
00:17:53,657 --> 00:17:55,200
where do we shoot
the tournament
358
00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:56,660
and how big do we make it
359
00:17:56,660 --> 00:17:58,537
and where do we build
that set piece?
360
00:17:58,537 --> 00:18:00,455
That was obviously,
eventually, put on the back lot.
361
00:18:01,331 --> 00:18:04,000
We had to make a
level platform to build the set on,
362
00:18:04,084 --> 00:18:05,669
because, obviously,
it's on quite an incline.
363
00:18:05,669 --> 00:18:08,839
So we had to prepare a whole,
like, farmers field out there.
364
00:18:08,839 --> 00:18:11,967
The difficulty there
is creating a tournament
365
00:18:11,967 --> 00:18:15,220
that's suitable for the stunts that
are going to be enacted out there.
366
00:18:15,220 --> 00:18:17,347
Especially with horses,
you're gonna need soft ground.
367
00:18:17,347 --> 00:18:19,057
You don't want the horses
to hurt themselves,
368
00:18:19,057 --> 00:18:20,725
you don't want the stuntmen
to hurt themselves.
369
00:18:20,809 --> 00:18:23,311
So the huge layer of mulch
was there
370
00:18:23,395 --> 00:18:24,896
to make a soft landing.
371
00:18:27,274 --> 00:18:30,068
Suddenly, we have this huge
stadium that we have to fill up.
372
00:18:31,236 --> 00:18:33,321
And of course,
with all the COVID restrictions,
373
00:18:33,405 --> 00:18:35,532
extras only amounted to 150.
374
00:18:35,532 --> 00:18:37,617
And it had to look like
we had a thousand.
375
00:18:37,701 --> 00:18:41,538
So where we have to put crowd into
a shot that doesn't have enough crowd in it,
376
00:18:41,538 --> 00:18:44,916
you can either go full CG
or you can use sprites.
377
00:18:48,461 --> 00:18:49,713
For that, what we do,
378
00:18:49,713 --> 00:18:52,257
as we're shooting,
we're pulling the extras away.
379
00:18:52,257 --> 00:18:54,926
And we film the sprites from
all sorts of different angles
380
00:18:55,010 --> 00:18:56,678
with all sorts
of different actions.
381
00:18:56,678 --> 00:18:59,431
Cheering, crying out,
sitting down, standing up.
382
00:18:59,431 --> 00:19:02,434
And then, we literally
populate them like little cards.
383
00:19:02,434 --> 00:19:04,060
Good fortune to you, Cousin.
384
00:19:04,144 --> 00:19:06,438
I would gladly take it
if I thought I needed it.
385
00:19:06,438 --> 00:19:09,566
The Royal Box
itself is this huge, great dome,
386
00:19:09,566 --> 00:19:12,152
which gives us a nice,
intimate area
387
00:19:12,152 --> 00:19:14,029
for all the dialogue
that goes on
388
00:19:14,029 --> 00:19:15,238
between all
the various characters.
389
00:19:15,488 --> 00:19:18,158
I wanted that to be
the dominant part of the arena.
390
00:19:18,158 --> 00:19:20,493
And it was quite a costly thing,
that box.
391
00:19:20,577 --> 00:19:23,580
But I promise,
you will not be disappointed.
392
00:19:23,580 --> 00:19:25,749
It's the best spot
to watch the jousting
393
00:19:25,749 --> 00:19:29,085
and to see the knights clashing
in the center of the arena.
394
00:19:34,716 --> 00:19:39,220
- That's a wrap.
Well done. That was great. - ROWLEY IRLAM: Cut!
395
00:19:47,562 --> 00:19:52,901
We ended up putting just under
40 armored knights on the field.
396
00:19:53,860 --> 00:19:57,614
That in itself was one of
our biggest bills, definitely.
397
00:19:59,491 --> 00:20:05,080
With tournament armor, it's all
displays of wealth, power, and ostentation.
398
00:20:05,455 --> 00:20:10,418
And I decided armor with
a lot of different influences.
399
00:20:11,086 --> 00:20:17,634
Elements of oriental armor,
Persian armor, Greek armor.
400
00:20:17,634 --> 00:20:21,304
And I will say that
Simon did incredible work.
401
00:20:21,388 --> 00:20:26,393
Ser Daemon will now choose
his first opponent!
402
00:20:30,313 --> 00:20:33,358
Daemon's armor was
a sophisticated build.
403
00:20:34,234 --> 00:20:37,070
We're talking sixteen weeks
to originate the shape.
404
00:20:37,946 --> 00:20:40,657
Another eight to ten weeks
for manufacture.
405
00:20:40,657 --> 00:20:43,493
And that involved probably
ten to twelve people.
406
00:20:43,493 --> 00:20:47,789
So if it was a single
person, we're talking years, definitely years.
407
00:20:49,916 --> 00:20:52,335
The dragon helmet
probably went through
408
00:20:52,419 --> 00:20:54,504
seven or eight
different incarnations.
409
00:20:55,797 --> 00:20:56,923
I loved designing that one.
410
00:20:57,007 --> 00:20:59,384
I kept on putting elements
on the design.
411
00:20:59,384 --> 00:21:00,927
If you look at the early design,
412
00:21:01,011 --> 00:21:03,346
there were even more
dragon elements on it.
413
00:21:03,638 --> 00:21:05,724
Jany was very keen
to have the eyes at the front
414
00:21:05,724 --> 00:21:07,851
so it's looking at you
all the time.
415
00:21:07,851 --> 00:21:11,396
Obviously, visibility with opening up panels
at the sides of the eyes,
416
00:21:11,396 --> 00:21:14,691
while still wrapping for protection
around the sides of the face.
417
00:21:14,691 --> 00:21:18,653
And then you can't even see
who they are anyway.
418
00:21:19,863 --> 00:21:21,448
The helmet
kind of helped us, really,
419
00:21:21,448 --> 00:21:24,617
in the sense that when we kept
the hair tied up at the back,
420
00:21:24,951 --> 00:21:28,246
it just worked well with
when he was riding the horse.
421
00:21:28,246 --> 00:21:30,331
We were able to know it's him.
422
00:21:30,415 --> 00:21:31,583
Yeah, that's a beautiful helmet.
423
00:21:31,583 --> 00:21:33,126
It's a quite striking look,
that armor look.
424
00:21:33,460 --> 00:21:36,296
That's a department who are
operating on a really high level.
425
00:21:36,296 --> 00:21:39,591
The thought and planning that goes
into trying to make it comfortable.
426
00:21:39,591 --> 00:21:40,925
It's quite heavy,
but it's armor.
427
00:21:41,009 --> 00:21:42,886
It's not really meant
to be comfortable.
428
00:21:42,886 --> 00:21:44,929
That is one of
the sort of mental challenges
429
00:21:45,013 --> 00:21:46,306
when you're in that all day,
every day.
430
00:21:46,306 --> 00:21:48,975
You've gotta prepare yourself
for it on some level.
431
00:21:49,517 --> 00:21:51,519
Even though it's not
the first time you see Daemon,
432
00:21:51,603 --> 00:21:53,772
seeing him walk on screen
as a quote on quote
433
00:21:53,772 --> 00:21:56,941
"living armored dragon"
was a pretty powerful image.
434
00:22:00,445 --> 00:22:04,365
The way he...
He's fantastic. It's beautiful.
435
00:22:06,659 --> 00:22:09,162
This was obviously
the first action set piece.
436
00:22:09,162 --> 00:22:12,248
And to me, it was a little
bit like approaching Battle of the Bastards.
437
00:22:14,709 --> 00:22:17,587
It's something that
I really wanted to try
438
00:22:17,587 --> 00:22:19,547
and achieve something
a bit special.
439
00:22:19,631 --> 00:22:20,840
And action.
440
00:22:21,257 --> 00:22:23,134
I'd never seen anything like it.
441
00:22:23,218 --> 00:22:24,719
Stuntmen with jousts,
442
00:22:24,803 --> 00:22:27,931
going at each other at what
feels like a million miles an hour.
443
00:22:32,811 --> 00:22:35,730
The first joust, which is
what we call "a jerk back."
444
00:22:36,606 --> 00:22:40,777
So what we did was we took
the drum off of what's called a descender.
445
00:22:40,777 --> 00:22:43,822
And it's what we use for people
jumping off buildings on wire.
446
00:22:43,822 --> 00:22:45,198
So we hashed it about
447
00:22:45,198 --> 00:22:46,616
so that we could actually
look in profile
448
00:22:46,616 --> 00:22:48,284
at the guys going together
like that.
449
00:22:48,368 --> 00:22:50,620
And when they hit together
and broke the lance,
450
00:22:50,620 --> 00:22:53,373
we could hit the break, and it would
jerk the guy off the back of the horse.
451
00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:59,504
Jousting is risky against another guy
in full armor on a galloping horse.
452
00:22:59,504 --> 00:23:01,422
I think you just
have to give it a go.
453
00:23:01,756 --> 00:23:03,216
We used over 30 horses.
454
00:23:03,216 --> 00:23:05,009
We worked extremely closely
with Rowley
455
00:23:05,093 --> 00:23:06,845
because the tournament
is when our two departments
456
00:23:06,845 --> 00:23:08,721
really kind of come
side-by-side.
457
00:23:08,805 --> 00:23:10,805
Rowley loves horses.
458
00:23:10,805 --> 00:23:11,683
That's a big thing
for all of us,
459
00:23:11,683 --> 00:23:13,935
as for how to keep
it interesting and feel dangerous,
460
00:23:13,935 --> 00:23:15,937
but at the same time be
incredibly safe for the horses.
461
00:23:15,937 --> 00:23:17,272
We had our hero horses.
462
00:23:17,272 --> 00:23:19,524
Stunts don't ride them.
They're purely for the actors.
463
00:23:19,524 --> 00:23:21,401
And then we'll have
three repeats for the stuntmen.
464
00:23:21,401 --> 00:23:24,154
So the horses will do five runs,
then they get a rest,
465
00:23:24,154 --> 00:23:25,446
and then the next horse
comes on.
466
00:23:25,738 --> 00:23:27,490
So it's all on the stuntmen
because there's only one of them.
467
00:23:27,574 --> 00:23:30,785
They had me ride for
about 50 hours at The Devil's Horsemen,
468
00:23:30,869 --> 00:23:35,165
which is this old institution that has
been teaching actors to horse ride for years.
469
00:23:35,165 --> 00:23:37,417
Ser Criston Cole will now tilt
470
00:23:37,417 --> 00:23:41,462
against Ser Daemon Targaryen,
Prince of the City!
471
00:23:43,131 --> 00:23:44,549
So Daemon fights Cole.
472
00:23:44,549 --> 00:23:46,426
It's scripted they have
two passes.
473
00:23:47,385 --> 00:23:51,264
What are we gonna do that gets
Daemon off his horse and embarrasses him?
474
00:23:51,264 --> 00:23:52,515
So then I started thinking,
475
00:23:52,599 --> 00:23:54,392
what if he fell onto
the tilt rail?
476
00:23:54,392 --> 00:23:55,935
'Cause I've not
seen that before.
477
00:23:57,770 --> 00:23:59,606
And what we did
is ran a cable cam
478
00:23:59,606 --> 00:24:01,399
down the middle
of the tilt rail.
479
00:24:01,399 --> 00:24:03,526
And we got it really
up close and personal,
480
00:24:03,610 --> 00:24:06,321
so you feel really close
to the action.
481
00:24:10,033 --> 00:24:11,367
And watching the guys do that
482
00:24:11,451 --> 00:24:14,537
with everyone cheering,
the horses rearing,
483
00:24:14,621 --> 00:24:17,290
it literally gave me chills,
it was so cool.
484
00:24:17,707 --> 00:24:18,708
Action!
485
00:24:30,511 --> 00:24:32,013
We know Daemon's
a great fighter,
486
00:24:32,013 --> 00:24:33,890
but we need to know
that Cole's a better fighter.
487
00:24:33,890 --> 00:24:37,101
He used the flail, which there's
a real art to using it.
488
00:24:37,936 --> 00:24:41,356
The morning star is
incredibly difficult to fight with.
489
00:24:41,356 --> 00:24:43,274
It tends to have
a life of its own.
490
00:24:43,358 --> 00:24:44,817
It constantly
feels like at some point,
491
00:24:45,068 --> 00:24:47,904
it's going to hit you in areas I
don't think you want to be hit in.
492
00:24:49,364 --> 00:24:52,033
My main aim was to just
learn to use it well enough
493
00:24:52,033 --> 00:24:55,036
so that I wouldn't lose
important parts of me.
494
00:24:56,037 --> 00:24:57,914
And let him get to the thing.
495
00:24:57,914 --> 00:24:59,290
And really telegraph
when it's coming,
496
00:24:59,374 --> 00:25:01,042
'cause then he can go...
497
00:25:04,295 --> 00:25:08,216
Matt and Fabien did a
great job on that particular fight.
498
00:25:08,591 --> 00:25:11,386
I think a lot of it was to do
with they knew that they had to prove themselves.
499
00:25:11,386 --> 00:25:14,514
And it was the first Game of
Thrones fight we were doing on the show.
500
00:25:14,514 --> 00:25:16,391
And they were like, you know,
"We better not fuck this up.
501
00:25:16,641 --> 00:25:20,853
We've got it. Well done.
Brilliant. Go home, rest.
502
00:25:22,021 --> 00:25:23,064
Cheers, boys.
503
00:25:23,439 --> 00:25:24,524
Thank you all.
504
00:25:27,110 --> 00:25:28,444
The tournament is really
one of those places
505
00:25:28,861 --> 00:25:31,990
where you get to see everybody you
hired on your crew earning their paycheck.
506
00:25:31,990 --> 00:25:34,534
Because it requires all
departments to work together.
507
00:25:34,867 --> 00:25:36,619
Visual effects,
the art department,
508
00:25:36,703 --> 00:25:40,206
production design, props,
horse wrangling, stunts.
509
00:25:40,540 --> 00:25:41,833
All those things
coming together,
510
00:25:41,833 --> 00:25:44,127
and trying to make
a richly realized sequence.
511
00:25:44,585 --> 00:25:46,796
It's really incredible
and really orients you
512
00:25:46,796 --> 00:25:49,591
into the world in a way
that I think is very memorable.
513
00:26:02,603 --> 00:26:03,771
Well done, everyone.
514
00:26:03,855 --> 00:26:05,648
Thank you very much,
ladies and gentlemen.
515
00:26:05,732 --> 00:26:07,650
That's a wrap.
Well done, you guys.
43900
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