All language subtitles for The.House.That.Dragons.Built.S02E03.1080p.WEB.H264-DragonHallZ

The first time you walk out
there, it's jaw-dropping.

It's completely
shocking and unexpected.

It was a great day.

Brilliant set.

It's really badass.

Thank you very
much. Drinks on me.

It was a storm inside.

Oh, my God.

It's unbelievable!

This is a very iconic
moment in George's books.

The Battle of Burning Mill.

Two houses that were
pitted against each other.

And it's the metaphor for
the history of violence

and how you get to a point
where there is no forgiveness.

And that's where we find
ourselves this season.

Morning. Morning. How we doin'?

Jim Clay, in collaboration with
the special effects department,

created a place that truly
felt real and haunted

and brought the book to life.

I was well pleased
when Ryan said

we're going to feature
the interior of Harrenhal,

so that was one of the first things
we went to work on designing.

Harrenhal, "It's a cursed castle
designed by a deranged mind,"

was the sort of brief I got.

And so, it's dilapidated.

It's haunted by its
past and its present.

Oh, it's huge. It
goes on and on and on.

Jim Clay has just
done brilliant work.

The texture and the scale

and the vision behind a lot of
his work is really superior.

It's a set that I'd find
myself getting lost in.

You'd turn the wrong
corner and you're like,

"Wait, where am I?"

Like, you could get as
disoriented as Daemon

walking through that set.

And I think that's
really saying something.

It was pretty big. It
filled the whole stage.

From a structural
point of view, mainly,

how are you gonna hide
your integral structure

if you've got a steel frame that,
obviously, you can't see in shot,

then we've gotta try
and conceal that.

That's what makes it
fun, really, though.

I wanted to give the
whole four-walled world

the advantages of tracking
shots, Steadicam shots,

and the actors being
enveloped in the entire world.

You can go where you
like, shoot what you like,

pretty much 360 around the set.

Whichever way you
look, you'd be covered.

And the idea was it
should be quite a maze.

You shouldn't feel like
you know where you are

at any given time
in that castle.

Got lost in there most mornings.

This is honestly my favorite
set that Jim has built, to date,

because it's so well brought to
life, the idea of this ruined castle,

the fact that he made it rain inside,
the way he made the weirwood roots

break through all of
the stones that you see,

that, slowly, the castle being
reclaimed by the old gods.

This here is the guy
who makes me wet.

Yeah.

He's the rain punisher. Tom.

- This is it.
- Screws me up every day.

Harrenhal, wetter than
an otter's pocket.

I know. But I do
like a bit of rain.

Harrenhal's supposed to
be this windy, wet place

and we're doing some interior stuff
and we need it to be raining inside

'cause the whole idea
of it being dilapidated

was there's holes in the
wall and holes in the roof.

Man, did we soak that place.

But it really brings an incredible amount
of realism and texture to the place

which was really important
for the storytelling.

My brief was, "It's gonna be
really damp." That was it.

And in the end,
my last brief was,

"It's gotta rain inside
like it does outside."

And it didn't stop raining.

My God, it was horrendous.

But it looks amazing.

It was a slightly late-in-the-day
idea to have the water

dripping into the set, so
we weren't totally prepared

in terms of tanking the set

which we normally would
if you had a lot of water.

But we coped, and special
effects did a great job

with soaking up the water around
the set when it was all pouring in.

It was too late to retrospectively fix
it, so we had to just minimize damage.

So we did individual tanks and
tried to contain it that way,

which worked really
well and it looked real.

I thought, "Matt's gonna
freak out, ya know,

walking around in his armor
all day long with rain."

But it looked so good,
and he was lovin' it.

We were wet from, like, eight in
the morning 'til eight at night,

which was quite fun,
actually, to be honest.

I love all that. Like,
gettin' sort of properly wet,

and I hate being really hot, but
I quite like being really wet.

To make sure his continuity is correct,
he's gotta be soaked all the time

and the best way of doin' it
is turn the water on and say,

"Matt, can you go stand
under that, please?"

In my experience with working with Matt,
he likes to embrace all the challenges

you throw at him, in that
sense, so it was good.

The script is describing
the character can't see.

What does that mean
for the audience?

So that sequence wound
up being incredibly fun

to light and conceive and shoot

because, obviously, it's
raining and lightning,

and we were playing a lot with
shadows and silhouettes and film noir

but the way it looks when it's
completely wet and dripping

and he's standing there,

I mean, it's really badass.

Quite fun, though.

The Brackens and the Blackwoods

are the Hatfields and
McCoys of this time period.

We don't really know why
they hate each other.

They simply just
hate each other.

And they're always ready
to fight each other.

That guy's gonna
rip your face off.

- Okay. Yeah.
- Okay? Great.

Directing that opening
moment of episode 203,

where you find all the
bodies dead after a battle

took quite a bit of prep.

Aeron Bracken is a human one minute
and a prosthetic dummy the next,

but you can't tell.

First thing we did
was scan his head.

- So we gonna just lie you on the floor.
- Cool.

And then we'll do a couple
of options of, like,

mouth open, eyes
closed, eyes open

maybe, head back, and then,
we'll run it past Geeta

and she can tell
us what she likes.

And we'll process whichever

version of that she likes.

- Amazin'. Cool.
- Cool.

And we're off.

We've just literally
finished printing his head,

ready to be remolded
and cleaned up.

The shoulders in two
halves on another printer.

Just assemble it like a
jigsaw puzzle at the end.

It's so lifelike. It's so real.

It was incredible. I
mean, the fact that

we were doing an extreme close-up
on the prosthetic dummy of an actor

that's in the scene before,
and you can get away with that,

just shows the quality
of Waldo's work.

So, you're lying on a
body bag, by the way.

- Oh, great.
- Surprise!

Geeta always imagined it
as one simple, elegant shot

where we're on
Aeron Bracken's face

and you just raise up
and there's dead bodies

as far as the eye can see.

And on the morning when we
shot it, it had rained a lot.

And so, it was incredibly misty
and sort of spooky-looking

and it wound up being the perfect
weather for a scene like that.

It's one of those ones
where you don't really know

what it's gonna look like because
we knew it was gonna be in the water

and he's kinda semi-submerged and
the sword is going through his neck,

which meant getting in the
stream, having to dress it in.

And luckily, we had some great
props guys in waders helping us out.

The Aeron Bracken sword is
shot in extreme close-up,

and is actually one of the most
important shots in the show, for us,

because it's the closest
we ever get to a sword.

There was a lot of discussion about
how we get the sword to stand up.

We ended up just driving
it so far through his neck,

it would just stand up in the
ground which was fantastic for us.

That looks so good over there.

That bare back of
someone. That's great.

In visual effects,
the rule of thumb is

you do as much
practical as you can.

With Waldo, the bar is
pretty high with him,

so he does amazing stuff, and
we can take it from there.

There's quite a bit to
do. There's obviously

a windmill that's not there
that we need to put in.

Setting fire to the mill,
and boundary stones,

and then we get to that end shot,
which is the aftermath of the battle

but we're expanding
that enormously.

So, yeah, it was a
fairly big shot for us.

When the camera tilts up

and we see the aftermath
with that beautiful sword,

just tells the story
without actually showing

any physical
violence whatsoever.

It was one of my
favorite days of shooting

because all departments came
together so quickly that morning

to create the tone of that
epic moment in George's books.

No, it's good. Tight.

It's genuinely been the best
time I've ever had on set.

Ever! It's so much fun.

Moondancer's a brand-new dragon,

so the description that
I gave to the designers

was simply, "David Bowie."

And we ended up with
this like tiger-striped,

green punk rocker with a mohawk

and I'm thrilled with
the outcome of it.

She is the coolest of them all.

I am biased, but she's
really, really slender.

She's pale green. She's so fast.

The Crownlands sequence where
Baela is chasing Cole and Gwayne,

it's just a very fun,
classic chase scene.

Everybody has to use their
imagination in those moments

but ultimately, it's down to
the VFX team to make it real.

So, it's essential that
they're right next to you

and what you're shooting
is going to work for them.

This is what happens
behind the scenes.

I'm just goin' on
a practice joyride.

Katie, the DP, and
the guys in the buck

and all the lighting
technicians are working there

with the manumatic rig
and all that technology,

they get together and
work through everything

to make sure they're getting what the
VFX department need for the post work.

So the whole dragon process
was incredibly complicated,

as they are characters
acting within a scene,

and we have to work out their performance
before we get to the actual location.

A lot of moving parts in
terms of scale, size, speed.

So really a lot of logistics
about how this is gonna

come together from a
practical point of view

and what can we actually shoot,

and then, what actually
really needs to be happening

in the shots at the end.

So there's a lot of
science involved in that

in terms of dragon speeds and
distances, in terms of that chase.

We have developed a system,

so, through camera, we
can take the footage

and we can apply it to a CG
scene using Unreal Engine.

And what that does is allow us to see
the solved camera move on the buck

recomposed onto the dragon in CG for
a sort of slap comp, if you like,

just so they can see in video village
that the move is working correctly.

It's hard work.

Dragonriding, you know?

Because we shot the buck
work of that sequence

before we had shot
the location work,

the main challenge,
lighting-wise, was we didn't know

if the location was gonna be
sunny, if it would be cloudy.

So, we had to do one pass for
sun and one pass for shade.

It's fun filming on the buck.

It's incredibly strategic
because you have to understand

the difference between
fantasy and naturalism.

So, thinking about how much
wind goes on someone's face

when you're actually going
at terminal velocity,

how someone moves on an animal.

All of these things
are really important.

I don't think there's much
you can do in a profile shot.

Unless you turn to the camera
and go, "This is amazing!"

You get shown a mock-up of what
you look like on the dragon,

like a half-hybrid
cartoon version of you

doing the whole sequence,

and then, suddenly,
you're really, like,

digging your heels in
as though it's a horse.

It's bonkers.

It's great when you get
an actor like Bethany,

who loves the experience

and is putting their all into it

because so much of what
you're doing is imaginary,

so everybody has to
be on the same page.

Nothing can prepare you for what

that first day on the
buck is gonna be like.

It's the most insane thing I've
ever done in my career so far

and being so high up
and bein' able to see

how many people it
takes to make this show

and you're just all on
your own on that dragon.

I was like, "Wow. This is a really
cool thing that we're doin'."

She was havin' an amazing time.

She couldn't wait to get
on the buck every day,

which makes everyone
else's life a lot easier.

It's like goin' to Disneyland
at, like, terminal velocity,

only you're dressed like this.

It's the best day at work ever.

Do you like me gold bits?

- Fancy gold bits.
- Well, ya know.

Aegon is obsessed with namesakes
and symbols of legitimacy.

He has his father's
Valyrian dagger,

which, of course, he doesn't
realize the full significance of.

He has Aegon the Conqueror's
crown, he has his name,

and I think he's trying
to legitimize himself

now in the absence of Otto
saying, "This is my reign now,"

and he wants to cut this image
of this warrior conqueror king.

So we see him having
this ancient armor

that's probably been pulled
out of some dusty corner

of the armory being
fitted to him.

What's it actually called?

- A gorget.
- A gorget.

- A gorget.
- Like a courgette that you eat.

It's way better.
Gorget's way better.

We hear a lot about
Valyrian steel weapons.

We don't hear a lot about
Valyrian steel armor,

but it felt like that
was something that

Aegon the Conqueror would've
had from his time in Old Valyria

as, like, a House
Targaryen family heirloom,

a suit of armor that
would be, in theory,

very light and very strong
because of its make.

So the assignment that I gave
to Caroline and Simon Brindle

was that I wanted an ancient suit
of armor made of Valyrian steel

that seemed like it
was from Old Valyria.

And I think the
execution is dazzling.

- Hello.
- Hello.

- Nice armor.
- Yes!

Aegon's armor was a
huge challenge for us.

In the designing and
the making of it,

I've never had so many meetings
about a set of armor in my life.

It was a significant undertaking
in terms of Aegon the Conqueror

is a really major character in
the whole Westeros universe,

so we wanted to create
something that was iconic.

Caroline spent a lot
of time designing it,

and then, we developed it.

- Okay, great. Thank you.
- Shout for help

- when you need to get up.
- I will. Turtle.

Ordinarily, a build like that would
be somewhere between 16 to 20 weeks.

It can be shorter, but if
you're doing a bespoke piece,

with every element
sized to the actor,

you, essentially, have to
make every piece from scratch.

So that was 20 weeks of work.

It's got quite architectural shapes
within the forms and outline.

And then, probably, another
good four weeks plus

just putting on the
Valyrian steel detailing.

A lot of work, but great to do.

The first thing
was practicality,

so it should be as
flexible as possible.

So I looked at every sort
of armor you can imagine.

It needed to feel like an ancient culture,
so there's some Greco-Roman influences.

I wanted the dragon
reflected in its design,

so that there's a
scale-like quality to it.

It's Aegon I, so it's
still an ancient piece,

but being Valyrian steel,
it's immaculately crafted.

We wanted to create something
ancient and otherworldly.

There's an element of almost
brutalist architecture in there.

It draws a lot on the architecture
of the Targaryen dynasty.

It wound through
three processes.

We started with the
initial armor build,

individually fitted and
crafted and sculpted

to the shape of Tom.

Then we introduced the
angularity and sharpness

and a lot of referencing
to dragon forms.

With it being Aegon,
there's a lot of talon

and scale forms in there that run
through the tassets and the skirt scales

through a lot of
small detailings.

And then we got into the
whole Valyrian steel,

which was like adding an additional
build on top of everything

because we then come
back to our original

forms and shapes, lift patterns
from the surfaces of every piece,

create artwork for the Valyrian steel,
and then apply it to every surface.

So it was quite involved.

Give it a bit of a
shimmy, I reckon.

That's it.

They work so unbelievably hard on
creating the armor and the helmet

and everything
that goes with it.

The attention to
detail is mind-blowing.

It is satisfying when you can
see them enjoy the costume

and it works for them and it's
helping them develop their character.

And he looks incredible
in his armor.

Heavy. Conqueror's armor is very heavy,
but it looks amazing, Valyrian steel.

It's got the crown sort of
built into it, which is amazing.

It took a little
while to get right

but I've never felt
more heroic in my life.

I'm as fearsome as any of them.

It's just so rainy.
So rainy and so wet.

Driftmark Harbor is a dry dock.

The Sea Snake boat has come back
from war and is being repaired.

The harbor itself is quite high.

It's about five meters high,
going down into the mud

and the silt of the dock
when the sea is out.

And then, obviously, that
has to be surrounded,

so you can shoot 360 degrees.

From start to walking on the
set was probably 16 or 18 weeks.

Jim is the master
of the grand scale,

so it started off an already
big project to take on.

A lot of structure in that
because we built up to,

I think, probably,
five meters high.

A hell of a lot of plaster work

involved in a set like that.

And then the props came in
with some lovely dressing

to make it feel like you're in a boatyard
because this was a ship under repair

so it needed to have that
feel of guys heavily working.

It's the biggest set that
I think Jim ever built.

It's massive and expansive.

I mean, all that stuff that you're
seeing is in camera, including the ship.

Really only the extensions
out to sea and beyond

into the next slips
that are virtual.

And it just blew me away the
first time I walked on it.

I've totally forgotten
what I have to say

- because there's so much rain all over...
- All on my face, yeah.

We had spent months
preparing for the scene

and then we found out that the
day we were gonna shoot it,

it was going to be
torrential rain.

So, we moved the scene and
we added rain machines.

After eight hours of SFX rain,
you're gonna get some leaks,

and the water started pooling
in the bottom of the set,

and we had to keep
digging it out.

For being such a simple scene,

it became actually quite
complicated to shoot.

The fake rain was
like a monsoon.

If you ask Geeta, "How
heavy do you want it?"

She goes, "I want Bollywood 10."

But at first, I was like, "I
have no idea what you mean,"

but I did some research

and it's full-on heavy, big,
and I love her for that.

And we did, did we not?

That scene in the rain, that
was just such a bonkers day.

And at one point, I said,
"There is actual rain outside.

Are you sure that we
need this extra monsoon?"

And we were all in kind of like
Noah's Ark, with the water rising.

The minute you get out there,
pouring with rain, then they'd go,

"Turn the machines on." I mean,
you were literally soaked.

And by the time that you
got under the shelter

to talk to her,
you were drenched.

And also, I was
leaning on a post

and there was, like, a
torrent of water coming down.

So as I turn my head away from the
camera, I was getting completely bathed.

It was, oh, it was
fun, but it wasn't.

That feels a lot of rain.

The scene that, originally, was very
romantic ended up still romantic

because now they were underneath
this bridge in the rain

so I think it came
full circle in the end.