808 replies to this topic

[J_Crews]

Tyrion Baratheon, on 22 April 2012 - 11:00 PM, said:

I didn't know my suggestion would cost so much. I don't know anything about these things really. Thanks for replying because I wholeheartedly agree they need to put everything into the Battle of the Blackwater that they can.

Battle of the Blackwater gives them a chance to score BIG with an EPIC battle scene. It will win tons of loyal viewers.

Yeah, CGI can get pretty expensive in a hurry.  It would be awesome, though.  If I hit the lotto, maybe I'll write the producer's a check.  LOL  

[boojam]

J.S. Crews, on 22 April 2012 - 11:13 PM, said:

Yeah, CGI can get pretty expensive in a hurry.  It would be awesome, though.  If I hit the lotto, maybe I'll write the producer's a check.  LOL  

Just how expensive is CGI in 2012? They are still running about 6 million an episode, if that extra 15 % is spent only on Blackwater , still leaves a lot for the rest.
Which makes me hope that we will see a lot more of the three dragons from now on.

Edited by boojam, 26 April 2012 - 06:06 AM.

[J_Crews]

Yeah, I think Blackwater pretty much consumed the budget this season.  It dominates an entire episode of screen time and took a month of night-shoots to film, all by itself.  Even with that, though, I won't be surprised if it isn't quite as epic as we might like.  I don't expect a ton of wide shots of hundreds of CGI war galleys and soldiers; if we get that at all, it'll be quick shots, with most of the action being close-ups where, for instance, the same ship deck/span of city wall can have been reused for multiple shots  Either way, it'll be awesome.  I just hope we get a good look at the Wildfire conflagration.

Edited by J.S. Crews, 26 April 2012 - 04:53 PM.

[boojam]

J.S. Crews, on 26 April 2012 - 04:48 PM, said:

Yeah, I think Blackwater pretty much consumed the budget this season.  It dominates an entire episode of screen time and took a month of night-shoots to film, all by itself.  Even with that, though, I won't be surprised if it isn't quite as epic as we might like.  I don't expect a ton of wide shots of hundreds of CGI war galleys and soldiers; if we get that at all, it'll be quick shots, with most of the action being close-ups where, for instance, the same ship deck/span of city wall can have been reused for multiple shots  Either way, it'll be awesome.  I just hope we get a good look at the Wildfire conflagration.

The extra ~ 1 million could have been spent on episode 9, but still leave about 6 million per episode (tho I don't thing we ever see the real definitive numbers).
Say that I saw a new interview with Emilia Clarke today talking about the dragons. She said D&d did want them in every episode , not because of CGI, but they felt they could wear out their novelty.
I can buy that, tho must at admit in 4 episodes we have only seen one once very briefly.

By the by she said they used very finely done scale models as CGI 'ques' , I wonder if that was one they had on Entertainment Weekly?

[J_Crews]

boojam, on 27 April 2012 - 09:41 PM, said:

I saw a new interview with Emilia Clarke today talking about the dragons. She said D&d did want them in every episode , not because of CGI, but they felt they could wear out their novelty.
I can buy that, tho must at admit in 4 episodes we have only seen one once very briefly.

They can say what they want, and I'm not disputing the overall truth of it, but I'll never, even for an instant, believe $$$ isn't a big part of it too.  Compare this show, for instance, with something like Battlestar Galactica which had to have used tons of CGI; the difference being that nearly every shot that wasn't CGI was shot on sets at a soundstage.  GoT, on the other hand, shot this season with 3 separate crews in 3 separate locations around the world.  That takes a whole lotta cheddar, and an extra million dollars here and there don't go that far when you're working on that kind of scale.

Also, unless they cut it to save $$$ as well, even the fire during Blackwater will need to be altered using CGI in post-production.  It's supposed to be green and cast the sky in a creepy greenish hue, accordingly.  So, even something like torching a boat you're done filming aboard or having Sansa look out her bedroom window requires CGI-work during post-production.

[boojam]

J.S. Crews, on 27 April 2012 - 11:21 PM, said:

They can say what they want, and I'm not disputing the overall truth of it, but I'll never, even for

I had a typo in my entry. Clarke said D&D did NOT want the dragons in each episode, and they didn't say it was because of money.

Edited by boojam, 28 April 2012 - 04:46 AM.

[J_Crews]

I knew what you meant, and I have no doubt that's true... but I'll never believe $$$ didn't, at least, play a role.  I'm betting if next season requires less CGI work (not having an entire episode being consumed with a full month of night shoots, requiring CGI work for every shot that so much as shows a single flame) we'll see more of the dragons.  Unless they completely abandon the idea of the wildfire burning green, 90% of that episode will have required CGI work in post-production, devouring $$$ from an already-stretched budget.

Edited by J.S. Crews, 28 April 2012 - 05:45 PM.

[James Arryn]

J.S. Crews, on 28 April 2012 - 05:44 PM, said:

I knew what you meant, and I have no doubt that's true... but I'll never believe $$$ didn't, at least, play a role.

Could be, but the Jaws concept of tension maximization is a reasonably accepted one in film/television nowadays.

Which is ironic, in that it came about because of $/mechanical issues.

[PetyrPunkinhead]

I'm re-watching S2 on Blu-Ray and thought I'd comment on each episode w/ their respective special features as I go. Yes, I know there's a general S2 blu-ray thread, but it's a long and unwieldy beast. I'm wondering what people think about each episode after a second viewing and w/ the added bonus of the commentaries, histories, maps, etc.

Fantastic commentary on this episode by the writer and director. They apparently had a very collaborative process in crafting the outline of the episode and how it fit into the season. I didn't listen to much of the second commentary track w/ the Stark kids (Sansa, Arya, and Bran) as there was entirely too much annoying giggling going on. The show runners mention in a later commentary that the kids were "entertaining" in this commentary, so I may try to come back and listen to it again in the future.