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Filming in Scotland


Black Wizard

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Very interesting. Another question came to mind: Mark Addy. Was there any evidence that they were trying to make him seem bigger on camera? Lifts in his shoes, boxes to stand on, curious camera angles that you could spot, padded out clothing?

Didn't get that great of a look at him, just saw a familiar face in a luxurious doublet and freaked. ;)

--And you as well, Jackie. I had to get back though, otherwise I would've stayed a bit longer. Glad to hear they did show up after all :) Maybe that blonde we saw earlier was Lena though? The one with her hair up?

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I have a question regarding banners: did you see any? The direwolf of Stark, the Baratheon stag, the lion of Lannister? And if so, did they differ from the representations we've seen in the past?

Also, you mentioned the Northmen seem to be dressed in a "Scottish" sense. Does that mean kilts and tartans? Can you describe the armor?

(Sounds slightly silly, I know, but I never expected bagpipes in Winterfell either.)

Not exactly sure what they were wearing precisely, maybe Jackie can fill you in on that.

I did see the banners, however, and they are awesome, so don't you worry :) In fact, the great hall gave me the biggest 'dork' moment of my trip. The woman who was taking me through laughed when I started pointing out the houses.

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No, they really have to pile on the CGI for this to work properly. Everything in Westeros is bigger than in reality; it's fantasy FFS and it should show. If they decide to scale things down and try to use existing castles it will just look like they are cutting corners and being cheap, and if there's one thing I absolutely hate when watching films and TV it constantly being reminded about the economic constraints of the production. This was a big problem in Rome and while I don't think it can be completely avoided in GoT, I really hope they make a big effort to minimize it.

Odd that that's almost the exact opposite of how I feel. To me, realism is key. The less green screen time the better, especially for actors trying to live in the moment. I want realistic, I want gritty, I want the world's magic to sneak up on us when we least expect it. Establishing shots, sure, show us a sprawling Winterfell - but sprawling in a realistic sense, with a great wood enclosed by crumbling walls, not with every room larger than life. I don't want a Winterfell that is literally impossible for engineers to duplicate.

(For instance, the great wall behind Castle Black, as described in the books, is so high that no arrow could actually reach the top.)

One of the reasons Rome was forced to end early was because it spent so much money building what was essentially a small freaking city. If the look of Rome made you think "cheap," then there may be no pleasing you. Rome was not cheap.

The producers should be doing their best to balance making a viable Game of Thrones pilot while still staying under budget.

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I was thinking actually, this coming week is half-term for many schools in this country (they don't all have the same week because local authorities sometimes do different things) - it does seem a bit harsh that the kids might have to work all through the break and not get as much time off school. I guess it's best for thier education though...

Don't they get paid as well? Surely that would make up for it.

I know that some child actors get tutors onsite for lessons inbetween filming.

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Me too! For example:

Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmy GrantSensei saw Ghost!!

Hah! Yeah, trust me I know how lucky us Scots are to be able to go have a look. Shame I'm working today - the staff said it would be the biggest day of filming with hundreds of extras - sounds like that was right.

I wish now that I'd asked for a paw print on my copy of SoS!

And was it Crakehall who said something about loads of banners around the hall? All I saw on Saturday was three tapestries.

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I think the complaint was that the details on Rome, the costuming and the sets, was so ornate and expensive that it meant they had to scale back on CGI and virtual backdrops. They definitely killed the Battle of Alesia and Battle of Pharsalus stone dead, with both battles consisting of maybe six people on camera thrusting spears at one another for about seven seconds and the scene then ending.

They did Philippi much better in Season 2, but given the quality of the CGI in much lower-budget productions like Doctor Who and BSG, it was still nowhere near what you were expecting. I mean, no-ones expecting it to look like Return of the King, but they could still have done a better job than what they did with their resources. For GoT it's not a problem, as the only battle we need to 'see' in S1 is Tyrion at the ford. The camps and whispering woods can be done as they are in the books reasonably well. But I think we should start downplaying our expectations for the Battle of Blackwater now.

Whilst rewatching S1 of Rome there were a more long-shots of Rome's city walls in the distance than I remember, but in the entire 22 episodes there was only one CG establishing shot of Rome of the kind I'd be hoping for of King's Landing or Winterfell on a regular basis.

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Hah! Yeah, trust me I know how lucky us Scots are to be able to go have a look. Shame I'm working today - the staff said it would be the biggest day of filming with hundreds of extras - sounds like that was right.

I wish now that I'd asked for a paw print on my copy of SoS!

And was it Crakehall who said something about loads of banners around the hall? All I saw on Saturday was three tapestries.

At least 2 'tapestries' and probably 6 or so banners as of the time I went in.

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A random question, considering how concerned people have been about hair colour ...

Did they look as you'd expect them to look? Was Mark Addy the bearlike black-haired Robert? Was Jennifer Ehle a redhead like Catelyn? I know we've heard Lena Headey has gone blonde, but just wondering about the rest of them.

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Catelyn isn't a redhead, GRRM made it clear that she (as well as the kids who favor her) is Auburn (red-brown) haired...

Red Hair: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_hair

Auburn hair: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn_hair

Oy, I thought you all are sticklers for everything and yet this one goes through the cracks everytime. :P

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Catelyn isn't a redhead, GRRM made it clear that she (as well as the kids who favor her) is Auburn (red-brown) haired...

Red Hair: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_hair

Auburn hair: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn_hair

Oy, I thought you all are sticklers for everything and yet this one goes through the cracks everytime. :P

:P

Close enough.

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Odd that that's almost the exact opposite of how I feel. To me, realism is key. The less green screen time the better, especially for actors trying to live in the moment. I want realistic, I want gritty, I want the world's magic to sneak up on us when we least expect it. Establishing shots, sure, show us a sprawling Winterfell - but sprawling in a realistic sense, with a great wood enclosed by crumbling walls, not with every room larger than life. I don't want a Winterfell that is literally impossible for engineers to duplicate.

(For instance, the great wall behind Castle Black, as described in the books, is so high that no arrow could actually reach the top.)

One of the reasons Rome was forced to end early was because it spent so much money building what was essentially a small freaking city. If the look of Rome made you think "cheap," then there may be no pleasing you. Rome was not cheap.

The producers should be doing their best to balance making a viable Game of Thrones pilot while still staying under budget.

Don't be surprised if winterfell "grows" during the course of the series if it all goes ahead. Just have a look at the difference in the CSI lab between seasons 1 and 2, as the budget increases.

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According to a commenter on my blog it is one of the following three bands: Faun, Estampie and Corvus Corax.

The commenter, for some reason, didn't want to say which one though.

Thanks, Corvus Corax sounds the best options:

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