[NO SPOILERS] Visuals, Effects, and Sets

[Ran]

A good place to discuss the visual effects and production design. Having had my jaw-drop at a glimpse of the Wall, and my eyes grow big at the depiction of King's Landing (some impressions from the 15 minute reel discuss this), I think we're all in for a treat. And the sets? The sets are pretty amazing!

While we note this as a no spoilers section, use your judgment -- noting that Winterfell's inner wall is 100 feet high in the books is fine, mentioning something like, "Boy, the Red Keep looks cool, but what are they going to do when Arya accidentally burns it down in book 5?" would be a spoiler. Setting details are okay, plot details are not.

Here's the production designer, Gemma Jackson:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgAd7MfPrj8

And a specific one about Castle Black:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQZ4uwQRxkM

As to the visual effects, not much to show from them (yet), but they're being handled by the very experienced effects wizards at BlueBolt in the U.K.

[lynxx]

Loved the scene in Ned's godswood. It was so calm and beautiful.

Somebody posted that they saw the watcher face carved in the tree, but I missed it. Does anyone have a screen capture?

[reiver]

So talented. The amount of effort and skill that goes into producing stuff that, for the most part, are in the background and out of focus astounds me. That tapestry that's speculated to be the doom of valyria for example.

[JackintheBeanstalk]

For lynxx: happy to help.

http://tinypic.com/r/52nxu9/7

[NW Deserter]

The shot of the wall we got in the prologue as Ser Royce and co. are walking out of it was pretty legit. Also (TV spoiler for those who haven't watched the ep. 2 preview),

the wide shot of the wall as Benjen and Jon approach it in the ep. 2 preview, with the setting sun and everything, is jaw-dropping gorgeous!

My favorite set in episode 1 is probably the Godswood, the shot of Ned sitting by the pond cleaning Ice is straight out of one of the drawings I've seen. Executed to perfection!

I actually liked the Crypt as well, their choice to have it lit with candles instead of pitch black was a good one.

I'm excited to see how they handle (spoiler from the books this time)

the direwolves being grown up and actually killing men, most notably Grey Wind wreaking havoc alongside Robb!

[Spacelord]

Is anyone concerned about the special effects that are going to be used for (book spoiler)

the dragons?

Has anyone heard anything regarding what will be used? Even with modern films I have never seen pure CGI creatures/people/things integrate well enough that they aren't distracting. Just my opinion. The problem is that I don't see any other way they could do them. Adding to the issue is that HBO doesn't exactly have Michael Bay's budget, so can the CGI even be top-notch?

[Jojen]

I found a Russian site (7Kingdoms) that has several behind-the-scenes photos and close-up pics of props like Longclaw, Kingsguard armor, Littlefinger's mockingbird pin, and Tyrion's dagger. Looks like they really put a lot of effort into the little details for things we don't usually get good close looks at. Bravo to the designers for all their hard work!

[Arya The Assassin]

Is anyone concerned about the special effects that are going to be used for (book spoiler) ...

Given the smaller budget of a TV series like GoT, I don't think we should expect to see these creatures with the same level of photorealism as in big budget Hollywood films.

I won't go into details here, because it's a non-spoiler thread (I wish it wasn't :) ), but I've discussed this and the use of CG in general in this thread:

(Book Spoiler) Where the Hell is Ghost?

Even with modern films I have never seen pure CGI creatures/people/things integrate well enough that they aren't distracting.

You probably have, but you haven't noticed because the CG looked like the real thing :)

One of the most impressive CG-characters ever made, IMO, is Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean. Many critics (not to mention most people in the audience) thought it was an actor with a prosthetic makeup (facial tentacles, etc.), but the entire character -- including his clothing -- is digital (Bill Nighy's mo-cap performance served as a basis for the animation). ILM did a fantastic job there.

[Arya The Assassin]

While we note this as a no spoilers section, use your judgment ...

I'm just curious: Is there any specific reason why this thread is non-spoiler? :) I think it makes it more difficult than necessary to discuss many aspects of the visual effects production, production design, sets, etc. in more detail (topics like this tend to be detail-oriented).

As to the visual effects, not much to show from them (yet), but they're being handled by the very experienced effects wizards at BlueBolt in the U.K.

Blue Bolt is the lead vendor, but Screen Scene is also involved:

Screen Scene Post Production Facilities, Dublin, Ireland

[A Maiden's Head]

Just rewatching 'Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things' this afternoon, and marveling at how amazing Pycelle's room was. Just really organic and authentic.

[Arya The Assassin]

Here's an interview with Blue Bolt, the lead vendor on GoT:

Swan Song Dragons: BlueBolt takes on VFX in Game of Thrones

WARNING: The last part of the article contains a potential spoiler!

You get the sense that they found the constant rewritings and number of producers to be rather challenging to relate to.

Quote:

"Creatively, a film is lead by the director," Ainsworth-Taylor replied. "Television is completely led by producers and the executives at HBO. We had a six-week prep before going into a six-month shoot which was challenging." There was some prep on early script drafts, and episodes shot out of order, along with "at least eight–10 re-writes prior to and during the shooting of each block, often throwing up more unbudgeted VFX requirements. For me in particular, being the VFX producer of the whole show, I had a very locked-in budget and quite often had to step in and advise both directors and producers how they could approach various shots in the early stages. Some of the episodes were far more VFX heavy than others, so although we started with a per episode budget," she continues, ending with a nearly Zen-like observation, "it was clear in post that some were more and others became less."

The show's FX supe, Angela Barson, also parses the differences between features and episodic: "One of the big differences between working on a TV series vs a feature film is the hierarchy of people who need to give approval on shots. On a feature film we would usually get approval from the VFX supervisor and then the director. On this we had about 10 different levels of producers, co-producers, exec-producers, etc. who all had to give approval." But the extra hoops didn't affect the quality of the work, since, she adds, "a good thing about working on an HBO TV series is that the standard of VFX work expected is of exactly the same high quality as with feature film work."

EDIT: Link didn't work. Fixed.

[Arya The Assassin]

Here's another article about BlueBolt and their work on GoT:

Playing the Game of Thrones

Warning: There's a spoiler at the end of the article!

For those who've been concerned about the creatures in the last episode:

I'm glad to hear that they've put a lot of effort into the bringing the dragons to life onscreen:

Coming up, McInnes promises fantastic-looking dragons, which will hatched in the final episode of the season, "Fire and Blood." "The one area we really took great care on [was] the dragons in episode 10. We insisted on storyboards, previs and a maquette in order to get the builds underway in advance, knowing the limited post schedule coming up."

Just keep in mind though, that the dragons are very small, about the size of cats, when they're hatched (they will look bigger with their wings spread).

[jellydonut]

For lynxx: happy to help.

http://tinypic.com/r/52nxu9/7

Higher resolution:

http://i.imgur.com/zLGqw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0Xxys.jpg

I've seen some people elsewhere complain about the CGI and claim that other shows had better effects, mentioning Battlestar Galactica as an example.

Now, I *loved* BSG. It was and is one of my very favorite shows. But the CGI, if anything, was one of its few failings. Game of Thrones has the best CGI I've ever seen in any TV show.

I do hope they can pull off

the important scene in the final episode, though. Mostly we have been dealt CGI in the form of scenery, keeps, castles and walls, where it works extremely well. I am curious as to how they are going to pull off such a close-up scene, as I don't think we've seen any examples of it.

[Arya The Assassin]

Now, I *loved* BSG. It was and is one of my very favorite shows. But the CGI, if anything, was one of its few failings. Game of Thrones has the best CGI I've ever seen in any TV show.

I agree. Not that I've seen many TV shows, but the CG in GoT is very good.

I do hope they can pull off [...]

They've put a lot of effort into this, as mentioned in the article I linked to :)

[jellydonut]

They've put a lot of effort into this, as mentioned in the article I linked to :)

Yep, I saw the mention at the end, and it is encouraging. Just noting that we haven't actually seen any examples of close-up CGI yet (that I know of anyway...)

Unless the three-eyed crow is CGI. Looked more like some poor crow got done up with Krazy Glue. :lmao: But on a serious note.. If the three-eyed crow was CGI and not physical effects, I think they've got a handle on it. The third eye was seamless.

[tarantella]

Was it just me or did the Eyrie seem really impossible?

Namely the Moon Door. How did they get a door in the floor situated above a straight drop off the mountain? Is the throne room jutting out off of a cliff? Is the mountain itself hollow somehow? Should I really be worrying about this?

[Edda van Heefmstra Ruston]

There's actually a thread based just on the Eyrie, so you might find some more conjecture there. We seem to have sort of conflicting imagery, though -- the long shot doesn't establish any major overhangs, but the castle is on stone 'pillars' over an empty space. I have a feeling that that's where the moon door is, to explain its sort of central nature. OTOH, we can see air behind Lysa's throne and opposite it (particularly when the great doors are open). If the throne room is central, where is everything else? Is it in wings off of the throne room (In which case, why don't we see that shape from afar)? Is everything above the throne room? I don't get it. We know from the books that there are supposed to be courtyards as well, so...

I decided not to worry too much about it, because I'm not sure I'll ever figure out a satisfying explanation.