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Game of Thrones: The Last Watch - Documentary


RhaenysBee

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Clearly, it was the best episode of season 8...

I enjoyed it very much, and appreciate how it was clearly not a D&D production...so the hair, makeup, costume, set design, acting teams pouring 18 hour days into the show for a decade got some appreciation.

ETA: My takeaway was also that as many of the people were saying they didn't want it to end because they'd never be on any production project as magical as this, D&D couldn't wait to just rid themselves of it and move the fuck on.

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk/comments/bvfbgb/for_what_its_worth/

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My thoughts: 

It was very interesting to get an insight into movie production. This is certainly something I know very little about so the documentary was informative and educational from many aspects. 

For this reason, it also made a strong statement: there was an unimaginably immense amount of labour in the production of season 8. I think it was a great and necessary message to convey and the audience did need this reminder to respect the show, if nothing else, for the amount of work it took to produce. 

Having said this, the Last Watch felt more like tribute to the workers and a spoonful of the atmosphere of production rather than an actual documentary. The reason why I felt this is that the information I received wasn’t structured in any way and didn’t make a system. It was random pieces of insight linked together by feelings. Therefore, I often found myself adding context to certain things in my mind or judging just snapshots of something I’m not even sure was going on and jumping to conclusions without much basis really. I understand the conscious decision to make this documentary a heartfelt goodbye rather than a cold-hard-facts presentation of the production process, yet I think that this was a rather dangerous dance around a rabbit hole. 

Before I actually jump into that rabbit hole, let’s get back to feelings. It says a lot about the story of season 8 that the documentary was a worthier goodbye to the show than the actual final season. I could feel Game of Thrones on my skin as the extras spoke or Emilia Clarke froze her behind off in all the exterior scenes or the lorries parked in the rain. I could smell the wee toasties in the snack cart and The sweat of hundreds of people working harder than I thought it was possible. I could hear the nerves snapping in the producers head as they looked at the spreadsheet schedules. It was so real and so emotional like Game of Thrones the story hasn’t been for years. It made me feel so grateful and so bittersweet. 

And also... so so so so very sad. Sad because hundreds of people poured 16-8 hours of work a day for months and months into producing something they hoped would make history. And then it didn’t. Because no matter how much labour and time and effort and care and love you pour into bringing the set or the costumes of the makeup to life, it can never ever ever substitute the beating heart of a show: the story. It made me so very sad to think that if the writing had been done with just half as much labour, time, effort, care and love as the production, Game of Thrones and all the cast and crew would have been recognized for the worthy, history-making  ending they all deserved, even without a heartfelt documentary. 

And you know, my little Eastern European post communist heart is also terribly sad to see the makeup artists doing 18 hour shifts every day for two months of night shoots for pennies compared to what Dan and Dave got out of this. And that long time extra, Andy, he showed more love, understanding, respect and knowledge about his “character” and the world of Game of Thrones in his 10 minutes in the documentary than I have ever seen Sophie Turner show in years of interviews and panels. And bet the daily wage he made was less money than half a pair Sophie’s shoes (and this is just an example I could say a lot of other actors who made me feel this way). 

And there were these little things that bugged me so much and made it so hard to not go down the judgment rabbit hole and jump to all the conclusions. Like the director who had US letter paper shipped over for his notes? What was even that... and the time they shot Kit and Emilia’s kissing scene. Emilia move your head to the right, okay we got it, let’s pack up? That was it? No wonder those kissing scenes were so terrible, did nobody had an urge to have a few takes and make it in any way believable? Or that time Dan and Dave went to check the zombie makeup. Miranda Priestly vibes much? Well, the whole production is basically a corporate setup with the same hierarchy structure and project and people management issues and whatnot, so it’s really not something to be bothered by. Especially that I based all these feelings on so little information. 

Back to the positive side. All I have is respect and love for Emilia and Kit who were really the only actors involved in the documentary. Emilia’s last wig fitting or Kit talking about the jacket with Andy the extra made me want to cry.

All in all, it seemed like such a grand and magnificent experience for everybody involved that I don’t think they felt any of the sadness or nitpicks that I did watching the documentary. I just hope they remember their truly admirable part in producing game of thrones fondly and will tell about their experiences to their grandchildren. And I’m just so grateful I got this insight to their work so I can appreciate and thank all the labour and care the put into the show. 

Wow, I’m emotional. I blame this on Chernobyl that basically destroyed my nerve system last night. 

 

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2 minutes ago, RhaenysBee said:

I’ll start. 

 

Are you mad at me?

Quote

Having said this, the Last Watch felt more like tribute to the workers and a spoonful of the atmosphere of production rather than an actual documentary. 

Agree 100%.  Did they actually call it a "documentary?"  Because I got the gist it was a farewell and thank you to the backbone of the whole damn thing.  

And we got a little insight here and there with the snow guy, the now world-famous snack cart lady, some extras.

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2 minutes ago, RhaenysBee said:

:lmao: not at all 

I did have to go back and edit that after I pressed post and saw that you started already. 

Haha gotcha.  

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Thank you for sharing. If that's your takeaway I'll try to get a hold of it. 

Even if my leftist governed, post Revolution heart will feel the same disatisfaction that so many people worked so hard in something so spectacular only to see it fall flat over the aparent carelessness of those who got 'the big bucks'.

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5 hours ago, storm.131 said:

My favourite part was seeing them shredding the scripts after the read through :-D

That was truly symbolic. :lmao: 

i also liked the snow parts. It’s so insane to think that a person was actually responsible for strategically placing the snow on the set :D 

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21 hours ago, RhaenysBee said:

For this reason, it also made a strong statement: there was an unimaginably immense amount of labour in the production of season 8. I think it was a great and necessary message to convey and the audience did need this reminder to respect the show, if nothing else, for the amount of work it took to produce. 

Having said this, the Last Watch felt more like tribute to the workers and a spoonful of the atmosphere of production rather than an actual documentary. The reason why I felt this is that the information I received wasn’t structured in any way and didn’t make a system. 

I agree. 

One thing struck me: the contrast between the dedication of the artists/technicians and the complete detachment of the showrunners.
I understand a little better how gross mistakes were made (Starbuck cup, bottle of water, disappearance of the landscape around KL, disappearance of the pond in Winterfell's godswood, etc.)
As a result, I now believe that if the Longnight battle is so poorly lit, it is not because of artistic choice but to mask inconsistencies.

Once again* director Sapochnik was confronted with D&D's delirious demands. We see him interviewed in his car and he doesn't seem very enthusiastic... 

* watch The Dragon Demands video on the Battle of the Bastards, it's edifying…

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3 hours ago, Nowy Tends said:

I agree. 

One thing struck me: the contrast between the dedication of the artists/technicians and the complete detachment of the showrunners.
I understand a little better how gross mistakes were made (Starbuck cup, bottle of water, disappearance of the landscape around KL, disappearance of the pond in Winterfell's godswood, etc.)
As a result, I now believe that if the Longnight battle is so poorly lit, it is not because of artistic choice but to mask inconsistencies.

Once again* director Sapochnik was confronted with D&D's delirious demands. We see him interviewed in his car and he doesn't seem very enthusiastic... 

* watch The Dragon Demands video on the Battle of the Bastards, it's edifying…

Yeah, totally agree.

I hope that with time, people will come out and tell their stories about honest experiences with thrones and Dan and Dave. 

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On 6/1/2019 at 2:41 PM, RhaenysBee said:

As this documentary was released almost as an extension episode of the series, I feel like it deserves its own thread. 

Has anybody watched it? How did it make you feel? What are your thoughts? 

I had not seen it before your post. Thanks!

It was well worth the time, and I tend to agree with most of the comments so far.

It was a surprise to me that they had shot so much during the night. I had assumed that they had shot most of it indoors.

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I thought David and Dan's almost total absence from the 'documentary' was very apt. Despite the terrible writing job those two put forth to wrap it all up, these were the people practically killing themselves to get the final season made and with an unbelievable amount of passion and love for what they were doing. It was their moment and a great tribute to their hard work. The female Location Manager whose every other word was'Fuck' or 'Fucking' was particularly hilarious to me :D. And the famous Stark guard extra was so passionate about what he was doing and was a total House Stark fanboy. He seemed genuinely hurt by the Red Wedding !

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10 hours ago, Nowy Tends said:

I agree. 

One thing struck me: the contrast between the dedication of the artists/technicians and the complete detachment of the showrunners.
I understand a little better how gross mistakes were made (Starbuck cup, bottle of water, disappearance of the landscape around KL, disappearance of the pond in Winterfell's godswood, etc.)
As a result, I now believe that if the Longnight battle is so poorly lit, it is not because of artistic choice but to mask inconsistencies.

Once again* director Sapochnik was confronted with D&D's delirious demands. We see him interviewed in his car and he doesn't seem very enthusiastic... 

* watch The Dragon Demands video on the Battle of the Bastards, it's edifying…

It actually made sense in a way - if Martin was controlling the ending the show writers felt there was no point in investing any time into it because it had to end the place Martin wanted.

They knew the ending was shit but their hands were tied, they knew how poorly it would be received so they decided to not put any time into it. 

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5 minutes ago, Techmaester said:

They knew the ending was shit but their hands were tied, they knew how poorly it would be received so they decided to not put any time into it. 

But they found the time to write several incredibly stupid lines/scenes, like the ignominious “who has a better story than Bran”  and Bron Lord of Highgarden AND Maester of Coins, Tyrion setling the chairs around the table, Sansa literally insulting her uncle and whatnot…

They didn't just wash their hands à la Pontius Pilate, they also provided the last nails for the cross…

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17 minutes ago, Nowy Tends said:

But they found the time to write several incredibly stupid lines/scenes, like the ignominious “who has a better story than Bran”  and Bron Lord of Highgarden AND Maester of Coins, Tyrion setling the chairs around the table, Sansa literally insulting her uncle and whatnot…

They didn't just wash their hands à la Pontius Pilate, they also provided the last nails for the cross…

Sansa was annoying in the episode. She has a limited supply of family members and she’s insulted or betrayed or got their mom killed. 

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23 hours ago, Nowy Tends said:

Sansa literally insulting her uncle and whatnot…

Please, Sansa prevented him from making any more of fool of himself than he already had. His character was a total idiot in the show. And although she was firm, she had enough respect for him to say please.

23 hours ago, King Jon Snow Stark said:

She has a limited supply of family members and she’s insulted or betrayed or got their mom killed. 

???????? This statement doesn't make sense. Could you please clarify?

On 6/1/2019 at 10:35 AM, RhaenysBee said:

And bet the daily wage he made was less money than half a pair Sophie’s shoes (and this is just an example I could say a lot of other actors who made me feel this way). 

I'll never argue that actors aren't over paid. I think it's disgusting and I'm a right wing capitalist. But as long as we watch, we are complicit. The only way to ever change that is to boycott all tv and movies. I would do that happily, (I'd rather read a book most of the time) but unfortunately there are not enough people willing to give up their entertainment to make a difference. "We" would rather complain and point fingers than do something about it.

That being said, I loved Andy the extra, but he didn't put in a 10th of what the major actors in the show did. He did very little, never had to learn any lines and there were whole seasons he wasn't in. Plus it was more play to him than a job, whereas for the actors it is a JOB. A very demanding one, regardless of how much they like doing it. Emilia even said she was glad it was over cuz she was tired of it.

You may not like Sophie Turner, but did you notice when they were filming the funeral pyre scene at the beginning of 804, she continued to cry between takes as they refastened her Stark pin to her dress? That is committed acting. She is twice the actress Emilia Clarke is, or probably ever will be. I'm not saying that because I don't like Emilia, I do, but I just never thought she was a great actress.

I think the reason they focused on Kit and Emilia is because S8 was primarily about Jon and Dany. I enjoyed watching them, and NK guy was great, but I wish we could have seen more of the actors just being themselves.

I thoroughly enjoyed the "Last Watch". I knew enough to know that we as viewers don't appreciate the work that goes in to making such an epic show, but it was still amazing to watch. And to think, the snow is made out of just paper and water! I always wondered...

I think it was great to put the spotlight on the behind the scenes people. Perhaps some viewers will be less critical and nitpicky after seeing what goes into making a show like this. I think what made the biggest impact on me was near the beginning someone said at that each episode had as much as feature film in it, but they had to do it in less time and for less money. Really puts things in perspective, doesn't it?

Wasn't it weird to see wights eating lunch???? :lol:

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10 minutes ago, SansaJonRule said:

Please, Sansa prevented him from making any more of fool of himself than he already had. His character was a total idiot in the show. And although she was firm, she had enough respect for him to say please.

how was he making a fool of himself? Between the members of the great families present he is the one with more experience being a lord and leading armies. The truth is that he was probably the best candidate to be king between the lords present in the dragon pit…

Only sweetrobbin, sansa, arya, bran, edmure, tyrion and yara survived from the great nobles. 

If you put your fanatism with sansa on the side edmure is the best candidate. He was trained to be a lord his whole life, he has experience being a lord and leading armies, he should have the support of the starks and arryns, he is mentally stable and can have kids… Sansa was just power hungry and needed to humiliate edmure for no good reason...

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1 hour ago, divica said:

how was he making a fool of himself? Between the members of the great families present he is the one with more experience being a lord and leading armies. The truth is that he was probably the best candidate to be king between the lords present in the dragon pit…

Did you read the books? Because the Edmure you describe sounds like the book Edmure, not the show Edmure. In the show he was an oaf, even his uncle the Blackfish called him a fool. I don't think show Edmure ever led an army, and being raised to be a lord doesn't necessarily make you a good one. Very little time passed between Lord Tully's passing and Edmure's capture at the Red Wedding, so he actually didn't have enough experience being a lord to count for anything.

I would choose Lord Royce before I chose Edmure. He was from one of the leading houses in the Vale and he was quite capable.

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7 hours ago, SansaJonRule said:

I would choose Lord Royce before I chose Edmure. He was from one of the leading houses in the Vale and he was quite capable.

Capable of what? To wear armor night and day? Being interrupted every time he talks to Sansa? 

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