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Filming in Scotland


Black Wizard

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You are right, this being only a pilot at this point does have a lot to do with it. I know that HBO's policy is not to do anything publicity-wise on things that are still in the pilot stages. However, I also know that HBO is loving the buzz that this project is generating so I think they may be a little more lenient in this case.

The budget angle makes sense to me though. I, and I assume many other fans of the show, don't want to do anything that may cause production delays or possible budgetary overruns. I also don't want them to have to find another castle strictly because they found Doune to be too unsecure. So I hope that any photos I may have posted don't cause those issues. I wouldn't think so, but I guess it is a possibility.

I just wish, if a season order is as inevitable as everyone seems to think, that HBO would make the decision now. That way they can begin releasing info (such as set photos, costume shots, production reports, etc.) in a controlled and PR approved way.

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But is more recognition and fame good for the series? We are not sure how this could affect George's future writing style and series-development decisions. (More money/following equals more publisher/editor interference.) This, along with HBO pressures could, God forbid, turn GRRM into a Dan Brown or the like..

Dan Brown wasn't famous when he wrote the books that he's famous for, so whatever you think of his writing, it wasn't fame pressures which made him write the way he does.

Why do you believe that more money/following leads to more interference? Have you any examples of this? Off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure that JK Rowling and Robert Jordan's successes did not lead to them experiencing more interference. I realise that people may use those two as examples of authors "losing it", but that doesn't address the point.

Posts like this are simply FUD and nothing more.

Blue is actually a very plush and rich dye... Costly, much like crimson and purple. Where as the north was more utilitarian. Whites and greys.

As well as what others have said in response to this (about how things look on camera), I'd like to make a point. I don't mean to pile on you, Wolfheart. You are not the only person I've seen make comments like this and I'm actually addressing the entire trend rather than your individual comment.

Blue and purple are plush and rich because they are historically, so rare and expensive.

Who's to say that in the world of Westeros, sources of blue dyes are much more common. Maybe even they came from the North? So how are they deviations from the novels?

My point is that I cannot see how worrying and complaining about trivial details like this makes sense. There can be many explanations for why things are the way they are in a fantasy world, so it's pointless to use what one believes the rules of the real medieval world were and complain where it doesn't match up (especially when the problem is not a collision with reality, but with one's expectation).

There are so many more important things to get right, such as characterisation, plotting, timing, dividing the story up into episodes, etc. And we wont know how these things have gone until we see the finished article.

It seems a shame to build something up or cast it down in one's mind on such flimsy bases, when we already know there is so much going for it. Things like a story and characters we love, HBO's past record, brilliant casting and great writers.

So when people see things which are contrary to their expectation, how about we take a look at our expectations and how important that aspect is in the grand scheme of things before launching into a fuss over it.

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Regards the photo debate, I leave it to the individual.

I probably shouldn't admit it but I had been taking photos on the day (similar to what's already up and one shot of Stark extras) with every intention of posting them as I didn't feel they showed much but on one of my trips past security the woman did ask me not to take photos and put them on the internet as they'd been getting stick for it. There were only two of them on and it was hard for them to keep track of who had entered the public area etc.

Having actually talked to someone who could be affected directly and who'd been friendly throughout the day made me change my mind about posting the photos. I also didn't want to spoil the chances for any other fans turning up at Doune or other sites in the future. When Sean and co. arrived I had an older lady encouraging me to take some photos but I told her I'd better not. She headed downstairs and went to talk to Sean instead - see what pensioners get away with?! :)

I had made it clear to them I was there because of the filming and found it exciting just to hang around and I was very conscious of not getting in the way or causing a disturbance. Hence the reason I was happy to stay upstairs when they'd asked me to as it was hard for them to keep track of our movements. I believe it was because I was respectful of their wishes etc and had behaved myself that I was allowed to get as close to the main cast as I did. I checked with security that it was OK to visit the public toilet in the lodge that the cast were waiting in and about. He smiled and escorted me up, he could easily have asked me to wait the 5 mins until they were called to set. Much as I would have loved to have talked to them I didn't disturb them more than wishing them luck on their way out (and of course laughing at Nikolaj which was probably quite disturbing for him! ). BTW at the time I hadn't realised the whole Stark family inc Theon were in the lodge too that gave me a turn!

I tried to make up for the lack of photos by giving the description of what I'd seen as possible.

I can understand others posting the photos though, like I say I had every intention of doing so before hand.

Jackie. - ps. thanks to Mo one of the head drivers for the lift down to the car park instead of waiting for the official bus. He said he found out more from me what the filming was about than he had the whole weekend ;)

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In fact, GRRM's said that dying is a more advanced technology in the setting than in the comparable era of the middle ages -- hence gold dyes, straightforward hair washes, etc. ;)

I do want to add one more thing, re: leaked photos, I do have to say that Halfhand I do think that -- the courtyard leak and shots of crew outside the castle, which are really very minor in the grand scheme of things -- fans have in fact been generally very respectful. There really could have been way more photos leaked, I suspect, and I'm sure there are shots of various principals and extras in costume lurking on hard drives somewhere. So I do hope HBO bears that in mind, that while in our enthusasim even a picture of a muddy courtyard gets our heart's thumping, we aren't trying to overstep bounds.

ETA: Wrote the above without having seen Jackie's post, which just goes to show! Thanks again, Jackie. :)

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(snip) there is a good chance that what appears drab to look at may seem quite vibrant on the screen, and that what appears grayish may film white as snow. Failure to pop the colors as such might make the scenery, which is supposed to be lush and sumptuous, seem drab.

Or not. It's entirely possible that I don't know what I'm talking about. But I do know enough to know that you shouldn't always trust your eyes when envisioning what's going to be on the screen.

I wouldn't have said the colours were drab, just more muted than I'd expected. The Lannister red was darker than I had pictured in the books and I hadn't expected a blue hue to the Stark outfits. I assumed like yourself though that these colours will look significantly different under lighting and on film/HD and also realised that having a lot of the extras in grey ran the risk of them blending into the stone wall background a bit too much. ;) The other important fact is that there was a strong visual difference between the Lannisters and the Starks for those new to the series.

To try and put some folks minds at ease, I'd like to stress I wasn't disappointed with anything I saw, the Stark colours were still very wintery, by blue/grey I'd meant a blue-ish grey colour. The outfits were great, hair, make up, everything. I really do feel that the Seven Kingdoms are in good hands!

Jackie

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In fact, GRRM's said that dying is a more advanced technology in the setting than in the comparable era of the middle ages -- hence gold dyes, straightforward hair washes, etc.

I presume you mean dyeing. I don't know that dying would need a lot of advanced technology ... ;)

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...the woman did ask me not to take photos and put them on the internet as they'd been getting stick for it.

"Getting stick?" I have never heard that phrase before.

Is that like the pink slip? The ol' boot?

... Or something more ... sinister ... ?

(I suppose it depends on who wields the stick, eh? If it's Rory McCann, I'm running for the hills.)

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I'd sell my firstborn for high-res costume shots from HBO's publicity department... well, someone else's firstborn, anyways, not having one of my own. ;)

As much as I would love to see it also, Ran, I'm not offering Mav up to the Gods. :P

Thanks so much to the people who took the time to post in great detail and small detail. I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!! (Sorry to those who get that song stuck in their heads also. :P)

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"Getting stick?" I have never heard that phrase before.

It's more about rebuke or complaints about their performance.

Here, people say things like "I'm just giving her/him a bit of stick" to mean that they are mocking or teasing somebody or giving them grief.

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Dunno if this has been reported elsewhere, but Rimshot, who posts here sometimes, is going to be working as an extra for the shoot over in Belfast. He's been told he's to be a 'Start servant', which we're assuming is a typo for Stark. Lucky guy!

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Dunno if this has been reported elsewhere, but Rimshot, who posts here sometimes, is going to be working as an extra for the shoot over in Belfast. He's been told he's to be a 'Start servant', which we're assuming is a typo for Stark. Lucky guy!

Yes! One of our very own! Rimshot, we're so proud! *wipes tear*

Congratulations to the First Stark!

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is that a small great hall? I've been in a lot of castles in my lifetime, including some pretty large ones (like Bouillon in southern Belgium / northern France) which have similar sized great halls. These are medieval halls and very hard to heat. As such, they could never be of gargantuan size. Only later, in the 17th and 18th century palaces and such, I believe greater halls were built.

I for one believe this is a perfect size for Winterfell and not at all too small... just my 2 cent.

go rimshot btw :)

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GRRM wasn't thinking of realism all that much. There are larger medieval halls, but the sort of halls we see described in the series at Winterfell, the Red Keep (whose Great Hall can hold more than a 1,000), and especially Harrenhal (where it's once said that Tywin could have feasted his entire army) are very much out-sized compared to medieval examples.

Winterfell's feast hosted "a hundred drunken conversations", so you're looking at a minimum of 200 people (and probably more like 300-500), but it sounds like there's maybe 50-60 people who can be fit into the Great Hall at Doune.

This is, of course, an Unimportant Detail. I hope that the scale of the castle when seen from outside remains sprawling and impressive, but if they decide to go with more realistic heights and building sizes for the most part, I would not have an issue with it.

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I hope that misspelling wasn't intentional in order to try to find out possible leak sources.

:unsure:

Ah, I'm sure it isn't. It seems really far-fetched.. it's just what popped into my head on reading that post.

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Not sure if this has been posted, but here's the Doune 'great hall' (pre-GOT!): http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4ou7O2v_Jk/SuO7...1600/doune5.JPG

Apart from being quite small, it looks perfect for Winterfell.

Lol, my photos are making the rounds these days. :D

What I said on TowerOfTheHand, the hall in Doune is perfect, because it's so austere and genuinely Medieaval. The larger hall at Stirling Castle is more comfortable (I bet Cersei would like a few tapestries and curtains to keep the cold out), the one in Caerphilly has those large, cathedral-like windows, and some German castle halls are too much on the ornate side for Ned.

I'm pretty sure the cameras will make 50-60 people look like a busy party. And there's another point: it's one thing to read about a thousand guests while the focus is still on the main characters (you don't really notice the thousand, mentally), and to see thousand people sitting around when only the main characters matter - 50 -100 will do the job of background just as well.

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