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T HE ENVELOPE LOS ANGELES TIMES THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019
THE ENVELOPE latimes.com/envelope
I
n the fifth episode of the
final season of HBO’s
“Game of Thrones,” lead
visual effects producer
Steve Kullback says
they “set out to tell the
biggest and most de-
structive story imagi-
nable.” Directed by
Miguel Sapochnik, “The Bells” received
Emmy nominations for production de-
sign, costumes and visual effects with the
series snagging a leading 32 nods overall.
Visual effects navigated multiple
story lines, including Daenerys Tar-
garyen’s obliteration of King’s Landing
with the help of the dragon Drogon,
Arya’s race through the city, the battling
Clegane brothers and Jamie’s attempt to
save sister-lover Cersei from a crumbling
Red Keep.
Taking the script to screen required
heavy lifting from the previsualization
department helmed by previs lead Pat-
rick Tiberius Gehlen, previs being a proc-
ess where complex sequences are cre-
ated using 3-D animation before princi-
pal photography.
“It starts with a collaboration be-
tween Miguel, cinematographer Fabian
Wagner, the art department and visual
effects where beat sheets and story-
boards spawn into discussions of how we
can take it to the next level,” says Gehlen
over the phone.
Using scans of the main characters,
the previs team is able to insert them into
replicated sets where soldiers, horses, ex-
tras and fire-breathing dragons are add-
ed to bring the scene to life. The 3-D envi-
ronment, driven by Maya software, also
allows for filmmakers to detail exact
camera movements and lighting that can
aid other departments in how to ap-
proach the action.
Gehlen says, “We don’t previs any-
thing that’s impossible to shoot on the
day. We try to be as representational as
we can as it informs the story more.”
An early task was mapping the scale
of King’s Landing which is shown in the
episode in its entirety in several wide
shots. While locations in Croatia and
Spain normally stand in for the city, huge
sets were constructed in Northern Ire-
land allowing for its eventual destruction
where production required up to 600 ex-
tras a day.
“Miguel wanted the audience to feelthe terror of the people fleeing the city.
He wanted them to feel the impending
threat Cersei looked upon as Dany and
Drogon approach,” says Joe Bauer, leadvisual effects supervisor. “What ulti-
mately determined its size was how
much we could believably destroy with a
dragon and the impending firestorm andwildfire running in the city.”
When Drogon blasts through the
main gate where Jon Snow and the Un-
sullied soldiers await, the explosion
sends castle rock flying and soldiers are
set ablaze. Outlined in previs, the calcu-
lated mayhem was a dance among stunt
coordinator Rowley Irlam, special effects
supervisor Sam Conway and visual ef-
fects.
“Joe is big on getting what we can
from live elements instead of completely
relying on CGI so the process was an in-
tricate balance between the amount of
soldiers and what needed to go where,”
Gehlen notes.
Arya’s escape from the destruction,
which Sapochnik initially envisioned as a
one-shot but was broken up in editing,
was planned by plotting points inside
King’s Landing where the director
thought her glorifying deeds took place.
Bauer says, “Before we even touched
anything, we could see how harrowing
the dailies looked. We knew we would be
extending the city, giving a sense of
depth and creating continuity between
the shots, but they were able to capture
so much in camera.”
In what the crew called the “Clegane
Bowl,” visual effects spent its time detail-
ing failing debris, raining ash and crum-
bling rock during the battle between
Sandor and Gregor. A practical set
grounded the sequence and visual effects
added atmosphere for continuity while
destroying the building around the char-
acters.
“When you watch it, you’ll see how
much of everything is coming down. It
was our way to play to the dramatic na-
ture of the episode. That the whole world
is falling apart while they are trying to kill
each other,” says Bauer.
And that theme is what has captivat-
ed “Game of Thrones” audiences since
Season 1 – that notion that at any mo-
ment, a character’s world can come
crashing down. What it did for filmmak-
ers was challenge them in different ways
as storytellers.
“It upped our game dramatically,”
notes Bauer. “Everyone in their career
hopes that one day they’re given an op-
portunity, the resources and are sur-
rounded by professionals in other de-
partments to create something resound-
ing. We were lucky enough to experience
it year after year on this show.”CREATING
FIERY CHAOS
IN ‘GAME OF
THRONES’
By Daron James2
DROGON, the last of Daenerys’ beloved dragons, reduces the defenses of
King’s Landing to ash in (1) a visualization image and (2) the final shot.HBO1
THE CRAFT