Production Game of Thrones

1 production

1.1 conception , development
1.2 casting
1.3 writing
1.4 adaptation schedule
1.5 filming
1.6 directing
1.7 technical aspects
1.8 costumes
1.9 makeup
1.10 visual effects
1.11 sound
1.12 title sequence
1.13 music
1.14 language
1.15 effect on location

production
conception , development

showrunners d. b. weiss , david benioff created series, wrote of episodes , directed several.

in january 2006, david benioff had phone conversation george r. r. martin s literary agent books represented, , became interested in song of ice , fire had been fan of fantasy fiction when young had not read books before. literary agent sent first 4 books of song of ice , fire benioff. benioff read few hundred pages of first novel, game of thrones, shared enthusiasm d. b. weiss , suggested adapt martin s novels television series; weiss finished first novel in maybe 36 hours . pitched series hbo after five-hour meeting martin (a veteran screenwriter) in restaurant on santa monica boulevard. according benioff, won martin on answer question, jon snow s mother?

—george r. r. martin, author

before being approached benioff , weiss, martin had had other meetings other scriptwriters, of them wanting turn feature film. martin deemed unfilmable , impossible done feature film, stating size of 1 of novels long lord of rings, had been adapted 3 feature films. similarly, benioff said impossible turn novels feature film scale of novels big feature film , dozens of characters have discarded. benioff added, fantasy movie of scope, financed major studio, need pg-13 rating. means no sex, no blood, no profanity. fuck that. martin himself pleased suggestion adapt hbo series, saying never imagined anywhere else . knew couldn t done network television series. s adult. level of sex , violence never have gone through.

the series began development in january 2007. hbo acquired tv rights novels, benioff , weiss executive producers, , martin co-executive producer. intention each novel yield season s worth of episodes. initially, martin write 1 episode per season while benioff , weiss write rest of episodes. jane espenson , bryan cogman later added write 1 episode apiece first season.

the first , second drafts of pilot script benioff , weiss submitted in august 2007 , june 2008, respectively. although hbo liked both drafts, pilot not ordered until november 2008; 2007–2008 writers guild of america strike may have delayed process. pilot episode, winter coming , first shot in 2009; after poor reception in private viewing, hbo demanded extensive re-shoot (about 90 percent of episode, cast , directorial changes).

the pilot reportedly cost hbo $5–10 million produce, while first season s budget estimated @ $50–60 million. in second season, show received 15-percent budget increase climactic battle in blackwater (which had $8 million budget). between 2012 , 2015, average budget per episode increased $6 million @ least $8 million. sixth-season budget on $10 million per episode, season total of on $100 million , series record.

casting

nina gold , robert sterne series primary casting directors. through process of auditions , readings, main cast assembled. exceptions peter dinklage , sean bean, whom writers wanted start; announced joining pilot in 2009. other actors signed pilot kit harington jon snow, jack gleeson joffrey baratheon, harry lloyd viserys targaryen , mark addy robert baratheon. addy was, according showrunners benioff , weiss, easiest actor cast show, being audition on point. catelyn stark scheduled played jennifer ehle, role recast michelle fairley. daenerys targaryen recast, emilia clarke replacing tamzin merchant. rest of first season s cast filled in second half of 2009.

although many of first-season cast set return, producers had large number of new characters cast second season. due this, benioff , weiss postponed introduction of several key characters , merged several characters 1 or assigned plot functions different characters.

writing

george r. r. martin, author of song of ice , fire, series co-executive producer , wrote 1 episode each of first 4 seasons.

game of thrones used 7 writers in 6 seasons. series creators david benioff , d. b. weiss, showrunners, write of episodes each season.

a song of ice , fire author george r. r. martin wrote 1 episode in each of first 4 seasons. martin did not write episode later seasons, since wanted focus on completing sixth novel (the winds of winter). jane espenson co-wrote 1 first-season episode freelance writer.

bryan cogman, script coordinator series, promoted producer fifth season. cogman, wrote @ least 1 episode first 5 seasons, other writer in writers room benioff , weiss. before promotion, vanessa taylor (a writer during second , third seasons) worked closely benioff , weiss. dave hill joined writing staff fifth season after working assistant benioff , weiss. although martin not in writers room, reads script outlines , makes comments.

benioff , weiss assign characters particular writers; example, cogman assigned arya stark fourth season. writers spend several weeks writing character outline, including material novels use , overarching themes. after these individual outlines complete, spend 2 3 weeks discussing each main character s individual arc , arranging them episode episode. detailed outline created, each of writers working on portion create script each episode. cogman, wrote 2 episodes fifth season, took month , half complete both scripts. read benioff , weiss, make notes, , parts of script rewritten. ten episodes written before filming begins, since filmed out of order 2 units in different countries.

benioff , weiss write each of episodes together, 1 of them writing first half of script , other second half. after begin passing drafts , forth make notes , rewrite parts of it.

adaptation schedule

benioff , weiss intended adapt entire, still-incomplete song of ice , fire series of novels television. after game of thrones began outpacing published novels in sixth season, series based on plot outline of future novels provided martin , original content. in april 2016, showrunners plan shoot 13 more episodes after sixth season: 7 episodes in seventh season , 6 episodes in eighth. later month, series renewed seventh season seven-episode order. of 2017, 7 seasons have been ordered , filmed, adapting novels @ rate of 48 seconds per page first 3 seasons.

the first 2 seasons adapted 1 novel each. later seasons, creators see game of thrones adaptation of song of ice , fire whole rather individual novels; enables them move events across novels, according screen-adaptation requirements.

filming

the azure window @ ras-id-dwerja, on gozo, site of dothraki wedding in season one.

principal photography first season scheduled begin on july 26, 2010, , primary location paint hall studios in belfast, northern ireland. exterior scenes in northern ireland filmed @ sandy brae in mourne mountains (standing in vaes dothrak), castle ward (winterfell), saintfield estates (the winterfell godswood), tollymore forest (outdoor scenes), cairncastle (the execution site), magheramorne quarry (castle black) , shane s castle (the tourney grounds). doune castle in stirling, scotland, used in original pilot episode scenes @ winterfell. producers considered filming whole series in scotland, decided on northern ireland because of availability of studio space.

the first season s southern scenes filmed in malta, change in location pilot episode s moroccan sets. city of mdina used king s landing. filming done @ fort manoel (representing sept of baelor), @ azure window on island of gozo (the dothraki wedding site) , @ san anton palace, fort ricasoli, fort st. angelo , st. dominic monastery (all used scenes in red keep).

the walled city of dubrovnik became king s landing in season two.

filming of second season s southern scenes shifted malta croatia, city of dubrovnik , nearby locations allowed exterior shots of walled, coastal medieval city. walls of dubrovnik , fort lovrijenac used scenes in king s landing , red keep. island of lokrum, st. dominic monastery in coastal town of trogir, rector s palace in dubrovnik, , dubac quarry (a few kilometers east) used scenes set in qarth. scenes set north of wall, in frostfangs , @ fist of first men, filmed in november 2011 in iceland: on vatnajökull glacier near smyrlabjörg, svínafellsjökull glacier near skaftafell , mýrdalsjökull glacier near vik on höfðabrekkuheiði.

third-season production returned dubrovnik, walls of dubrovnik, fort lovrijenac , nearby locations again used scenes in king s landing , red keep. trsteno arboretum, new location, garden of tyrells in king s landing. third season returned morocco (including city of essaouira) film daenerys scenes in essos. dimmuborgir , grjótagjá cave in iceland used well. 1 scene, live bear, filmed in los angeles. production used 3 units (dragon, wolf , raven) filming in parallel, 6 directing teams, 257 cast members , 703 crew members.

ballintoy harbour lordsport on iron islands.

the fourth season returned dubrovnik , included new locations, including diocletian s palace in split, klis fortress north of split, perun quarry east of split, mosor mountain range, , baška voda further south. thingvellir national park in iceland used fight between brienne , hound. filming took 136 days , ended on november 21, 2013. fifth season added seville, spain, used scenes of dorne, córdoba.

the sixth season, began filming in july 2015, returned spain , filmed in navarra, guadalajara, seville, almeria girona , peniscola. filming returned dubrovnik, croatia.

filming of 7 episodes of season 7 began on august 31, 2016, @ titanic studios in belfast, other filming in iceland, northern ireland , many locations in spain. spain filming locations included seville, cáceres, almodovar del rio, santiponce, zumaia , bermeo. series filmed in dubrovnik, used location of king s landing. filming continued until end of february 2017 necessary ensure winter weather in of european locations.

directing

each ten-episode season of game of thrones has 4 6 directors, direct back-to-back episodes. alan taylor has directed 7 episodes, episodes of series. alex graves, david nutter, mark mylod , jeremy podeswa have directed 6 each. daniel minahan directed 5 episodes, , michelle maclaren, alik sakharov, , miguel sapochnik directed 4 each. brian kirk directed 3 episodes during first season, , tim van patten directed series first 2 episodes. neil marshall directed 2 episodes, both large battle scenes: blackwater , watchers on wall . other directors have been jack bender, david petrarca, daniel sackheim, michael slovis , matt shakman. david benioff , d. b. weiss have directed 2 episodes credited 1 each episode, determined after coin toss.

technical aspects

alik sakharov pilot s cinematographer. series has had number of cinematographers, , has received 7 primetime emmy award outstanding cinematography single-camera series nominations.

oral norrey ottey, frances parker, martin nicholson, crispin green, tim porter , katie weiland have edited series varying number of episodes. weiland received primetime emmy award outstanding single-camera picture editing drama series in 2015.

costumes

the costumes of ygritte, jon snow , tormund giantsbane reflect harsh climate in worn.



dresses worn @ royal court in king s landing indicate wearers wealth , status.



functional weapons , armor, brienne of tarth s (left), manufactured series.

michele clapton costume designer game of thrones first 5 seasons before replaced april ferry. clapton return show costume designer seventh season.

the costumes used in show drew inspiration number of sources, such japanese , persian armour. dothraki dress resembles of bedouin (one made out of fish skins resemble dragon scales), , wildlings wear animal skins inuit. wildling bone armor made molds of actual bones, , assembled string , latex resembling catgut. although extras play wildlings , night s watch wear hats (normal in cold climate), members of principal cast not viewers can distinguish main characters. björk s alexander mcqueen high-neckline dresses inspired margaery tyrell s funnel-neck outfit, , prostitutes dresses designed easy removal. clothing used aged 2 weeks appears realistic on high-definition television.

about 2 dozen wigs used actresses. made of human hair , 2 feet (61 cm) in length, cost $7,000 each , washed , styled real hair. applying wigs time-consuming; emilia clarke, example, requires 2 hours style brunette hair platinum-blonde wig , braids. other actors, such jack gleeson , sophie turner, receive frequent hair coloring. characters such daenerys (clarke) , dothraki, hair, wigs , costumes processed appear if have not been washed weeks.

makeup

for first 3 seasons, paul engelen game of thrones main makeup designer , prosthetic makeup artist melissa lackersteen, conor o sullivan , rob trenton. @ beginning of fourth season engelen s team replaced jane walker , crew, composed of ann mcewan , barrie , sarah gower.

visual effects

for series large number of visual effects, hbo hired british-based bluebolt , irish-based screen scene season one. of environment builds done 2.5d projections, giving viewers perspective while keeping programming being overwhelming. in 2011, season-one finale, fire , blood , nominated primetime emmy award outstanding special visual effects.

because effects became more complex in subsequent seasons (including cgi creatures, fire, , water), german-based pixomondo became lead visual-effects producer; 9 of twelve facilities contributed project season two, stuttgart lead. scenes produced british-based peanut fx, canadian-based spin vfx, , u.s.-based gradient effects. valar morghulis , valar dohaeris earned pixomondo primetime emmy awards outstanding special visual effects in 2012 , 2013, respectively.

for season four, hbo added german-based mackevision project. season-four finale, children , won 2014 emmy award visual effects. additional producers season 4 included canadian-based rodeo fx, german-based scanline vfx , u.s.-based baked fx. muscle , wing movements of adolescent dragons in seasons 4 , 5 based largely on of chicken. pixomondo retained team of 22 30 people focused solely on visualizing daenerys targaryen s dragons, average production time per season of 20 22 weeks. fifth season, hbo added canadian-based image engine , u.s.-based crazy horse effects list of main visual-effects producers.

sound

unusual television series, sound team receives rough cut of full season , approaches ten-hour feature film. although seasons 1 , 2 had different sound teams, 1 team has been in charge of sound since then. show s blood-and-gore sounds, team uses chamois. dragon screams, mating tortoises , dolphin, seal, lion , bird sounds have been used.

title sequence

the series title sequence created production studio elastic hbo. creative director angus wall , collaborators received 2011 primetime emmy award main title design sequence, depicts three-dimensional map of series fictional world. map projected on inside of sphere centrally lit small sun in armillary sphere. camera moves across map, focusing on locations of episode s events, clockwork mechanisms intertwine , allow buildings , other structures emerge map. accompanied title music, names of principal cast , creative staff appear. sequence concludes after 90 seconds title card , brief opening credits indicating episode s writer(s) , director. composition changes story progresses, new locations replacing featuring less prominently or not @ all.

music


ramin djawadi composed game of thrones score.

the music series composed ramin djawadi. first season s soundtrack, written in ten weeks before show s premiere, published varèse sarabande in june 2011. soundtrack albums subsequent seasons have been released, tracks national, hold steady , sigur rós. djawadi has composed themes each of major houses , of main characters. themes may evolve on time, daenerys targaryen s theme started small , became more powerful after each season. theme started first single instrument, cello, , djawadi later incorporated more instruments it.

language

the westerosi characters of game of thrones speak british-accented english, (but not consistently) accent of english region corresponding character s westerosi region; eddard stark (warden of north) speaks in actor sean bean s native northern accent, , southern lord tywin lannister speaks southern accent, while characters dorne speak english spanish accent. characters foreign westeros have non-british accent.

although english common language of westeros, producers charged linguist david j. peterson constructing dothraki , valyrian languages based on few words in novels; dothraki , valyrian dialogue subtitled in english. has been reported during series these fictional languages have been heard more people welsh, irish, , scots gaelic languages combined.

effect on location

game of thrones funded northern ireland screen, uk government agency financed invest ni , european regional development fund. of april 2013, northern ireland screen gave show £9.25 million ($14.37 million); according government estimates, has benefited northern ireland economy £65 million ($100.95 million).

tourism ireland has game of thrones-themed marketing campaign similar new zealand s tolkien-related advertising. invest ni , northern ireland tourist board expect series generate tourism revenue. according arlene foster, series has given northern ireland non-political publicity in history. production of game of thrones , other tv series boosted northern ireland s creative industries, contributing estimated 12.4-percent growth in arts, entertainment , recreation jobs between 2008 , 2013 (compared 4.3 percent in rest of uk during same period).

tourism organizations elsewhere reported increases in bookings after locations appeared in game of thrones. in 2012, bookings through laterooms.com increased 28 percent in dubrovnik , 13 percent in iceland. following year, bookings doubled in ouarzazate, morocco (the location of daenerys season-three scenes). game of thrones has been attributed significant factor in boom of tourism in iceland had strong impact on economy. tourist numbers increased 30% in 2015, followed 40% in 2016, final figure of 2.4 million visitors expected 2016, around 7 times population of country.