Inside the making of 'House of the Dragon's' 'spectacular' aerial battle

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As an Emmy-winning manager connected “The Sopranos,” “Mad Men” and “Game of Thrones,” Alan Taylor has made a sanction for himself connected immoderate of television’s astir highly regarded series. Still, erstwhile helium learned that helium would beryllium helming the astir consequential enactment series successful the past of “House of the Dragon,” helium took a infinitesimal to see the enormity of the task astatine hand. “I hadn’t truly realized what a large woody it needed to be,” Taylor said.

Action acceptable pieces seldom travel bigger than the three-way dragon conflict that concludes “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” the 4th occurrence of the phantasy series’ 2nd season. A landmark lawsuit successful “Fire & Blood,” writer George R.R. Martin’s fictional past of the royal Targaryen clan that inspired the show, the alleged Dance of the Dragons sees a trio of fire-breathing beasts clash successful the sky, starring to the decease of 1 large character, the hideous disfigurement of different and countless soldiers killed successful the fallout.

Camera relation Claire Pie, left, with manager Alan Taylor.

To bring the astir 12-minute series to the surface required a superior conflict plan, 1 that progressive aggregate departments and took much than a twelvemonth to execute. “Everything I was doing with the dragons was trying to marque them consciousness existent and palpable and alive,” Taylor said. “Dragons person to beryllium characters, not conscionable proscription oregon weapons.”

The series begins with Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) starring an service toward the castle of Rook’s Rest. He intends to assertion the territory connected behalf of King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney), who is astatine warfare with his half-sister Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). But the battle is truly a strategical ruse. Cole and Aegon’s mercurial member Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) expect Rhaenyra to motorboat an violative of her ain astatine the tract and program to usage Aemond’s tremendous dragon Vhagar to termination her.

Instead, Rhaenyra’s lieutenant Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) arrives connected her dragon Meleys to instrumentality connected Cole’s forces. To her large surprise, the king himself rides his dragon Sunfyre into battle, hoping to beryllium his valor. Once Rhaenys orders Meleys to onslaught the king, Aemond rushes forward, commanding Vhagar to unleash a torrent of fire. The blast strikes Aegon and sends the young monarch and his dragon plummeting to the ground.

Locking talons, Meleys and Vhagar collide, but the larger beast gains the precocious hand. Soon, Rhaenys, Meleys and Sunfyre are dead, portion Aegon hardly clings to life.

Alan Taylor directs histrion Ewan Mitchell, who plays Aemond Targaryen.

“We had to dramatize this happening that everybody’s been truthful acrophobic of, which is dragon-on-dragon war,” said showrunner Ryan Condal, who wrote the episode. “You spot however unspeakable it is, and besides however stunning and spectacular, arsenic these gods are warring successful the sky.”

Working with his longtime spouse Jane Wu, manager Taylor began storyboarding the series successful the aboriginal weeks of 2023. During their research, the brace discovered footage of birds of prey engaging successful midair, and they chose to incorporated those movements into the dragon fight. “One usually turns upside down, truthful they conscionable talon to talon,” Taylor said. “That means they’re locked together, truthful past it becomes a decease spiral. The thought of doing that but with [creatures the size of] 2 747s seemed similar it would beryllium appropriately big.”

Wu’s images became the instauration for the previsualization, oregon “previs,” of the Rook’s Rest battle. Serving arsenic a benignant of roadworthy map, the “previs” allowed the filmmakers to crippled retired each item of each country — from what camera angles would beryllium utilized to however the CG dragons would move. Understanding precisely however and erstwhile each carnal would bank, tilt, soar oregon nosedive was indispensable for readying the dragon-riding scenes.

VFX accumulation manager Adam Lawrence connected set.

For those shots, mostly filmed astatine Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the series’ accumulation headquarters, the actors were seated connected a subordinate atop a motion-controlled basal surrounded by ample bluish screens. The basal was past programmed to simulate the circumstantial movements of each character’s dragon, portion upwind machines and peculiar lighting re-created aerial conditions.

“Trying to find a mode to marque these clashes look arsenic convulsive arsenic they would truly beryllium portion keeping the actors harmless was a challenge,” said ocular effects shaper Thomas M. Horton. “How bash we sprout this with a subordinate and a motion-controlled camera truthful it looks similar they’re being spun astir astatine 90 miles per hr but really they’re not?”

It’s not the easiest situation successful which to make authentic affectional moments, noted Taylor, who singled retired Best for delivering heartbreaking enactment nether hard circumstances. “She’s doing a precise intense, subtle show portion she’s being slammed astir connected this bucking bronco with upwind machines and a robotic camera,” Taylor said. “She was a trouper.”

Mitchell described the subordinate enactment arsenic thing of a thrill thrust that greatly informed his performance. “Having that feedback from what is efficaciously a machine, it truly brings the country to life,” the histrion said. “It’s astir similar a equine jockey. I’m leaning implicit arsenic opposed to sitting backmost handling the reins, truly putting each my assemblage into it.”

Behind the scenes of "The Red Dragon and the Gold."

To seizure definite shots of Aemond and Vhagar against the Rook’s Rest histrion line, a makeshift subordinate was brought to Bourne Woods successful the English region of Surrey, wherever the carnal conflict was filmed — the archetypal clip the bid attempted to bash subordinate enactment connected location. “To beryllium suspended 30-40 feet up successful the air? Nothing beats it,” Mitchell said. “It’s escapism to the max.”

During the astir 10-day shoot, which took spot successful August 2023, drones approximated the dragons’ formation way truthful the actors connected the crushed knew wherever to look erstwhile they craned their necks toward the sky. Stunt performers posed arsenic knights, donning layers of protective cogwheel beneath their costumes truthful that they could safely beryllium lighted connected occurrence and pain for up to 15 seconds earlier being extinguished.

The crushed was besides littered with artificial burning bodies to simulate the dragons’ victims. “Obviously, there’s a information contented with existent fire, but for the astir part, it’s a assistance due to the fact that it motivates the quality to enactment tons of ambiance done [the shots], and putting tons of atmos and fume into the changeable helps photographically,” said cinematographer P.J. Dillon.

The assorted elements of the series were stitched unneurotic during postproduction, with the last scenes completed conscionable weeks earlier the occurrence aired. “Three dragons, subordinate shots, fire, we had to make the castle, the full cliff and the sea, determination was a large service enhancement arsenic good — the ratio of ace complex, precise heavy-lift shots successful that occurrence is off-the-charts high,” said VFX supervisor Daði Einarsson.

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