Visual effects firm El Ranchito has released a visual effects breakdown of all of the hard work that went into transforming a desolate northern landscape into an epic battle. Typically, these videos released at the end of each season of “Game of Thrones” focus on minor additions and changes made to enhance scenes a viewer may otherwise not notice. In the case of “Hardhome“, so much work went into a single scene, there is more than enough material to dive into.
Aside from the obvious addition of hundreds of digital extras being inserted, the video highlights the major impact color correction, background painting, and the splicing of elements filmed separately all have on the scene becoming a cohesive whole. We actually get to see the effects process that went into my two favorite elements of this scene – the tracking shot of Jon Snow (Kit Harington) running through the courtyard ending with Wun Wun (Ian Whyte) bursting through the roof of a hut and a lot of wights hurling themselves off of a cliff like lemmings.
Interestingly, the one element that ties the entire experience together is the coloring of the scene. The light, pale blue tinge that permeates the action really highlights the impending doom the humans face. Seeing the before and after comparison of the color correction shows off the subconscious impact it has and is one of the many reasons I always look forward to videos like this.
Check out the breakdown below as well as a behind the scenes video HBO released right after the episode aired originally. Hopefully this will fill some time during the long wait until season six!
[vimeo id=”132571771″ width=”640″]
