{"id":1207,"date":"2019-04-12T18:31:02","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T18:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sherlock.dog\/home\/?p=1207"},"modified":"2019-04-12T18:31:02","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T18:31:02","slug":"game-of-thrones-a-production-designers-dream-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.synconset.com\/home\/game-of-thrones-a-production-designers-dream-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Game of Thrones: A Production Designer&#8217;s Dream Job"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6>By: Jason Hellerman<\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the intricate costumes to the complex set pieces, SyncOnSet has helped the <em>Game of Thrones<\/em> production teams to keep details organized and accessible, and as we near the Season Eight premiere, we take a look back at how Westeros came alive under the diligent production design of Gemma Jackson and Deborah Riley. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today we&#8217;ll examine the production design in <em>Game of Thrones<\/em> and learn about the people behind the camera that make the sets of the show come to life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&#8217;s go!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZWrapFizT9Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who\u2019s Game of Thrones\u2019s Production Designer?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Game of Thrones<\/em> was already on the air for four years when they approached production designer Deborah Riley to join the team. She took over as Production Designer for Gemma Jackson, who had already won an Emmy for her work. Those were big shoes to fill. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before <em>Game of Thrones<\/em>, Riley was the Art Director on smaller indie movies like <em>21 Grams<\/em> and <em>Real Women Have Curves<\/em>, so when she walked onto the set in Belfast, her mind was blown.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/31B-2T3boFI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a recent interview with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/rts.org.uk\/article\/game-thrones-production-designer-deborah-riley-bringing-westeros-life\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Royal Television Society<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Riley says she was \u201cabsolutely terrified\u201d when she showed up for her first day. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe universe of <em>Game of Thrones<\/em> includes many different kingdoms. It\u2019s the job of the art department to make sure that those kingdoms are separate and different from one another. When that works, the audience accepts these different worlds as being real. In my head, Westeros is about as real as anywhere else.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1210 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sherlock.dog\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Game-of-Thrones-large-map.jpg\" alt=\"Game-of-Thrones-seven-kingdoms\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/sos-wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/12174155\/Game-of-Thrones-large-map.jpg 800w, https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/sos-wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/12174155\/Game-of-Thrones-large-map-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/sos-wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/12174155\/Game-of-Thrones-large-map-768x514.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<h6><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Still, it&#8217;s not as if she came from nowhere. The Australian-born designer has always been ambitious and never shied away from a challenge. She elaborates on these facts in an interview with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.curbed.com\/2017\/7\/12\/15960500\/games-of-thrones-set-design-architecture\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Curbed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI was 39 when I was first given the job, and probably wasn\u2019t the most obvious choice,\u201d she says. \u201cBut working with Baz, as well as Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu on 21 Grams, gave me experiences with visionary ways of approaching filmmaking. And working on the Olympics definitely teaches you to stay sane during the madness.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since 2014, Riley has helped literally sculpt the world of Westeros. From the sept to Dragonstone, she has to get her hands dirty and stay consistent year to year. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Her hard work won her a BAFTA last year. Not bad for a woman who started her career in the Art Department on <em>The Matrix<\/em> and worked her way up. She\u2019s won several Emmy awards for the show since then as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are some Production Challenges on <em>Game of Thrones<\/em>?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But it\u2019s not all fun and games within the show. There are some incredibly hard sets to put together and even more intense episodes where it&#8217;s all hands on deck. For example, during Season Six, everyone was panicked over the &#8216;Battle of the Bastards&#8217;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There had never been a shoot like that in television history. And when the scripts came in and the VFX people were summoned, more hurdles began to arise. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s where excellent production design comes into play. Riley and her team were tasked with creating literal walls of dead bodies. For that, she got creative.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTo achieve the body piles, we had to bulk it out with <\/span><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/rostrum\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rostrum<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to make it as efficiently as possible. We also had to provide all the uniforms and saddlery for the battlefield, a massive and thankless task. But it was satisfying to think that we were able to capture images like this in camera, and that visual effects weren\u2019t required.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zB5Ymrnx-FY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That is an incredible task. Almost as incredible as overthrowing Ramsay Bolton. But it&#8217;s not all battles within the show. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s a lot of prep work. Riley told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2018\/08\/game-of-thrones-deborah-riley-emmys-hbo-interview-1202439600\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deadline<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe producers and I break down the outline that is supplied to us by David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss], our writers and showrunners. We then go through what is assumed to be a set build, which means it will shoot in our stages in Belfast, and what is to be shot on location, historically in Croatia, Spain, Iceland or in Northern Ireland. A very early version of the shooting schedule appears. We scout for locations, we budget and we budget again. Early on I would start with our concept artists and gradually gain all of the necessary approvals to start building. For each and every set, major moment or prop piece, this process would be adhered to. When the directors arrive, we go through the process again and make changes where necessary. Nothing would ever appear on set that has not gone through the rigorous approval process. We were all very aware of keeping true to the look of the show and the vision of David and Dan, no matter how busy we were.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are some inspirations for <em>Game of Thrones\u2019s<\/em> sets?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes you need to design entire castles and cities. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you pull those ideas from thin air? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No. You sit down and look for inspiration. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, when Riley was tasked with creating Dragonstone, the home of Daenerys Targaryen, she knew it had to be a place with both functionality, history, and emotion. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As she told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.curbed.com\/2017\/7\/12\/15960500\/games-of-thrones-set-design-architecture\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Curbed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000080;\">\u201cIt needed to feel like home in a way that was very deep and meaningful, and needed to carry a lot of psychological weight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For that, she drew from the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Salk Institute<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1221 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sherlock.dog\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Salk_Institute_06_2017_SALK_RESTORED-887.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/sos-wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/12182249\/Salk_Institute_06_2017_SALK_RESTORED-887.jpg 600w, https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/sos-wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/12182249\/Salk_Institute_06_2017_SALK_RESTORED-887-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1222 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sherlock.dog\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Dragonstone-throne-room.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/sos-wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/12182317\/Dragonstone-throne-room.jpg 600w, https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/sos-wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/12182317\/Dragonstone-throne-room-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In that same interview with Curbed, Riley espouses, <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000080;\">\u201cWhen you see Dany arrive, it\u2019s quite an emotional moment for her, the same way walking into a cathedral is awe-inspiring&#8230;I love the idea that it was a strong and powerful space, and that architecture can convey that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And what about places like the Iron Bank? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Riley and her crew decided that should resemble the evil and stoic nature of the Third Reich. A place defined by its terrible authoritarian rule and cold heart.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1213 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sherlock.dog\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Iron-Bank-New-Reich-Cancellery-1024x714.png\" alt=\"Iron-Bank-New-Reich-Cancellery\" width=\"640\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/sos-wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/12180113\/Iron-Bank-New-Reich-Cancellery-1024x714.png 1024w, https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/sos-wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/12180113\/Iron-Bank-New-Reich-Cancellery-300x209.png 300w, https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/sos-wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/12180113\/Iron-Bank-New-Reich-Cancellery-768x535.png 768w, https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/sos-wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/12180113\/Iron-Bank-New-Reich-Cancellery.png 1334w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere was one long corridor Speer did, and the general takeaway lesson from his work was scale. It was just absolute scale, and a great sense of the psychology of space. That really fascinates me; it was an immediate manipulation right from the start. It was very well played, something that we tried to adopt. The great thing about these scenes in the Iron Bank is that you immediately understand who\u2019s in control. There\u2019s no set dressing, nothing on that big table. It\u2019s very deliberate as well. Parchment and quill were sitting off stage in case they were needed, but I wanted to make it about discipline in a very extreme fashion. It\u2019s a very visual sense of power. I like that idea of manipulation, and who\u2019s in control.&#8221;<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Throughout all her interviews, it\u2019s clear Riley loves that there were so many architectural styles she could play with inside the show. One such example is Meereen, which trolls online said looked like it ripped off Frank Lloyd Wright. And they weren\u2019t wrong. She took inspiration from him AND she was asked to write for a Frank Lloyd Wright magazine after the episodes aired. Riley called that a professional validation to her style.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gBg939dfVMg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With all these builds, things can get pretty stressful. Deadlines come quick. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Still, they are not creating this stuff overnight. It takes around 200 days to produce a normal 10-episode season of<em> Game of Thrones<\/em>. That\u2019s 20 days per episode. The number went up to around 250 days in the final 6-episode season. So they spent more than double the time spent filming each episode for the finale. Season Eight needed a whopping 40 weeks to be completed. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But those shooting days are probably worthwhile as some estimates have predicted almost twenty million people tune in every week when you count live television and streaming.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What can we expect from Season Eight?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re like me, then Season Eight of <em>Game of Thrones<\/em> has you on the edge of your seat. In a recent interview with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2018\/08\/game-of-thrones-deborah-riley-emmys-hbo-interview-1202439600\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deadline<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Riley said Season Eight was nearly the end of her life! <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000080;\">\u201cThe final season nearly killed me&#8230;I realized at a certain point that all of the work in previous seasons was just a warm-up for Season 8. By the end, I had nothing left to give and finished knowing I had done everything I could. Season 8 does not pull any punches and is raw and honest and important.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I don\u2019t think the production design was the death we anticipated at the end of this season. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of my favorite parts of that interview is when Riley describes the \u201cmassive builds\u201d that had to happen to get the season moving. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because they shoot all over the world, most of these structural tasks were happening at the same time, so she had to manage her schedule as each underwent construction. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Riley didn\u2019t put forward any spoilers, she did talk about how much pride she\u2019s taken in the past five years of filming. Riley and her loyal crew have definitely accomplished something never before seen on television. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Riley says she \u201ccried her eyes out\u201d at the completion of the series and I am sure we will join her when it\u2019s all over too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What\u2019s next? <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.synconset.com\/home\/a-illum-repellat-odit-aliquam-earum\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn 7 habits of a successful costume designer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">!<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now that you know all about <em>Game of Thrones<\/em> and its production design, dive deeper into the costumes that make shows come alive. Costume design is one of the most demanding jobs in the film industry, but also the most rewarding. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lisa Padovani, the costume designer from <em>Boardwalk Empire<\/em> and <em>Gotham<\/em>, helped us outline seven habits that can make you a better costume designer. Click the link to dive in! <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By: Jason Hellerman From the intricate costumes to the complex set pieces, SyncOnSet has helped the Game of Thrones production teams to keep details organized and accessible, and as we near the Season Eight premiere, we take a look back at how Westeros came alive under the diligent production design of Gemma Jackson and Deborah [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.synconset.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.synconset.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.synconset.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.synconset.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.synconset.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1207"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.synconset.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1227,"href":"https:\/\/www.synconset.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207\/revisions\/1227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.synconset.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.synconset.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.synconset.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.synconset.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}