Game Of Thrones cinematographer Fabian Wagner defends the Battle of Winterfell's dark scenes

Contrary to the divided opinion of fans about the strategy used in the most anticipated battle in Game of Thrones, there was one issue that almost all the fans were united about – the low lighting of the episode. Hilarious memes have been circulated with Melisandre being thanked for the fire she set up on Dothraki blades, to dragons being applauded for helping with brightness whenever they could. However, cinematographer Fabian Wagner who worked on the episode thinks otherwise.

Wagner, in an interview with Wired, blamed HBO for compressing the episode in a manner that had a direct impact on the clarity, resulting in pixalation and muddy patches surrounded by dark light. The cinematographer who has worked on epic episodes like Battle of the Bastards and Hardhome, said that most of the viewers watch episodes on smaller screens, thereby affecting the viewing experience. The intention of the lighting was supposed to show the war as intense, claustrophobic and disorienting.

Wagner asserts that the episode was not meant to be confusing and hence for the perfect viewing experience it should’ve be watched in darker rooms and bigger screens.

“A lot of the problem is that a lot of people don’t know how to tune their TVs properly,” he said. “A lot of people also unfortunately watch it on small iPads, which in no way can do justice to a show like that anyway.”

What are your thoughts about Wagner’s statements? Let us know in the comments section.

 

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