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HBO takes us behind the scenes of House of the Dragon episode 4
The latest episode of House of the Dragon came with many new locations and surprises. It is the first time Game of Thrones fans had a look inside Storm’s End, the seat of House Baratheon. This is also the first time old fans see a ship not meant for war purposes. With so many details going into each episode, let’s have a look at the behind-the-scenes released by HBO.
5. A New Ship
This ship is meant only for touring, as told by the concept artists. The Targaryens mostly use it to travel within Blackwater Bay, to Driftmark and Dragonstone. Even though it isn’t a warship, the artists wanted it to look out of the ordinary. The ship looks pristine in the episode, but in reality, only one-third of the ship was bu; the rest was all VFX.
4. Storm’s End
We had only heard about Robert Baratheon’s ancestral home throughout Game of Thrones. But in episode 4 of House of the Dragon, we finally have a peek inside Storm’s End. Apart from a few set pieces, the entire scene was filmed inside Volume. A fancier upgrade to the blue screen, Volume is a 360-degree screen setup onto which the surrounding can be projected. It creates a brand new experience for the actors as well as the audience. Rhaenyra’s suitors are lined up in the hall of the Baratheons as she tries to get through the tour her father arranged.
3. The Godswood
Jim Clay, the production designer on the series, described the Godswood area are “fairy-like.” He says he drew inspiration from the Byzantine era and wanted it to have a renaissance quality. The weirwood tree also drew inspiration from the one in Winterfell from Game of Thrones. Fun fact, the face on this weirwood tree is of one of the showrunners, Miguel Sapochnik’s mother.
2. King of the Narrow Sea
The crown Daemon Targaryen wears is meant to be made of human bones of the Triarchy. Since painting realistic bones is quite hard and time-taking, there was only one crown and no substitutes. So everyone on set had to be careful with it. Matt Smith even denied bowing too deep in case the crown falls and gets damaged.
1. A Night Out On The Town
The shooting of Rhaenyra’s night out occurs in the small town of Caceres in Spain. Many small villages in Spain were also used as locations for King’s Landing in Game of Thrones. House of the Dragon implements tandem shooting in this episode. This means multiple teams were shooting simultaneously in different streets and alleyways of Caceres. Also, there were a lot of residents who enjoyed being extras in this scene.
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