An unlikely gym equipment made dragon scenes in House of the Dragon look authentic

From massive castles to life-like grand sets, House of the Dragon has been laser-focused on delivering originality and authenticity in every scene. However, showrunners can only control as much as it’s humanly possible. Since dragons don’t exist in reality, they had to use graphics and visual effects to present the majestic beasts.

The cinematographers of House of the Dragon revealed how they made the dragon riding scenes look authentic and life-like.

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House of the Dragon cinematographers had a problem

Credit: HBO

The people behind the camera weave as much magic as the actors on camera do. Their intricate hand movements and steady stances ensure every scene is shot to perfection. The cinematographers of House of the Dragon are no different.

In the scenes where a character is riding a dragon, a mechanical bull-like machine is used to create erratic movements. The actors mounted the bull and the crew handled the camera at the head of the machine to capture the actor’s expressions. LED screens are put up all around the machine and the actor to create an illusion of the sky.

However, the camera did not match the instability of the dragon riding movements. One of the cinematographers of House of the Dragon, Vanja Černjul, revealed,

“This setup allowed the remote head with the camera to react to handheld operation from the ground. The challenge was making it look like the camera operator was reacting to the buck’s, or dragon’s, movement. The problem was the camera operator on the ground was too stable, and we didn’t want to fake the handheld movement.”

House of the Dragon crew’s secret weapon

Credits: Max

An often overlooked and underappreciated gym tool, the big balance ball, finally came to the rescue for the crew behind the camera. Černjul added,

“I had a silly idea that ended up working. I asked for a half-balance ball from a nearby gym and had the operator stand on it while operating. This made the camera operator a little off-balance, simulating the movement we needed. Our amazing camera operators were game to try anything, and this approach worked.”

This setup allowed the crew to get the scenes in perfect depth, which demonstrated both the actor’s emotions and the rapid movements of the dragon. The final scenes made it to the show, offering a glorious glimpse into the process of dragon-riding.

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11/18/2024 03:42 am GMT