House of the Dragon
Production Company
PLSVFX
Software
Maya
Arnold
Blender
Nuke
Responsibilities
Layout
Look Dev
Modelling
Shading
Texturing
Lighting
Smoke FX
Episode 3 - Second of His Name
As a long-time admirer of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, I was thrilled when our team was given the opportunity to contribute to the first season of House of the Dragon. Delivering the two assigned sequences was a considerable challenge due to the limited timeframe and the volume of work required, but we ultimately met the deadline successfully.
The first sequence we tackled was the battle scene in Episode 3, where the protagonist confronts his nemesis. In total, the sequence comprised approximately 130 shots, most of which required some level of CG enhancement. Our primary focus was on adding atmospheric effects such as smoke, embers, debris, dust, clumps of dirt, and blood to heighten the sense of chaos on the battlefield. To optimise production time, I developed a reusable library of particle and smoke FX that could be efficiently applied across multiple shots.
Episode 9 - The Green Council
The second sequence focused on the Grand Sept, where a major fight took place. We received a basic model of the asset from MPC, which had originally been created for previous episodes of Game of Thrones as a background element within the King’s Landing cityscapes. My primary responsibility was to enhance the textures and shaders and ensure that the building would hold up close to camera. With just over two weeks to refine the asset to the client’s satisfaction, integrate it into the shots, and complete the lighting and rendering, the task was substantial — but we ultimately delivered the sequence successfully and to the director’s approval.
