Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1144162
44 cgw s u m m e r 2 0 1 9 water in the scene was CG, as was the sky and the backgrounds. Then, Weta destroyed it all via Drogon, amping up the beast's fire power to reflect its rage for the death of its brother as the digital artists generated both fire and water simulations and interactions. The studio developed effects technology that enabled the artists to combine fire and water simulation and rendering for CG and plate-element Drogon fire with the ocean water and explosions. The fight moves on to King's Landing, where Cersei observes the melee from her perch in the Red Keep. " T he Ir o n T hr o ne " Despite the ringing of the bells in Episode 5 that signify the surrender of the citi- zens in King's Landing, Dany is undeterred from raining down death and destruction throughout the city from atop her remain- ing dragon, Drogon, who was animated again by Image Engine. The city itself was a 3D model based on a photogrammetric scan of the physical locale that was then built out to be much larger. The city burns and buildings are destroyed by Scanline. Also, Pixomondo created the destruction and debris that falls around Jaime Lannister and Cersei on their way to their reunion. Using Houdini, Pixomondo simulated falling debris as the ceilings and stonework crumble, refer- encing special effects debris on set. Both Pixomondo and Scanline shared segments of the sequence wherein the Hound and Mountain face off in the crumbling tower. Just prior to the fight, Jaime Lannister finally reaches his beloved sister and they attempt to escape but become trapped in the Skull Room by falling debris, and die in each other's arms – construction and destruction levied by Weta. "We did all the set extensions for the Skull Room but had to rearrange the room for that shot [of the room collapse]. You can see over their shoulders quite deep into the room, with all the arches," Hill describes. "And then you see the collapse of the crypt happen- ing farther away, the percussion effects of each of the arches collapsing and getting closer and closer." M eltd own Dany and Jon meet up in the Throne Room in the final episode. They embrace, and during a passionate kiss, he stabs her to death. Drogon enters, sees the Mother of Dragons dead with Jon beside her. Jon expects the same fate as Varys, but instead the dragon directs its rage at the Iron Throne, and melts it to the ground before snatching up Dany in its massive claws and carrying her away. Pixomondo was involved with this scene early on, creating previs based on the storyboards, as well as completing pre-animation and preparation for the shoot, directed by showrunners David Be- nioff and DB Weiss. "[The scene] was the best-kept secret of all the sequences," says Sven Martin, VFX supervisor at Pixomondo, which began working on the sequence two years ago. "We laid out the whole sequence with the dragon and Jon and Dany so the directors, in this case, the showrunners, could have it for timing purposes; it is a slow-paced sequence but a very special one. On set, the camera was tracked live in simulcam so the camera operator and the KINGS LANDING, A 3D MODEL BASED ON A PHOTOGRAMMETRIC SCAN OF THE PHYSICAL LOCALE AND THEN EXTENDED, IS DESTROYED. MANY SHOTS AND SEQUENCES WERE SHARED AMONG STUDIOS. HERE, IMAGE ENGINE HELPS RHAEGAL FLY BUT WETA TAKES HIM DOWN. FIRE IS OFTEN PRACTICAL IN THE SERIES, FROM A MOTION-CONTROLLED FLAMETHROWER.