Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/916056
P E R S P E C T I V E | J A N UA RY / F E B R UA RY 2 0 1 8 55 comprehension. It possesses great power, strength and natural beauty, as these great slabs appear to soar out of the water and defy gravity by clinging to the cliffs. There was too much to ignore, despite not enough room for us to house our entry gates, and a sea often too rough to land our skiffs safely. We also were taken to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, which exists along the same stretch of dramatic coast on the Bay of Biscay. Despite issues with access, the solid-stone bridge with over two hundred steps seemed to be the most obviously Game of Thrones location we have ever found. The little chapel at the top, which dates back to the tenth century, houses offerings from sailors seeking protection on their voyages. It was replaced in the digital world with the castle of Dragonstone overlooking Blackwater Bay. As always, each and every set, real and virtual, always starts with a piece of concept art. This was created by Kieran Belshaw, tying all that we knew about the exterior of Dragonstone and the island on which it stood into one image. Kieran then detailed the grand entrance gates, which were originally scripted to be of dragon's feet. Any attempt at designing dragon's feet when not seeing the rest of the body looked like chicken's feet, and the idea was abandoned. The massive dragon heads were approved, sculpted and assembled on stage in Belfast, and dropped into position pixel by pixel into our Spanish location, which was never going to be large enough to accommodate everything wanted. When Dan and David briefed me about their ideas for the Dragonstone audience chamber, all they said was that they liked the thought of using forced perspective to enhance a totalitarian space. Perspective first made me think of the photos of Louis Khan's Salk Institute. I liked the Brutalist forms and the crisp, strong lines that define shape, but once visiting Zumaia, it seemed very obvious that the main inspiration of the space should be derived from the strata itself. Everything about the building should hinge on the idea that the castle was built around the strata and that the throne should be carved into it. In this way, the throne was not to be a piece of movable furniture, but instead, the whole building was to be built around it. Construction manager Tom Martin sent a small team of plasterers down to Zumaia to take impressions of the strata so that they could be shipped back to home base in Belfast, and the throne be built out of accurately cast plaster moulds. C. Dragon Gates. Concept drawing by Kieran Belshaw, modeled in Maya and rendered in Photoshop. D. Art Director Phil Elton and Assistant Art Director James Spencer with the dragon heads in the early stages of being sculpted. Photo by Deborah Riley E. The Dragon Gates as they appeared on screen in episode one, with digital set extension. F. Director Mark Mylod with the Gate Guardians on their first day of shooting at Titanic Stages in Belfast. Art Director Phil Elton. Photo by Deborah Riley C E D F