Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/760821
40 DGA QUARTERLY The initial plan to shoot in Iceland was abandoned as the logistics and infrastruc- ture required to pull off a battle this size became clear. Even the idea of artificially snowing the ground proved too challenging, not to mention that we'd have had to reset the snow after every take, which was enormously time consuming. That said, the tree line had to be snowed as the trees were not evergreen and we were shooting in Sep- tember even though in the script it is already win- ter. It took a week to snow the entire tree line and no sooner had we finished it, it rained and most of it washed away. Re-snowing the tree line became part of the daily routine each morning and evening. We shot the battle in as chronological a manner as we could. However, it was not really efficient to keep moving from one end of the field to the other so we shot everything to a point at one end and then repeated the pro- cess at the other end. This meant that it was very rare that Iwan [Rheon] and Kit [Harington] were ever actually acting opposite each other even though the entire first 10 minutes is essentially a scene between them. That said, we agreed that for the first few hours of each day they would both stand at their end of the field and play the scene so the other had something to play off even though at times they could barely see each other. T H E E P I C C O N F R O N T A T I O N that lies at the center of the "Battle of the Bastards" episode of Game of Thrones—which aired during the sixth season of the HBO series that garnered a dozen Em- mys this past September, including one for director Miguel Sapochnik—is the kind of large-scale enterprise once asso- ciated with wide-screen, roadshow extravaganzas featuring "a cast of thousands." The camera seems to be in constant movement, and the unfolding drama is stunning in its scope and verisimilitude. Everything from the frost on the ground to the hoof beats of the horses is utterly palpable. The meticulous detail and dynamic visu- als immerse the viewer in the experience, and every frame from close-up to long shot is absolutely key not only in propelling the story forward but also revealing the psychology of the players. Sapochnik and his team marshaled 500 extras and 60 stuntmen onto an open field where, he said, "there was nowhere to hide." The script called for 3,000 allied troops versus 6,000 Boltons, so the challenge, explained the director, was to "digitally tile and replicate our troops to seem like they were many more—and more specifically do it in the time we had." A two-week boot camp was conducted for the effort, supervised by ex-military personnel. "It helped build team morale and a friendly competitive spirit between the two sides," said Sapochnik, "so when they ran at each other on the day, it felt more authentic." Sapochnik gives us the blow-by-blow in his own words. —STEVE CHAGOLLAN PHOTOS: (TOP) EVERETT; SCREENPULLS: HBO HOME ENTERTAINMENT S H O T T O R E M E M B E R Television on a Grand Scale EPIC SEQUENCE RIVALS BIG-SCREEN HIGH-WATER MARKS BY MIGUEL SAPOCHNIK 1 2 1 2