Curated by the IndieWire Crafts team, Craft Considerations is a platform where filmmakers can talk about recent work that we think is worthy of recognition. In collaboration with HBO, for this edition, we examine how design and performance were used to capture the dramatic arc of King Viserys’ reign in Season 1 of “House of the Dragon.”
Set 170 years before ‘Game of Thrones’, the makers of the ‘House of the Dragon’ prequel were inspired by the eight seasons of the Emmy-winning series, but their story was set far enough in the past that they never felt obligated Now. Explains production designer Jim Clay, “The medieval European genre is quite familiar now in the world of film and television, and so the first conversations with (season 1 showrunners) Miguel (Sapochnik) and Ryan (Condal) were about pushing the envelope into a slightly different world.” Initially, the consensus leaned that the design of the late Roman and Byzantine empires would lead to a world that seemed plausible but less familiar to the public.
The story arc of the first season focused on the 26-year reign of Viserys I Targaryen, opening with his accession to the throne and concluding dramatically with his death and its immediate aftermath. In the videos below, Clay and costume designer Jany Temine explain how they captured this drama in their designs, while Viserys himself, actor Paddy Considine, talks about capturing the tragic arc of a wise and good man destined to suffer on the Throne of Swords.
Designing a palace of intrigue
The drama of the first season is defined by the increasingly thorny question of who will succeed Viserys, which pits the self-interest of the king’s family and his seven kingdoms against each other. To capture this palace intrigue, Clay redesigned King’s Landing castle (the Red Keep) with a Machiavellian undertone. “I designed the architecture so that there were no secrets in the Red Keep, you were always being watched,” the production designer explains in the video above. To achieve this, Clay and his team constructed a massive composite set that allowed the camera and cast to move continuously from room to room while providing tremendous spatial depth, complete with expansive stairwells and landings. advantageous open for constant observation.
Clay’s Red Keep was also designed so that the weight of the story is quite literal for Viserys. The throne room’s size and scope have been increased, constructed with massive columns of Targayen ancestors who set judgment, while a 30-foot sculpture of the dragon Balerion (“the last living creature to see Old Valyria before the doom “) preserves the past inevitably present. Inspired by fan art, Clay’s throne has been extended so that the swords of the vanquished extend beyond the king’s seat, creating a danger that requires a careful and sober approach from anyone who dares climb the rungs of power.
Play the King
“Viserys was the role I’ve been waiting for a long, long time,” Considine told IndieWire, cheekily adding, “In my cynical way, I just thought, ‘Who turned it down?'”
In fact, the 50-year-old actor was not only the creators’ first choice, but the perfect person to play a wise man with a good heart, who as king is ultimately defeated by both virtues. “He’s always torn between who he is and what he owes him,” said Considine. “That was one of the great things about playing him, it’s the juggling act that I had to do.” What is remarkable about the performance is that while Viserys has to play a naïve role, the actor’s subtle performance slowly reveals that he knows more than he lets on, with an empathic understanding of each family member’s motivations in coping and threatening the his hope that his daughter Rhaenyra (Emma D. ‘Arcy) will peacefully assume her throne after he’s gone.
“I always thought Throne was a little supernatural,” Considine says in the video above. “He will reject you if he doesn’t like you.” In Viserys’ case, this is quite literal, as one of the swords cuts off his hand, setting in motion two decades of painful decline, his flesh slowly rotting away until he is disfigured and bedridden. In the video above, the actor discusses how he approached the physically demanding role and breaks down his remarkable last three scenes, in which his character musters the will to roll out of bed, ascend the throne, and make one last attempt to set her house. in order before you die.
A clash of colors
While Season 1’s focus is largely on the Targareyans in King’s Landing, “House of the Dragon,” like “Game of Thrones,” is a story about the Seven Kingdoms. This meant that the history and culture of the different houses, each rooted in its distinct climate and surroundings, would have to be told through their clothing.
“Family colors were very important,” Temime said. “The clash of colors reflected the clash of family.”
In the video above, the costume designer explains how the health and wealth of the seafaring valerians are juxtaposed with the black and dragon red of the Targareyans. Season 1’s growing conflicts are personal as well as familial, as Temine takes the viewer through how she has followed the story of Alicent (played by teenage Emily Carey and adult Olivia Cooke) and Rhaenyra (teenage Milly Alcock, sequel by D’Arcy), the two friends who clash in a conflict that seems destined to lead to war in the second season.
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