One of the joys of watching Game Of Thrones is how often the special effects blend seamlessly with the practical sets to create a believable fantasy world on screen. That’s also part of the fun of these annual season-by-season VFX reels. This reel from season five of the show and courtesy of Rodeo FX is a little different, however, focusing mostly on the many pure CGI scenes and landscapes, from the toppling of the Harpy in Mereen to the beautiful ruins of Old Valyria. Thrones is a show that often has the feel of a big budget movie week over week, but even with its lavish-for-TV production, it’s worth keeping in mind that an entire season’s worth of Thrones carries the price tag of one modest action-franchise vehicle (reportedly somewhere between $60-70 million per season). That makes Rodeo’s work and those of the other VFX teams all the more impressive, though the less said about Daenerys’s dragon flight, the better; ambition on a budget has its price.
Game Of Thrones – Season 5 – VFX Breakdown from Rodeo FX on Vimeo.