The Technology That Made Game of Thrones Season 6 Look so Terrific

If there's one television show that has the world wanting more and more from each subsequent episode and season, it is Game of Thrones. And the credit for this never-seen-before excitement around the show not only goes to the great storytelling but also to the awesome special effects that go on to create the show.

As we head on to the Season 6 finale, we bring you the story of the great technology that went into making the sequences look so terrific.

The Battle of Winterfell

To get across the field and follow the horses, which were moving at a really high speed, a huge vehicle-mounted mobile crane along with a special rig was required. And the makers opted for a Russian Arm, which was mounted on a Land Rover, to shoot the Battle of Winterfell sequence. Explaining why the Russian Arm was used, Miguel Sapochnik, Director of Battle of the Bastards episode, said, "The Russian arm is such a fun machine to work with because it gives you such dynamic shots."

The Cave Battle

Remember the Cave Battle sequence in Episode 5 that ended in the death of the much-loved character Hodor in the end? The battle featured a sequence wherein children of the forest were seen hurling round grenades at the White Walkers that culminated into huge explosions.

To help the actors flat panels of light were designed and placed at the surface so that when the White Walkers would walk by, the light would stream up from the ground. It was then cut to an explosion followed by stunt men reacting to them.

Prosthetics of Creatures

Games of Thrones includes a varied amount of prosthetics including full-body prosthetics. As described by Barrie Gower, prosthetics designer, Game of Thrones, from start to finish, it takes around four weeks to build a prosthetic character.

Children of the Forest (fully covered from head to toe) were glued completely into these prosthetics all over the body. "It took so long to get them into their brilliant make up and costume," added Gower.

Kae Alexander, who essayed the role of Leaf, a child of the forest, said, "If I were to do a full body prosthetic, I would get picked up at midnight. And I would be on set by 10 AM. So it takes about 9-10 hours of make up."

Barrie Gower explains the art of prosthetics in this video below:

Fire-breathing Dragons

Did you know that the fire Daenerys' dragons breathe is all real? It's just that those fire blasts are not unleashed by the dragons. Those terrifying fire streams are the work of flamethrowers, which are capable of shooting flames up to 50 feet. Those flamethrowers are then attached to cranes to have the fire from various angles.