Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are set in fictional locations and time periods. Although they have mystical creatures and magical beings, the shows lack modern-day comforts, like electricity. Torches and candles are used to illuminate the otherwise dreary interiors seen throughout both shows. However using all that fire could make things a little uncomfortable on set.
When does ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘House of the Dragon’ take place?
Game of Thrones takes place in the fantasy realms of Westeros and Essos, beginning in 298 AC. While George R.R. Martin drew from many historical sources to create his fantasy novels, he admitted in an interview with The Guardian that the time period is perhaps closest to the War of the Roses in 15th century England. The feud took place between the houses of York, represented by a white rose, and Lancaster, represented by a red rose.
House of the Dragon is set about 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. It takes place at the height of the Targaryen dynasty. “This period in Westeros was a very decadent time, so you get to see what the realm looks like before it descends into the detritus and post-decadence of war that you see in the original series,” said showrunner Ryan Condal in a featurette.
The fantasy shows had to use ‘source’ lighting
Of course, given the time period, the crew of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon couldn’t have lamps and light switches visible on screen. Instead, the shows use “source” lighting. In other words, the lighting for each scene attempts to emulate natural lighting such as sunlight, moonlight, or torchlight, The Hollywood Reporter writes.
According to Forbes, during all eight seasons of Game of Thrones and “specific to production in Northern Ireland,” production used 20,907 candles in total. Although we don’t have the exact statistics for the number of candles used in House of the Dragon, it looks like the prequel series could GOT a run for its money.
Candles and torches made filming ‘House of the Dragon’ stifling
In episode 2, Rhaenyra joins Alicent in the Sept, lit by numerous flickering candles. Alice suggests that Rhaenyra light a candle for her mother, which she does, bringing her to tears. Milly Alcock, who plays 15-year-old Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon, told The Hollywood Reporter about a problem all that fire creates on set.
“Because there’s no electricity in this world, everything is lit by fire,” she told the outlet. “So all the lighting that you see in the show would have people that come around and light everything on fire and the set would get incredibly hot. I would get really sweaty and stand like this [extends arms] with two girls with hair dryers. So it was all very glamorous.”
New episodes of House of the Dragon drop Sundays on HBO Max.
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