How Rodeo FX brought Moondancer, Silverwing and House of the Dragon’s other dragons to life
As a fanatic of all things related to dragons and the world of Westeros, I must say that “House of the Dragon” has truly outdone itself in terms of dragon scenes. The fourth episode of season 2, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” was an absolute masterpiece that left me utterly awestruck. I’ve watched countless dragon fights in various shows and movies, but none have come close to matching the sheer scale, intensity, and realism of this particular battle. It’s safe to say that no one is competing with HOTD when it comes to dragon battles!
If you start watching a show called House of the Dragon, you’re going to expect some good dragon scenes. Happily, the series delivers. Not only are there a ton of dragons to enjoy, they all have their own personalities and are brought to vivid life by the fine people at Rodeo FX. The dragon-vs-dragon fight scene in the fourth episode of season 2, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” was the best scene of its kind ever put on the screen. Who’s competing with this?
Martin Pelletier from Rodeo FX discussed with Collider the process of creating lifelike scenes involving dragons. Animating dragons can be challenging as there is no creature on Earth similar to them. When seeking inspiration, Rodeo FX considers bats and Komodo dragons, but they didn’t provide the scale that was required for their purposes.
Remarkably, animating the scene with Baela Targaryen and Ser Criston Cole on Moondancer, which might have gone unnoticed, turned out to be the most difficult due to its complex lighting requirements. Pelletier revealed that this scene was particularly challenging because of the significant changes in light, transitioning from a heavily overcast shot to a bright, sunny day backlight. To achieve visual accuracy, they needed to swap the entire sky and perform other adjustments as well.
It’s intriguing to learn that Pelletier and his colleagues calculated Moondancer’s flight speed during the production of this sequence. Apparently, it reaches 150 miles an hour, a pace that seems astonishingly swift. Given such speed, Baela ought to protect her eyes with goggles.
As a gamer, I’ve got to say, the team tweaked some things after animating Baela and Moondancer chasing Criston and his soldiers close to the ground. The 150 MPH rule seemed off when we were practically skimming the ground, so they decided to tone it down for a more authentic feel.
The team also considered the personality traits of the dragon, Moondancer. They envisioned her as somewhat rebellious and reckless, with quicker and more restless movements. In contrast, the older dragon, Silverwing, who appears later in the series during the Red Sowing, was intended to portray a fearless, powerful, yet graceful and highly intelligent demeanor.
Although dragons may grab attention, it’s the intricate environment work by Rodeo FX that often goes unnoticed yet plays a crucial role. For instance, they subtly transformed the Red Keep for season 2 in ways that viewers might not even realize. Pelletier prefers it this way; he wants the audience to be oblivious if an environment appears fake. As he puts it, “We almost aim for it to go unnoticed completely.” According to him, VFX serves to bolster the narrative, but the team should strive to remain inconspicuous. If they succeed in making a scene look like real-life footage or a drone shot, then they’ve done their job flawlessly.
See what he means in Rodeo FX’s House of the Dragon VFX reel below:
As an eager enthusiast, I can’t help but anticipate even more breathtaking moments when House of the Dragon graces our screens again for its third season. Regrettably, it seems we’ll have to wait until 2026 to witness those moments.
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2024-09-10 17:41