Game of Thrones' Map Sequence Intended for Scene Transitions

Greg Tito

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Sep 29, 2005
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Game of Thrones' Map Sequence Intended for Scene Transitions

The animated map sequence for HBO's Game of Thrones was originally meant to help guide the viewer between locations, before the creators decided it was better suited to open the show.

I was impressed with the opening sequence of Game of Thrones from the moment I saw the first episode [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/gameofthrones/8804-Talking-About-Game-of-Thrones]. The map is an integral part of every fantasy story, and being reminded of the geography of Westeros in such an interesting way each week is analagous to checking the front of the book each time I had a question about the whereabouts of this or that city when I first read the story. But as Angus Wall, creative director of the studio who handled the sequence for HBO, reveals, the concept of a map within a sphere came slowly. The writers of the show had scripted a title sequence of a crow flying from King's Landing to Winterfell, but they asked Wall to come up with a way to use that idea to bring the viewer from location to location.

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"We did some concept sketches around that idea but when the pilot was shot, they called us in and said, 'People are confused about where they are. Can you guys create little map pieces? Not a title sequence per se, but something that shows us exactly where we are when we go from place to place,'" Wall said.

"We created five [sample] map shots that were cut in every time the show went from one place to the next. It worked really well in terms of telling you where you were, but it interrupted the narrative flow of the show. We looked at the synopsis for season one and identified what it would take to make these little interstitial shots for all ten episodes, but due to the fact they somewhat disrupted the narrative, the whole map idea got pushed back into the title sequence."

Wall didn't want to use the 90 seconds to show a static map. "We didn't want to create something that's been done before like what you've seen in Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. Those things are wonderful, but we wanted to do something different.

"Our goal was to try to replicate something that looks and acts like a physical object," Wall said. The idea for the whole sequence to take place within a sphere came about organically. "A lot of the solutions were just pragmatic ones. The fact that I wanted to be able to move the camera anywhere led us to the fact that this whole world had to exist on the inside of a sphere, which took us a while to figure out," he said. "Next question was 'how is it lit?' And obviously, If you have a whole world inside a sphere, what would be in the middle of that sphere? The sun! Or whatever the light source of this world is."

As for the hardcore fans who may have pointed out minor inconsistencies in the map, Wall said he got his information from the source. "We had an existing map of Westeros and a xeroxed hand drawn map of Essos - both done by George R. R. Martin - and I took those into Photoshop and played with their scale until they lined up perfectly. The actual dimensions, the locations and their placement, and the different terrains are all based strictly on George R. R. Martin's maps."

Learning how the whole title sequence came about is fascinating, especially how Wall uses the relief images on the spokes of the astrolabe to tell a brief history of Westeros using the sigil animals of the major Houses. Using different sequences to showcase the locations in each episode - like the new Eyrie shots for "The Wolf and the Lion" [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/gameofthrones/8877-Game-of-Thrones-Commentary-on-The-Wolf-and-the-Lion] - is just as good a way to orient viewers than a map transition would have been.

If you're interested in more Game of Thones commentary, check out all of our coverage here [http://ims.themis-media.com/module/96/ims_articles/view_folder?id=602].

Source: The Art of the Title [http://www.artofthetitle.com/2011/05/12/game-of-thrones/]

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Anti-Robot Man

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I thought the title sequence was a great idea, it's a much better use of the time than just showing us snippets of the actors over and over again.

For most shows I just fast forward* through the titles once I've watched them once or twice, with Game of Thrones I watch it everytime.

* I pretty much record everything, spares me having to watch commercials.
 

rembrandtqeinstein

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That intro is the most lush and polished I ever saw since "Luther". It instantly draws you into the world in a totally fascinating way.

I'm of the opinion that Thrones is the best show ever made in both writing, acting, and production quality. From the haughtiness oozing off all of the Lannisters to the the percussive force of every word the King says to the quiet dignity of Stark all of the characters are perfectly portrayed.
 

MarsProbe

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Dec 13, 2008
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Interesting. I've always liked a good map of a fantasy world, so having one on screen while the opening credits roll for Game of Thrones was a good move.

Now, if I just caught up with the current batch of episodes, I wouldn't need to worry about being hit with spoilers whenever visiting the Escapists front page. I know you don't actually post GoT spoilers on the front page but still, the feeling of dread remains...:)
 

Realitycrash

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Eh, you think people need help with changing locale? How about help understanding the basic houses?
I had to go up on Wikipedia and read an entire article called "Major Houses in A Song of Fire and Ice" to get an idea who the King and Jon Arryn really were.

Speaking of which; If the King has a son with his wife, the king being Baratheon and wife Lanicster, what house is the son? Traditionally, sons have taken their fathers names, but here, the son is refered to his mother as a Lanicster. Yet Ned Stark's sons are Starks.
 

CK76

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Realitycrash said:
Speaking of which; If the King has a son with his wife, the king being Baratheon and wife Lannister, what house is the son? Traditionally, sons have taken their fathers names, but here, the son is refered to his mother as a Lannister. Yet Ned Stark's sons are Starks.
Um, might be a bit of spoiler explaining that. I will say his name is Joffrey Baratheon.

His mother's side is Lannister who he identifies more with. Of course, if you know the "big secret scandal" you'd know why he looks and acts more like a Lannister
 

Realitycrash

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CK76 said:
Realitycrash said:
Speaking of which; If the King has a son with his wife, the king being Baratheon and wife Lannister, what house is the son? Traditionally, sons have taken their fathers names, but here, the son is refered to his mother as a Lannister. Yet Ned Stark's sons are Starks.
Um, might be a bit of spoiler explaining that. I will say his name is Joffrey Baratheon.

His mother's side is Lannister who he identifies more with. Of course, if you know the "big secret scandal" you'd know why he looks and acts more like a Lannister
'

So it follows their fathers lineage. Thanks.

And yeah, I know the scandal, heh.
 

ElectroJosh

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I love the intro to a game of thrones. Its one of the first since the Sopranos that I watch all the way through (if I have recorded it - obviously if I watch it when it initially screens I have little option).
 

rickthetrick

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I love the intro for this show. I'm glad they chose not to use it as a transition. That would have been jarring to the flow of the episodes. I hate when shows use crap like generic city skylines at night to fill in between scenes.
 

Vrach

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rembrandtqeinstein said:
That intro is the most lush and polished I ever saw since "Luther". It instantly draws you into the world in a totally fascinating way.

I'm of the opinion that Thrones is the best show ever made in both writing, acting, and production quality. From the haughtiness oozing off all of the Lannisters to the the percussive force of every word the King says to the quiet dignity of Stark all of the characters are perfectly portrayed.
^Very much agreed. The characters in particular are just... wow. The Extra Credits episode came to mind after seeing lady Stark in the tavern at the end of episode 3 and a realisation dawned on me "holy fuck, every single female character in this series is probably up for a reward on best female character in fantasy (and probably other) fiction to date". They're just brilliant and it's not just the females, it's pretty much everyone, Tyrion, Ned Stark, the King, NONE of them are one dimensional, save for perhaps the male Targaryen (I'm sure I butchered the name there, sorry) and it's immensely interesting to look upon each character and see all the little bits of them that make them actual characters rather than just background stick figures. Even the background characters like the whores in a brothel are fleshed out a bit, if you'll pardon the pun :p

OT: Yeah, the map is awesome, and I'm glad they kept it at intro. Maybe I'd have a different opinion if I saw it during the show itself, but I think that would eventually get repetitive, annoying and disruptive. It works just fine as an intro. Incidentally, I'd be really interested in getting my hands on a huge high quality map. Basically if they have a full view of it from far away (but still detailed enough that you can zoom in), that'd be amazing to see, though sadly I have a feeling it's done more as a cinematic than a camera moving through an actual map.