Watch how a CGI-heavy 'Game of Thrones' zombie battle was made
(Warning: spoilers ahead.) The spectacular Game of Thrones 'Hardhome' battle scene with white walkers, zombie-like wights and wildings is pretty VFX-heavy, judging by a new video from effects house El Ranchito. Highlights include Jon Snow slashing a walker into shards of crystal, battle scenes with the giant Wun Wun, and wights -- so many hordes of wights. Despite having TV's highest budget, the show doesn't rely overly on digital effects, using them sparingly on gore and dragons, we imagine. However, Snow actor Kit Harrington said that the 'Hardhome' battle "is so CGI-heavy it's unlike anything I've ever done on Thrones."
He added that it was also the most grueling GoT scene ever, taking nearly a month to shoot. For his own fight scenes, he needed to "first go against a man in a (greenscreen) suit, the second with a man (in zombie makeup) and the third time I would just fight alone." The scene had the biggest budget of any GoT scene, and required about 400 extras and 50 stuntmen. Check the video (below) to see how the VFX artists transformed dull greenscreen shots into a glorious battle in some seriously crappy-looking weather.
