Watch the Amazing VFX reel for the Massacre at Hardhome
El Ranchito, the digital effects studio responsible for what is arguably the best episode of Game of Thrones Season 5—Episode 8, “Hardhome”—has released a video to Vimeo detailing how those exciting scenes were brought to life.
In an episode like “Hardhome,” which relied heavily on a 15-minute action scene, the visual effects have to be on point. From the moment Jon, Tormund, and the men of the Night’s Watch arrive at the shores of Hardhome, the special effects for the episode were already working overtime.
From the surrounding mountains that enclosed the Magheramorne cement quarry where the Massacre at Hardhome was filmed to the moment Jon dispatched the White Walker, El Ranchito absolutely nailed every aspect of the sequence. Of course, shots like Jon chopping a wight in half also relied on Kit Harington’s ability to swing a sword, but without El Ranchito’s superlative work, there would have been no wight to chop.
There was also the difficult task of making a giant seem as if he really is stomping and squashing wights and wading out to sea, fighting off undead minions as he goes. Seeing how Wun Wun is filmed separately and then inserted into the shots is amazing.
Also awe-inspiring: the reminder of just how many wildlings were left outside the gates of Hardhome. Seeing that El Ranchito digitally replicated one group into many is very neat, and serves to remind us that the Night’s King gained a whole lot of new recruits that day.
The coup de grâce of the episode, both metaphorically and literally, was Jon’s killing of the White Walker warrior. The final blow Jon delivers with Longclaw is beautifully filmed, especially after it’s capped by the White Walker shattering into a thousand icy shards.
With Season 6 possibly being the penultimate season of Game of Thrones, the White Walkers are sure to become a bigger part of the show, and with that will come the need for more stunning visual effects. Hopefully, the brass at HBO will once again turn to El Ranchito, and we will have the pleasure of seeing their masterful work again.
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