Game of Thrones

SRae Productions Brings the “Live Concert Experience” to Life

In oft-used and aptly applied metaphor in the touring industry goes, “We move cities.” With the long-awaited live tour of the HBO epic extravaganza Game of Thrones finally hitting the road, that analogy can now include “We move Worlds.” The Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience is based on the popular TV series, which set records for HBO and attracted a large international fan base.

In the Beginning

The idea for the tour emerged in 2014, hence the “three years in the making’”promotional videos. Production interviews actually started only a little over a year ago. When Sooner Routhier, Curtis Adams and Robert Long of SRae Productions learned that HBO was making plans to put their favorite television fantasy on the road, they pursued it; hard. Self described FANatics, their emotional investment is evident in the nuances and details to the overall set and production design.

“Being fans of the show is what got us the account, in general,” admits Long, who serves as production director. “Honestly, I think that our emotional involvement stems from being in the trenches with the producers, working out every step of the show. We ate, drank and slept nothing but Game of Thrones for quite a while. From show direction to content to set construction, the entire process has been a labor of love,” says Long, “with a few speed bumps along the way.”

The ardent crowd of fans filling the arena shouts cheers and boos along with standing ovations at the imagery and music during the show. Particularly interesting is hearing the crowd shout out characters names, places and even moments from the show, represented by the iconic video scenes or set pieces as they appeared, just as you might hear “Free Bird!” at a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert.

“With this tour,” says Long, “we are injecting a rock-n-pop show into a TV world. There was not really a manager, agent, or any of those players you would typically have in a normal band situation when you are hired as a production manager or designer for a band. The dynamic was one of a group of partners, which included, among others, HBO, Live Nation, the composer Ramin Djawadi and his team.”

The group of producers, working off a short list of designers, interviewed everybody multiple times. That’s where it became evident to the SRae team that their passion for the show was a key asset; it would help them with the nuances of bringing the stories to the stage.

“Because of our deep attraction to the show,” says Long, “we spoke the same ‘language,’ from our initial conversations. We came back for several more interviews before they hired us. When we got the final call, we were very happy, although a bit surprised, as we are a smaller company compared to the other players that came to the table.”

Rehearsals

Production manager Jimmy Pettinato and stage manager Steve Roman drive the 156-rigging-point show, with riggers Bill Rengstl and Lenyn Barahona at the helm. Joining them are many core crew members from Trans Siberian Orchestra.

“Putting this show rehearsal together in the sound stage selected in Los Angeles presented its challenges,” recalls Pettinato. The soundstage (simply called Stage 16) is a famous one on the Warner Bros. lot, most notable for being one of the tallest soundstages in the world. On the face of it, this would seem to be a big plus for such a huge production, but it still posed challenges, Pettinato says, “mainly stemming from the fact the site is just not meant to build touring, mobile productions.”

“The rehearsal hall was not ideal,” agrees Long, “but it was perfectly suited from a marketing standpoint. We had press in the building every other day, which enhanced the process of building anticipation and selling tickets. In retrospect, I am glad we did it the way we did it. Was it challenging for us? Yes. Did we discover flaws in the process? Yes. Did it help us after all was said and done? Damn right, because, the last thing you want to do is move to a building that can’t hold something and start making those adjustments on the fly. “

The Game of Thrones stage, set, lighting and video system spans the entire arena, dasher-to-dasher, North, South, East and West. Sightlines are a primary consideration because of this, and the fact that VIP seating weaves around the performance platforms on the floor. Originally, eight “War Wagons” in the air housed all control, dimmer beach, power distribution and automation to minimize cable drops. The simple math of cable versus gear weight eliminated six platforms. A significant purge during rehearsal, and two more during the first week run, cut the original 280,000-pound load to its present 166,000-pound weight.

Long points out that, when building something brand new and unique, there are bound to be a few challenges, particularly regarding weight and total points. “In the rehearsal process, we went through what does work, from both a production and show direction point of view, and what doesn’t work. I really do believe what we settled on keeps the original vision intact quite well.”

Essentially, the production team had to. The HBO partnership used the team’s original proposal renderings as marketing tools as soon as they awarded the contract to SRae, before a single item was constructed. “We were up against the challenge of keeping the inherent design while making it more efficient,” Long says, of the process.

“It was a concerted effort between Manny Conde and me to take notes from Sooner, and video footage during the day, in order to have effective programming sessions during the night,” says Brian Jenkins, the production’s associate lighting designer and programmer, describing the rehearsal process. “I usually worked throughout the night, and we would discuss run-through notes the next day. Rinse. Sleep. Repeat!”

Once the tour headed out the door, Conde took on the role of tour lighting director. Jenkins and Routhier both credit Conde as “a champ.”

Video and Staging

Video is the star of the show. Of the 22 trucks on the tour, six carry video. The two main “Hero” screens, as they crew nicknamed them, are 48 feet wide and 22 feet tall. They hang center stage, facing East and West, each made with 360 18mm tiles. SGPS built the structural custom frames that help ensure they can be flown safely.

The number seven has special significance in Game of Thrones. Artists, choir members and musicians portray iconic moments seen on the array of video screens live on the seven stages below. Each stage represents a specific location in Westeros, the mythical continent where much of the action of Game of Throne is is set. The opening video lays the groundwork for the Throne entrance. Center stage, a lift rises amidst fog and an ominous orchestral piece to reveal the Throne. The HBO show never explains just how the Throne, made of swords, came to be. While it rotates for three minutes, the crowd actually rose and gave it a standing ovation.

“That was our sales pitch,” says Long, “to draw the audience in, hinting that ‘Finally, the mystery will be revealed.’”

The orchestra performs on the Kings Landing stage; while at the opposite end of the arena is the Winterfell stage. Each of these stages has telescoping video “rings” above them. Kings’ two tiers have 300 9mm tiles. Winterfell, with three, has 364 tiles. I-Mag is displayed on the endcaps of these video rings during certain points of the production to better capture live action taking place onstage at opposite ends of the arena. Off stage left and right, perpendicular to the Hero screens and just over the audience, are four 16-by-nine-foot (WxH) RP/FP screens that also provide I-Mag to the audience.

The two small stages at stage left are “Meereen” and “Braavos.” At stage right, “Dorne” and “Pyke” make up the last two small performance stages.

Lighting

“There was quite a bit of juggling around with fixture uses,” says Jenkins, who helmed the previz and rehearsal programming for SRae. “After a few days with Sooner, I had a good feeling of what she needed, aesthetically. Primarily, we needed to light the set and light the artist
(orchestra), but with the same fixtures. We needed to create environments for the soloists and dash in miscellaneous effects lighting too. With the size of the stage taking up the arena floor, lighting contrast was fundamental to picking out the vignette segments.”

Robe BMFL Blades, a favorite in many designers’ tool boxes for their cropping mechanism, were the workhorses of the rig, providing most of the key and set lighting. The overall speed of the fixture was essential for quick scene changes. Vari-Lite VL4000’s were used above Kings Landing and Winterfell for gobo washes, soloist highlights and general effects. Mythos fixtures under Kings Landing helped to frame the stage and give added feeling to the orchestra and video swells.

“We also lined the runway with a dozen or so Mythos,” says Jenkins, “to provide top light and gobo washes throughout the show. The [Solaris] Mozarts and LED pixel tape, both of which were mounted into the set, helped give the set a nice base layer with all the video and technology happening,” Jenkins adds.

Because both Robert and Sooner are so familiar with the HBO show, informed details are evident throughout the production design, particularly in the shape of each mini stage. “We have more one-trick ponies than you can count,” says Pettinato, “which, to someone in this audience, represent very significant moments.” One such moment involves the pantographs in the show.

“These are what we actually call ‘mirror lights,’ says Long. “It is a beautiful moment when a character visits the Citadel Library. We had SGPS build these round lights, and we mounted a Sharpy inside to simulate the sun hitting it. The section known as ‘Maester’ is a nice slow transition piece, musically. The idea was to simulate exactly what that shot was in the show while putting the same shot on the center video screen.”

The Winterfell stage also features many Game of Thrones-specific vignettes throughout the production. The perimeter floor has enclaves ringing its periphery with a Solaris Mozart inside each. Symbolically, these enclaves represent the Castle of the North.

Martin Quantum Washes mounted under the transparent stages provide a soft glow, and an indirect way to pull the eye to a certain area of the stage.

Music

Composer Ramin Djawadi travels with and conducts the live show. He built a click track for himself and the orchestra members in his personal studio. Everyone follows this in their ears as well as their visual streamers. Nine key or first chair musicians travel with show, as the unique instruments and percussion are so prominent in the score. Thirty-one classically trained local musicians are hired in each city, which a team from the tour rehearses a few weeks out before the event hits the city.

All lighting, video, pyro and automation are time-coded. “We needed perfectly executed cues,” says Long, “and this was the only way.”

This is where Lucid Creative comes in. Lucid provided d3 programming and support services for VER for the whole show, from pre-viz into the final product. In the process, they also stepped into a role as technical systems supervisors for Matt Geasey and SRae Productions. The company consulted on network design, as well as implementation of various cross-departmental systems to figure all the different places where video content needed to touch other departments and how it will interact.

Specifically, Lucid used PosiStageNet with the SGPS Raynox Automation tracking system. They were able to combine the use of MA 3D visualizer with d3 through custom work to overlay on the same screen. d3 also provides a multi-track transport feature, which provides separate timecode markers. “It’s like a whole mini show within the show,” says Kyle Bjordahl, of Lucid, “running just for the orchestra performers on the stage.”

“We worked with Matt Geasey at SRae and proposed a merged network infrastructure using fiber optic cable as the main core of distribution because we needed to treat this show as one big show. The show relies on all these different departments being able to communicate together.”

With that, map in hand, VER created a solution that dispensed with the disparate assortment of network switches unique to video or lighting or automation.

Pyro

“As for the fire and pyro effects,” says Long, “it was really important to create all elements in this show — Fire, Water, Air and Earth.”

FFP Effects’ claim to fame stems from the revolutionary effects they’ve provided on tours with German metal band Rammstein. Long has worked with FFP many years, most recently on Mötley Crüe. The four crewmembers cover all special effects, from dry ice, fog and fire to the leaves, snow and all the confetti machines. Two elements use actual combustion, while the rest are low fog or real fog cryo.

Their proprietary moving light head, much like a light yoke, creates a spectacular effect for Game of Thrones; they literally shoot fire. The company uses a liquid flame mega (LFM) system that operates with compressed air and Isoparaffinic Hydrocarbon, which is a non-flammable liquid. Once inside the machines, it transforms into a flammable liquid within seconds. “The moving racks are an adaptation that allows us to direct the flame into any direction; even upside down,” says shooter Leander Mobius.

Using aerosol instead of propane cylinders is very helpful in buildings that do not allow propane. They also minimize risk while keeping the performance of the flame consistent. The leaf drop scene over the Winterfell stage is accomplished with a customized swirl fan system. A series of four Silent Storms manufactured by Artistry in Motion generate the heavy snowstorm effect.

The two MA Dot2 and Galaxis Wireless Controllers Black Edition are triggered by time code from d3.

Calling the Cues

Stage Manager Steve Roman takes on the role of technical director during the show. He calls the cue sequences originally built by the SRae team prompting automation moves, lift actions and all musician, choral and artist movement. Crew members from the staging department assist the human moves throughout the Game of Thrones world.

The Winterfell stage plays a predominant role in most of the action during the show. Inside the Plexiglas deck, there is a three-tier “wedding cake” lift built into the circle. It can rise up as far as 12 feet in height. The plexi decking has varying sized holes cut out, from large to small, in a semicircle, illuminated by Solaris Mozart fixtures. This represents the spiraling circle of stones around the Wayweir Tree from the TV show.

Uplighting from below deck punctuates and accents these effects. Wash lights in the circular truss supporting the video rings are used on the Wayweir tree itself, and one profile fixture illuminates the violinist who goes up on the center of the lift into the tree. Leaves fill out this scene.

The larger of the two video rings, which is seven feet tall, descends to the Plexiglas deck to cover up the transition for Battle of the Bastards. Snow begins to fall as the cellist is revealed, on top of dead bodies.

“I’ll be honest,” says Pettinato. “I had little or no idea of what Games of Thrones was about before I took this gig. You really do not need to be that familiar with it either, in order to enjoy the show. What attracted me to the project when Robert asked me to come on board was that this show is an entity. It is a production for production sake. That is apparent in the details, which everyone will enjoy, whether they are a fan or not.”

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