Here's how the big battle from Sunday's 'Game of Thrones' looks without visual effects

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Actor Kristian Nairn holds off the wights outside Bloodraven's cavern. HBO/YouTube

Sunday's "Game of Thrones" was everything we love about the show: compelling twists, big emotional moments, and landmark, film-quality production values.

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HBO released a visual effects breakdown of the big cave battle beyond the wall as part of its "Anatomy of a Scene" series. The seven-minute video reveals how the climactic battle, and its haunting final moment with Hodor, came to life. 

Bloodraven's cave got a serious upgrade to acommodate the enormous battle, with the effects team filming in several locations with the stunt teams and actors to bring it all together. It was incredible work and paid off in the stand-out episode. 

Keep reading to see how the "Game of Thrones" VFX team brought it all together.

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The size of Bloodraven's cave was expanded. When we saw it in season four, it was only a single room. It had to be much larger to accommodate all the action.

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The effects team built new sets, which would eventually become different parts of the cave.

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HBO/YouTube
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Though shot separately, the sets were put together to all appear as part of Bloodraven's cave.

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HBO

A few key moments were filmed in the cramped corners of the original set, however. Here, an effects worker splashes blood while the camera angles upward.

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HBO
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But to show the walkers crawling along the ceiling, they shot the scene with the extras on suspension cords, then digitally added them to the cave later.

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HBO/YouTube

Shooting pieces separately, then compiling them in post-production is the essence of visual effects. This particular moment, for example, was filmed in three pieces.

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First, a stuntman is rigged to the ceiling and is filmed being jerked upward. This will eventually show a stuntman being blown up.

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HBO

Later, they film a controlled explosion on the set.

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HBO
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Next, digital effects add the ceiling stuntmen and tie it all together. Think of digital effects as "layering" the various scenes they shot on different stages.

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HBO

And here it is added together:

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The confrontation outside the cave was filmed the same way, but on a much larger scale. As the team explains in the video, this scene was filmed in three "passes."

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First, they filmed the stuntmen walking. The panels of light on the ground represent explosions and indicate to the actors when to "react" as if they were just bombed.

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HBO
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The actors collapse immediately, because they were just blown up.

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HBO/YouTube

Next, they film the wight blown skyward separately. This stuntman is rigged to the ceiling.

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HBO/YouTube
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And just like the cave, the explosions themselves were filmed separately in their own "pass."

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HBO/YouTube

Finally, it's all layered together. To terrifying effect:

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Here's the full breakdown:

 

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