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Here's what 'Game of Thrones' looks like without visual effects

Sidney Fussell

2016-04-13T20:43:00Z

Have you ever wondered how "Game of Thrones" comes to life?

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HBO sent a raven to the official "Game of Thrones" Facebook page with an incredible behind-the-scenes look at how their production teams use a very creative mix of real and digital effects to create locations like King's Landing or Braavos (seen above) and make the dramatic battles beyond the wall so visually stunning.

The five-minute clip breaks down some of the most memorable moments of the past seasons and leaves us even more eager for the upcoming season six.

Check out the special effects secrets of one of the most popular dramas of all time.

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King's Landing, home of the Iron Throne, is actually a creative manipulation of Dubrovnik, a coastal city in Croatia.

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The Great Sept of Baelor is digitally added to the foreground. The Red Keep, where the Lannister family lives, is on the right hand side in the background.

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Arya's apprenticeship in the haunting House of Black and White actually takes place on a giant soundstage. The four main columns with the faces are real, however,

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The candles are digitally added, as are additional columns. Lighting effects give the temple a haunted, foreboding feeling.

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And when we saw Drogon fly into the fire pits to flame the assassins trying to kill his mom ...

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It was actually a rigged flamethrower, capable of shooting fire up to 50 feet.

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Similarly, the huge battles we see north of the wall are a mix of real life and digital effects.

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The production team actually builds an enormous green screen wall they can digitally turn into the frozen tundra beyond the wall.

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The ice wall from season four was actually 30 feet high and a whopping 400-foot long green screen.

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Here we see wights plunging off a huge cliff during the battle of Hardhome in season five.

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But the stunt actors, who wore green so their arms and legs could be digitally removed, were actually making a jump of about two feet.

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The production team actually has several cool tricks for making the white walkers especially creepy. When we saw one wight get its head stomped in on the show, we were actually seeing two images placed on top of each other.

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A stunt actor stomped on the head of a plastic dummy version of a wight.

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While a production team member smashed open a container of sticky, purple goo. The material shooting out of it eventually became wight guts.

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Oh, and how does the wind blow dramatically during the intense, emotional scenes in the frozen north?

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There's a props guy with a well-placed fan.

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At a staggering 7'1", veteran stunt actor Ian Whyte plays giant Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun, the giant who assists the Night's Watch in the battle against the White Walkers.

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Most of his work is done on a soundstage, then digitally manipulated.

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Here, we see Whyte picking up and tossing a bag on the soundstage. The team will replace that bag with a White Walker during post-production.

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The White Walker he's tossing is actually some poor stunt guy rigged in a harness and dangled from the ceiling.

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Here's the full video, with even more insights into the effects on "Game of Thrones."

TV Game of Thrones

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