A scene from the season finale of the sixth season of HBO's "Game of Thrones." (Photo : YouTube/rspvfx)
If you enjoyed watching the "Game of Thrones" season 6 finale, it is probably because of the spectacular special effects that went into creating several scenes from the episode, which drew the largest audience in the show's history.
As many of you already know, a lot of the epic imagery and scenes in the blockbuster fantasy drama are computer-generated and Rising Sun Pictures, the Australian visual effects company behind some of these amazing visuals, has now released a video showing the VFX breakdown of the season six finale in a press release.
WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!
In the season finale, Cersei unleashes the power of wildfire on the Great Sept of Baelor as part of her plan to exact revenge on her enemies.
The CGI-heavy scene shows barrels of wildfire exploding underneath the Sept and a fiery green explosion burns the Sept to the ground along with everyone inside it to create one of the most epic "Game of Thrones" moments ever.
VFX Producer Richard Thwaites said that one of the reasons why the scene was so shocking was because of the level of realism. "The explosion happens from inside out and seems so powerful that you believe it can take out everything in its surroundings," he said.
Thwaites added that the team paid a lot of attention to detail while working on the part where the wildfire explosions rips through the mosaic floor of the Sept and completely incinerates him. He pointed out that it was a completely digital recreation and shows his muscles, flesh, skin and bones blowing up over just a few frames.
"The fire works its way through his body in layers," VFX Supervisor Hubert Maston added. "You see his skin peeling off and bones breaking off. It was pretty gruesome."
A lot of hard work and imagination went into other scenes from the finale as the VFX team transformed Dubrovnik into King's Landing by creating artificial crowds and adding layers of digital elements to bring the city to life.
This will not be the first time you have been blown away by the visual effects on "Game of Thrones" and with the seventh season in development, it certainly will not be the last time either.
Unfortunately GOT enthusiasts will have to wait a little bit longer for a much shorter Season 7 after HBO announced that the series will premiere in the summer instead of its traditional spring debut in order to accommodate the shooting schedule, according to Variety.
Watch the amazing behind-the-scenes footage below:
