Chapter 354: Simple and Brutal

"Protest! I formally protest against your overuse of animal actors!"

During a break, as Murphy was discussing with the huskies' trainer outside the set, James Morse, blocked by the security personnel led by Rosa Rodriguez, nearly screamed himself hoarse, "You must immediately stop filming, otherwise the Dog Lovers Association will intervene..."

These complaints were truly annoying, and Murphy found it impossible to converse peacefully with the trainer. Frowning at the disturbance, he decisively approached with the husky trainer in tow.

"Director Stanton," James Morse, seeing Murphy approach, reacted as though his own father had been murdered by him, struggling to break past the two burly security guards. Unfortunately, he was no match physically and could only continue shouting, "I must lodge a formal protest against the production..."

"What are you protesting?" Murphy gestured to the security personnel.

They released James Morse but kept a close watch on him, unsure what the fanatic might do next.

In their eyes, James Morse was categorized among those who were beyond reason.

"Protest against your overuse of animal actors!" James Morse's voice became somewhat subdued upon facing Murphy.

"Overuse?" Murphy scoffed dismissively, "The production strictly follows the laws and regulations of this country."

"But..."

As the annoying man tried to speak again, Murphy cut him off sharply, "Mr. Morse, please present concrete evidence and then discuss it with the production's legal advisor."

James Morse was momentarily stunned. To enter the studio, the most basic condition was to temporarily surrender any recording equipment.

Without actual video evidence and relying solely on his word, he lacked any persuasive power. Looking around the studio, the eyes of those present bore subtle hostility towards him.

However, as James Morse's gaze swept past Murphy and landed on the trainer accompanying him, he brightened up as if discovering new land, pointing excitedly at the trainer, "Him! He can testify for me!"

He looked at the trainer, hoping he would corroborate the claims, which would quickly bring the Dog Lovers Association and the animal welfare organizations into the fray.

Murphy, without even turning his head, asked, "Gibbs, has the production overused your huskies?"

"Absolutely not!" The trainer named Gibbs immediately swore as if taking an oath, "I have been keeping track of the time. The filming just now lasted only forty-three minutes, definitely not exceeding the forty-five-minute limit."

James Morse was utterly unprepared for the trainer to blatantly lie, and he was left speechless for a moment.

Murphy, uninterested in his shocked expression, signaled to Rosa Rodriguez and turned to walk back towards the set, with Gibbs following him.

James Morse regained his composure and glared angrily at the retreating figures of Murphy and Gibbs, as if they had murdered his entire family.

Returning to the set, Murphy nodded at Gibbs, "Let's continue."

He had never worried about the trainer's loyalty. Hollywood has its own operational rules; companies providing animal actors are also part of Hollywood. If they were to break protocol and stand against a production, future collaborations with other productions would undoubtedly be fraught with hesitation.

Overruns and extended working hours are normal for any production.

Additionally, the agreement signed with the owners of the huskies included a bonus for completing work on the scheduled dates, similar to actor bonuses, and the amount was substantial.

In light of these considerations, it was clear that the trainer wouldn't be foolish enough to align with those whose thinking deviated from the norm.

With this minor nuisance handled, Murphy continued filming the direwolf scenes.

Previous filming had proven that making huskies look like wolves was not easy. There were many more scenes to shoot, and Murphy had devised several methods. Although he couldn't truly transform huskies into wolves on camera, he aimed to achieve a semblance of similarity.

Moreover, direwolves do not exist in the real world.

Murphy first tackled the challenge in terms of cinematography. Silhouette shooting was a universal concealer; he had large lights set up behind the huskies to cast strong backlight, obscuring the details of the huskies' faces and retaining only their wolf-like silhouette. In terms of shot selection, the production was cautious, capturing dynamic close-ups and using shadows to enhance the sense of mystery and intimidation.

Next was motion control. During filming, Murphy had the huskies' handler use treats to elicit behaviors like panting, jumping, and opening their mouths, capturing these actions in slow motion. Multiple takes were shot for each frame to ensure usable footage. Actors and huskies appeared together on screen, with the focus shifting between them, using the actors' performances and tense atmosphere to compensate for and create the illusion of a wolf.

Essential footage treatment was also crucial. Shots were preliminarily edited on set, and Murphy used quick cuts for all wolf-related scenes to prevent the huskies from appearing timid. The footage intercut with

 actual wolf flashbacks, symbolic shots, galloping horses, and actors' tense expressions formed a tension-filled conflict sequence.

In the post-production phase, sound effects were added, including deep wolf howls integrated with the editing rhythm and suspenseful background music, all contributing effectively to the portrayal of wolf characteristics.

The husky-related scenes continued until mid-December, after which the trainer took the dogs to Malta to join Paul Wilson and Seth Rogen, who were leading separate groups filming there.

Having managed the direwolf scenes, Murphy began involving the main actors extensively, preparing to shoot the limited action sequences.

Although this was a fantasy series, magic, martial skills, duels, and wars served the plot and, due to budget constraints, Murphy didn't shoot any grand scenes; the action was relatively minimal.

Westeros, a fictional realm, needed to evoke a medieval atmosphere with a very subtle magical element, especially in the first season where magical elements were scarce.

In the planned series, like the original books, the rarely seen White Walkers and the legendary dragons of the Targaryen family were the most magical aspects of the entire series.

"The meticulous presentation of details and backgrounds will maintain the highest realism in the series. The physical abilities, talents, and combat skills of the characters are not exaggerated; they are not much different from real people," Murphy explained in a production meeting before shooting the action scenes. "A kind of very realistic fantasy will give 'Game of Thrones' a dual charm of reality and fantasy."

Then there was the issue of explicit content. This was only the first season, and it would be broadcast on the Fox cable network in the future. While the novels were explicit, large-scale scenes would make the series more appealing; every episode of "Game of Thrones" was bound to include a few bold shots.

Whenever novelists felt the need to maintain declining reader interest, they had their characters go to bed, which could be justified with the same rationale for the show's explicit content, using the story's backdrop as an excuse. The medieval civilization, still uncultivated with untamed barbarism and unrestrained instincts, compelled Murphy to preserve the raw aspects of the series, much like before.

However, Murphy would make appropriate adjustments. None of these scenes would affect the overall solemn tone of the series, similar to how modern people look back at medieval civilization and often feel it was robust, fresh, and pleasurable.

Film is meant for the big screen, able to present epic visuals, whereas a series is confined to the small screen, naturally disadvantaged in depicting grand spectacles.

Throughout the filming of "Game of Thrones," there were no large-scale war scenes. Any massive conflicts were handled in the style of "Reservoir Dogs," merely describing the causes and consequences of the action scenes.

Despite the significant production budget, it couldn't compare with big-budget Hollywood films. Rather than struggling with insufficient resources, it was better not to shoot at all.

Unable to create spectacular scenes, the series could leverage its length to craft an epic narrative, meticulously portraying the characters' personalities and the nuances of events.

Murphy intended to make "Game of Thrones" an excellent example in this respect, using its unpredictable and expansive narrative to achieve a truly epic work.

Then there was the specific action choreography. Like the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, a typical Western epic, it definitely couldn't use the kung fu-based action design popular in contemporary Hollywood. Murphy specifically brought in several traditional film fencing masters to train the actors involved in action scenes and personally oversaw most of the action filming.

Simply put, what Murphy wanted was straightforward, brutal combat, not flashy action designs.

As the filming of the action sequences began, more and more actors started joining the production. Jessica Alba also arrived in Belfast from Los Angeles. Big-name Hollywood actors, in essence, are no different from those on the other side of the Pacific and often travel with entourages.

For instance, Jessica Alba brought her new boyfriend to the Belfast set.

As long as it didn't interfere with the normal filming process and wasn't during a confidential phase, Murphy didn't prohibit actors' friends and family from visiting the set.

But when Jessica Alba introduced her new boyfriend to him, Murphy felt that this man seemed familiar, and that impression seemed to come from the other side of the Pacific.

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