‘GAME OF THRONES’ – BRINGING THE SEVEN KINGDOMS OF WESTEROS TO LIFE  

18 April 2019

In the week that the final Season 8 of the HBO phenomenon Game of Thrones hits our screens, Queen’s Graduate Intern (Digital Communications) Niamh McGovern, talks to some of the University’s alumni who have worked on the renowned medieval fantasy drama over the last eight years.

The television series Game of Thrones – based on George R R Martin's best-selling series A Song of Ice and Fire – has called Northern Ireland home since 2010, featuring our most beautiful locations, from Castle Ward and Spelga Dam in County Down to Ballintoy and Dunluce in County Antrim. Future visitors to Northern Ireland will be introduced to some of these locations – and to the province’s rich medieval history – thanks to a new Journeying Beyond Westeros heritage project involving Queen’s researchers.

Queen's students are at the heart of Northern Ireland – and indeed Westeros – and our graduates have been working on location and in post-production for the last decade, bringing one of the world's forefront television series to life.

Being part of the team on such a large scale production is amazing experience, as Peter Marley, BA Film (2009), MA Film and Visual (2010) explains. "Working on Game of Thrones, from Season 1 until the end, has given me some of the best experiences I had never considered when finishing my BA or MA.

“I've learned a host of specific practical skills that only come from being on set or on a production of that calibre.

“I have friends, colleagues and contacts all over the world, and having met my wife on the show I've been lucky to call Croatia and Spain home for months at a time.

“I now have a filmmaking family for the rest of my life.”

While the best jobs often come about by being in the right place at the right time, such opportunities need to be seized if a successful career in the television business is to be realised. "One Sunday, I get a call offering me a job on a little show called Game of Thrones, on one condition – I have a car on the road in two weeks,” said Lee Kinnier, BA Film Studies (2016), who was Post-Production Assistant on the hit show.

“Fast forward and I’m standing in the middle of Magheramorne quarry frantically searching for someone who can tell me where I collect the rushes!

“Twelve thousand miles later, with some expert advice from some of the best editors and producers in the business, I’m finally on the road to becoming an assistant editor."

Lauren McGuigan from Newry, Trainee Assistant Editor, is another alumna of the Class of 2016. Currently working as a Dailies Assistant for Yellowmoon Post Production, the former Secretary of Queen's Film Society who enjoyed internships at Queen’s Film Theatre (QFT) and Takeover Film while studying at the University, graduated with a BA in Film Studies from Queen's with First Class Honours.

"I have wanted to be an editor since I was 12 years old, so the fact that my first job after graduating was a trainee editing position on the biggest show in the world was a dream come true!

“It was great to see the editing process of such a large scale drama and to meet talented editors and assistants, who taught and gave me so much guidance."

Famous for its large scale battle scenes, Game of Thrones uses hundreds, if not thousands, of extras over the course of a season. With some extras said to earn up to £500 a day for the pleasure of appearing in the biggest global show on television, making sure everyone is in the right place at the right time – across multiple simultaneous shooting locations in Northern Ireland, Malta, Croatia and Spain – is no mean achievement.

Trainee Crowd Department and Assistant Extras Coordinator Jaime Hegarty, BA Film Studies (2016) explains. “My first series on Game of Thrones was series 7, where I started out as a trainee in the Crowd Department.

“I then returned in Series 8 as the Assistant Extras Coordinator. Our team worked around the clock to facilitate the demands of all (up to five) filming units, which at points had a 24 hour cycle of filming.

“Since Game of Thrones, I have progressed to working as an Extras Coordinator on other television productions such as BBC’s Line of Duty (S5) and I am currently filming ITV's Netflix Drama Marcella (S3)."

Whichever of the two powerful families ultimately seizes control of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros to sit atop the Iron Throne, Game of Thrones is one deadly game that has brought huge personal benefits to many talented Queen’s graduates not to mention to the film industry in Northern Ireland.  

Niamh McGovern, BA English and Political Studies (2017) is a Graduate Intern (Digital Communications) in the Development and Alumni Relations Office at Queen’s University Belfast.

Have you worked on set or in production for HBO? If so, we would love to share your story. Get in touch by emailing alumni@qub.ac.uk at Queen's.

General enquiries about this news story can be directed to Gerry Power, Communications Officer, Development and Alumni Relations Office at Queen’s; tel: +44 (0)28 9097 5321.

Photo credit: headline image by intographics from Pixabay; main image by The Georgetown Voice/Game of Thrones.

 

Back to Main News

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

           

Top of Page