Westeros

Another training scene at Castle Black. This particular image is most notably for giving a sense of the real size and scope of this composite set. A composite set is one that contains several distinct areas or rooms for filming, all at one location. The Castle Black set at Magheramorne quarry is a major construction project, and contains a number of incorporated sets: practice yard, officer’s dais, mess hall, barracks, the winch, a Wall set, rookery, and more. It’s very impressive. If it weren’t for the cameras and the people in modern clothing, you’d think you’d stepped back in time when you enter the set.

Glimpsed just past (and partially obscured by) the camera is a tall wooden gate. Castle Black is not walled in the books, and it’s not walled in Game of Thrones. My guess is the gate exists largely to provide a means of blocking off lines of sight to spare digital compositing costs to deal with the view beyond the gate.

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