Martin Pelletier, visual effects supervisor at Rodeo FX, explains how House of the Dragon's fantastic flying beasts are able to take to the air
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: October 15, 2024 Updated: October 16, 2024
Martin Pelletier, visual effects supervisor at Rodeo FX, explains how House of the Dragon's fantastic flying beasts are able to take to the air
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
Snowdonia (Eryri), a land of majestic peaks, high, silvery lakes and rich, rolling pasture could almost have been tailor made as the backdrop for HBO's House of the Dragon, prequel to the world-conquering Game of Thrones. Visiting the region, maybe finding one of its forgotten castles or hidden valleys, it's easy to imagine that fantastic creatures really do soar among the jagged mountains, great leathery wings spread wide as they flit from point to point.
Redefining possibility For the team at Rodeo FX, turning imagination into reality is all in a day's work. When three spectacular new dragons were needed for season two, they were perfectly placed to deliver. Moondancer, Vermax and Silverwing were integral characters in the continuing story. Just like their human counterparts, they, too, were shaped by their life experiences. Martin Pelletier, visual effects supervisor at Rodeo FX, oversaw their creation and gives an insight into the process behind it.
Martin Pelletier, visual effects supervisor, Rodeo FX The first step is understanding the storytelling point of each and every character, he explains. We had a meeting with the client where they presented us with concepts of their dragons basically a simplified version. They also gave us a size reference next to a human being, to give us a good understanding of the scale. From there, we dove into a personality description. Using Moondancer as an example, he continues. Moondancer is a mid-size dragon in the series. He's meant to be reckless, snappy and unpredictable. He's a bit of a punk he has the mohawk. It was a really good way of picturing how we were going to animate the character.
The team then considers the types of actions that are required, such as soaring, diving, moving in a jerky way to reflect the dragon's spiky personality. The mechanics of his movement are explored, Do we have to collapse the wings, or keep them open all these things have to be considered when we start building. A skeleton is built up with muscle groups added before surfacing is applied. This takes into account the dragon's past, how his life has been lived according to the story, all of it intended to ensure the character is plausible and convincing. All of this combined ends up in maybe a four month process to build one creature from the ground up to a final beast that is going to be renderable in a shot.
Highlighting the importance of this aspect of the work, Pelletier says that the past life of an object being created is sometimes underestimated in CGI and VFX. We need to do the exercise when we build our assets, so that they really belong within the storytelling lines and don't stand out in a bad way, he says.
Turning reality into fantasy Understanding the need for believability, the team uses as many real life reference points as possible. With dragons, we're kind of short on real life references, Pelletier laughs, so we try to figure out what does exist that would translate. The wings, for example, have membranes that flex as the skin moves. To accomplish this, the team studied footage of bats in flight. The facial movements of komodo dragons and other lizards were also examined. All these things are based on the closest things we can find in real life, he continues, that was the biggest challenge.
Rodeo FX created around 230 shots for season two. Some 160 people worked on the project which took a little over eight months. Pelletier describes the technology required to breathe life into their creations. Our two main tools for 3D creation are Maya and Houdini. Maya is used with ZBrush, to sculpt our final models. To create texture, we use Mari or Substance. Everything else is handled in Houdini: lighting effects, simulation, muscle definition is also being driven in Houdini. Final renders are done in Houdini using Arnold, and the final compositing of everything is combined and finalised in Nuke.
Although AI is very much an industry buzzword, the technology was not extensively used by Rodeo FX. AI is an interesting beast, says Pelletier, before commenting that studios are sometimes reluctant to use it, perhaps because of concerns over privacy. There are some grey zones, he says, some limitations. Studios want a heads-up on whatever AI tools or technology we are going to be using, to ensure we're going to be safe playing with their content. It's quite sensitive. We couldn't go too wild and broad with AI especially on this show.
Aside from the creative elements, some AI solutions were used to handle repetitive work, effectively freeing up the team to concentrate on higher value tasks. There's a bunch of little AI tools [that we] used across the show that are not cloud-based and very secure, such as automated rotor work in Nuke [and] automated tracking in some instances,' Pelletier explains. It's just speeding up the process of early assembly, and it gives us a bit of a head start without spending too much time and money then we can finish using real artists to do the final work.
Achieving believability has clearly been a driving force for Rodeo FX, and Pelletier is fulsome in his praise, both for the team and what they have managed to create and the actors who worked with them. I think we have achieved something quite hard, which is giving an obvious and very distinct personality to Moondancer that was recognisab
Europe Stories
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
25/11/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, an investigative journalist from Kenya is the winner of the Thomson Foundation's Young Journalist Award 2025.
The 26-year-old-sele...
25/11/2025
The best playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks bring a little extra magic to your daily routine. With new features and offerings, Spotify Premium delivers even mo...
25/11/2025
Comprehensive new research confirms what we already knew: Australian music fans love the quality, quantity, and access they have to new and local music on strea...
25/11/2025
Applicable Products
Objectives The purpose of this application note is to give a brief background on 5G (NR) wireless communication an explain the reason a SN...
25/11/2025
25. November 2025 Cecilia Pierron
Last week, we took part in OnDAM 2025, an educational conference fully dedicated to DAM, hosted by Activo Consulting. The ...
25/11/2025
25 Nov 2025
VEON's QazCode and MeetKai Sign Agreement to Power National LLM...
25/11/2025
UKTV has acquired a high-profile slate of US dramas from Paramount Global Conten...
25/11/2025
A symphony of genius, rivalry and vengeance, boldly reimagined from Peter Shaffe...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Cinematography World
Read the article
FilmLight has finalised the prestigious 2025 FilmLight Colour Awards jury and welcomed award-winning...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Prensario
Read the article
La serie fue dirigida por Juli n de Tavira, Rodrigo Santos, y David Leche Ruiz, con direcci n de fotograf a a...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
Read the article
The awards, celebr...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Televisual
Read the article
Already live in Los Angeles and rolling out in New York and London, Nara gives producers, colourists, conform ...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Digital Media World
Read the article
ARTONE post-house in Tokyo is the first facility in Japan to integrate Baselight M, choosing its prec...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
Read the article
Once hidden in post-production suites, the artists who make movies and TV shows look the way they ...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Deadline
Read the article
The Brutalist' & Bad Bunny's Nuevayol' Music Video Among 2025 FilmLight Colour Award Winners - Cam...
24/11/2025
Robyn made her long-awaited return to the stage this week, as Spotify and Acne Studios brought friends and top fans together for an unforgettable evening at the...
24/11/2025
After more than two years of redevelopment, FC Barcelona returned to its spiritual home on November 22, hosting Athletic Club in the first La Liga match at the ...
24/11/2025
24 Nov 2025
Kyivstar Launches Starlink Direct to Cell Satellite Connectivity in Ukraine Today's Launch Makes Ukraine the First Country in Europe Where Star...
24/11/2025
Ahead of the new ninth series of Dancing with the Stars, kicking off in January 2026, RT and Shinawil have announced the arrival of three new faces to the hit ...
21/11/2025
Fans have been counting down the days until the final theatrical chapter of Wicked is revealed. To celebrate the highly anticipated release of Wicked: For Good ...
21/11/2025
Last week, Spotify turned up the volume in Seoul with the return of Spotify Hous...
21/11/2025
Wiesbaden, November 21, 2025. The SGL Carbon site in Meitingen has reason to celebrate as one of its trainees received a special award. Elias Stemmer was honore...
21/11/2025
Sky Media's £2m award-winning sustainability initiative crowns its first charity as this year's standout changemakerFriday 21 November 2025
GoodGym nam...
21/11/2025
As COP30 draws to a close, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), ...
20/11/2025
Your playlists are personal. They're the soundtracks to your road trips, your quiet mornings, and your biggest celebrations; collections of memories and dis...
20/11/2025
Spotify, uzun s redir zerine al t T rk m zik k lt r n n ikon haline gelmi ...
20/11/2025
For the first time, Spotify has teamed up with The Hollywood Reporter to cohost ...
20/11/2025
This year's ARIA Awards marked a turning point for Australian music, and Spotify was right at the heart of it. For the first time in the awards' nearly ...
20/11/2025
15 March 2012
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Cinegy and Vericom are pleased to announce the recent deployment of Cinegy Archive for production and as...
20/11/2025
6 September 2012
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
FIC Turkey supplies media content to Pay TV under Fox TV Channel brands in Turkey.
At the start of s...
20/11/2025
25 June 2014
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Last month VIVA finalized its Cinegy installation in order to produce and broadcast the World Cup Brazil ...
20/11/2025
1 October 2014
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
With 5 locations spread out around Baden-W rttemberg, Schw bisch Media required a scalable end to end s...
20/11/2025
27 April 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Cinegy, which develops and produces media asset management products that are used in flagship production...
20/11/2025
12 August 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 26 October 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...
20/11/2025
5 November 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 3 November 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...
Martin Pelletier, visual effects supervisor at Rodeo FX, explains how House of the Dragon's fantastic flying beasts are able to take to the air
