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Fans Brighten Up The Latest Episode Of Game Of Thrones And People Are Noticing How Many Details They’ve Missed
Finally, it looks like Melisandre isn’t the only one who can turn the lights up. Following complaints about the latest Game of Thrones episode being nearly impossible to see due to its dark cinematography, quite a few fans of the show have taken it upon themselves to brighten up crucial scenes to show how epic The Battle Of Winterfell really was.
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Image credits: HBO
The show’s decision to go all natural was understandable. One of the things the episode tried to convey was the horror of war, and how sometimes it can be difficult to even see your enemy. The Night King attacked at night, and he brought a snowstorm with him. Of course, visibility was going to be reduced. But Helm’s Deep in Lord of the Rings was at night in the rain, and we at least saw what was going on.
As Elite Daily pointed out, it probably would have been an entirely different experience to see this episode in IMAX on a large screen. There’s simply more light projected because of the size. When you think about it, even large scale TVs aren’t that large. Not to mention streaming it on a computer monitor where pixelation becomes a huge factor; scenes were just a black blur, causing audiences to miss many moments.
Grey Worm
Image credits: Hivemind
Image credits: Hivemind
YouTube account Hivemind really went the extra mile and not only brightened the scene in which the Wights make their way across the battlefield to crash into the Unsullied, but it also played the original version right next to the edit to highlight the changes in the viewing experience.
Arya
Image credits: Hivemind
Fabian Wagner, the cinematographer for the series’ longest episode ever has also responded to the criticism. “[GoT] has always been very dark and a very cinematic show,” he told TMZ. “We tried to give the viewers and fans a cool episode to watch. I know it wasn’t too dark because I shot it.”
Daenerys And Jon Snow
Image credits: Hivemind
Image credits: Hivemind
He was a little more specific when talking with WIRED. “The showrunners decided that this had to be a dark episode. We’d seen so many battle scenes over the years – to make it truly impactful and to care for the characters, you have to find a unique way of portraying the story … Another look would have been wrong. Everything we wanted people to see is there … Personally, I don’t have to always see what’s going on because it’s more about the emotional impact.”
Tormund
Image credits: Hivemind
“Game of Thrones is a cinematic show and therefore you have to watch it like you’re at a cinema: in a darkened room,” the cinematographer continued. “If you watch a night scene in a brightly-lit room then that won’t help you see the image properly.”
Jon Snow
Image credits: Hivemind
“A lot of the problem is that a lot of people don’t know how to tune their TVs properly … A lot of people also, unfortunately, watch it on small iPads, which in no way can do justice to a show like that anyway.”
Dragons lighting up the enemies
Image credits: Hivemind
Image credits: Hivemind
Brienne of Tarth rallying the troops
Image credits: Hivemind
Daenerys riding her dragon
Image credits: Hivemind
Image credits: Hivemind
Jaime Lannister
Image credits: Hivemind
Grey Worm
Image credits: Hivemind
Sansa and Arya
Image credits: Hivemind
Image credits: Hivemind
Jon Snow
Image credits: Hivemind
The chaotic battlefield
Image credits: Hivemind
Image credits: Hivemind
Gendry
Image credits: Hivemind
The Hound
Image credits: Hivemind
Watch the entire comparison below
Image credits: Hivemind
Reddit user czmanix has also shown off their video editing wizardry by lighting the episode up. “I understand [the showrunners’] decision from an art standpoint, but I think they did not take into account technical limitations,” czmanix told Bored Panda. “Most of the action happens between 5 to 20 % of brightness. A lot of TVs have problems with these dark colors and often crush them.”
Other brightened up moments from the episode
Image credits: czmanix
“Also, HBO was serving more compressed version to the first wave of viewers to survive the onslaught and often aggressive compression ignores parts, that “an eye cannot see”, but that’s where the most of action was happening. So the creators were able to see it on their TVs, but bad TVs in bright rooms and an aggressive compression created this mess.”
Image credits: czmanix
This fan of the show edited the episode because they “wanted to see, what was happening, nobody was talking about that cool dragons scene, not even in the ‘making of’ video, so I wanted to see it more and understand it.”
Image credits: czmanix
“[I edited the footage] using Lumetri Color in Adobe Premiere Pro. Usually, it’s used for color grading, but I used it to restore most of the original color palette.”
Image credits: czmanix
Image credits: czmanix
Image credits: czmanix
Image credits: czmanix
Image credits: czmanix
[Spoiler] S08E03 Fight of the dragons – brightness UP, speed DOWN from r/gameofthrones
[SPOILERS] S08E03 Crypts scenes – brightness UP from r/gameofthrones
Check out these GoT Facts That you Probably Didn’t Know!
What do you think ?
Malakai 6 years ago
Wow, the the guy being interviewed sounds like a whiny pr*ck. "People watch it on little iPads anyway" and "I know it wasn't too dark because I shot it"? Dude, if you know your audience so well, maybe you should consider shooting an episode appropriately?
MoonBeam 6 years ago
Am I the only one that just used "dark calibration" on my TV settings? I saw everything...
Nikki D 6 years ago
I dont know what tv you have, but my Roku tv doesn't have that.
Load More Replies...
Cathie Balsamo-Herrera 6 years ago
As much as I like seeing the detail in the 'lit' version to see what I missed, the original version was SCARY AF. If this had been a real life battle, it would have been dark, and they wouldn't have been able to see. The part where they are waiting, and then can hear/sense something coming but not see anything....if I were there I would have s%&* my pants. Then when it was hard to tell if they 'got' one of my favorite characters...I was dying! I will watch the episode in compete darkness next time tho.
Honey 6 years ago
Why was it so dark for everyone? Mine was perfectly fine. It looked like all these brightened photos.
DP von Icecream 6 years ago (edited)
Probably you watched directly from HBO. I also saw the Amazon version, much darker version. Or you have a high brightness on your screen :-)
Load More Replies...
Pseudo Puppy 6 years ago
Simple answer is this: the creators wanted the audience to share the experience: of fighting for your life, in the dark, with minimal visibility. That's exactly what was achieved. Sure, it would've been great to see things more easily - for viewers, and the characters - which was the point being made.
Kathrin Segal 6 years ago
The point being made means nothing if you can’t see their faces, reactions, or even see what was going on. It’s a ridiculous concept decision that cost half the audience the full enjoyment and excitement of the episode.
Load More Replies...
Alex Dunn 6 years ago
The fact they these "fans" were able to brighten and pull out details, proves that they weren't lost. Having worked in post-production and color-correction, I get so tired of this sort of "criticism". Do you want every show to look the same? How about we color the entire series to look like Gossip Girls? Look at any David Fincher film. The artist wanted you to feel like it was night, it was dark, it was hard for the heroes to see. The artist wants you to FEEL that. But if you don't want to feel, yeah, just blast your LEDs and stop whining.
Pseudo Puppy 6 years ago
*THANKYOU*!! As i've said in another comment - he fulfilled the brief. As the creators have said "One of the things the episode tried to convey was the horror of war, and how sometimes it can be difficult to even see your enemy. The Night King attacked at night, and he brought a snowstorm with him. Of course, visibility was going to be reduced". Those complaining, are totally missing the point - the battle was AT NIGHT. It was DARK. The entire point was for the audience to experience what the participants were experiencing - the terror of not being able to see s**t, while fighting for you life. I thought it was brilliant, in every aspect.
Load More Replies...
Doodlebug 6 years ago
I watched it on a ten year old Sony Bravia. It was fine. It wasn't as dark as this video. I could go either way. The darkness is effective at making you feel the confusion and chaos of war. This is literally humanity's darkest night. But there are a few scenes where a bit more visual clarity would've helped me follow the scenes better - the art should serve the story, not overpower it.
Sarabelle Palsy 6 years ago
I guess I've been confused by all of the issues with how dark it was... and a lot of people had an issue with it, so there must have been an overwhelming problem with it for the majority of people. I can only go with my experience watching it live, on a regular 70 inch HD TV in a dark room... at the start we noticed right away it was darker than any episode before it, but we knew it was literally the dead of night and all you had was candles and torches as their only light source, and that's what made it brilliant for us. All those before images in this post, they looked a bit darkened on purpose to make a point, because at no point did I have an issue seeing Grey Worm or anyone else's faces or expressions. and I've watched it three times now at different times on the same TV... idk.
Malakai 6 years ago
Wow, the the guy being interviewed sounds like a whiny pr*ck. "People watch it on little iPads anyway" and "I know it wasn't too dark because I shot it"? Dude, if you know your audience so well, maybe you should consider shooting an episode appropriately?
MoonBeam 6 years ago
Am I the only one that just used "dark calibration" on my TV settings? I saw everything...
Nikki D 6 years ago
I dont know what tv you have, but my Roku tv doesn't have that.
Load More Replies... Cathie Balsamo-Herrera 6 years ago
As much as I like seeing the detail in the 'lit' version to see what I missed, the original version was SCARY AF. If this had been a real life battle, it would have been dark, and they wouldn't have been able to see. The part where they are waiting, and then can hear/sense something coming but not see anything....if I were there I would have s%&* my pants. Then when it was hard to tell if they 'got' one of my favorite characters...I was dying! I will watch the episode in compete darkness next time tho.
Honey 6 years ago
Why was it so dark for everyone? Mine was perfectly fine. It looked like all these brightened photos.
DP von Icecream 6 years ago (edited)
Probably you watched directly from HBO. I also saw the Amazon version, much darker version. Or you have a high brightness on your screen :-)
Load More Replies... Pseudo Puppy 6 years ago
Simple answer is this: the creators wanted the audience to share the experience: of fighting for your life, in the dark, with minimal visibility. That's exactly what was achieved. Sure, it would've been great to see things more easily - for viewers, and the characters - which was the point being made.
Kathrin Segal 6 years ago
The point being made means nothing if you can’t see their faces, reactions, or even see what was going on. It’s a ridiculous concept decision that cost half the audience the full enjoyment and excitement of the episode.
Load More Replies... Alex Dunn 6 years ago
The fact they these "fans" were able to brighten and pull out details, proves that they weren't lost. Having worked in post-production and color-correction, I get so tired of this sort of "criticism". Do you want every show to look the same? How about we color the entire series to look like Gossip Girls? Look at any David Fincher film. The artist wanted you to feel like it was night, it was dark, it was hard for the heroes to see. The artist wants you to FEEL that. But if you don't want to feel, yeah, just blast your LEDs and stop whining.
Pseudo Puppy 6 years ago
*THANKYOU*!! As i've said in another comment - he fulfilled the brief. As the creators have said "One of the things the episode tried to convey was the horror of war, and how sometimes it can be difficult to even see your enemy. The Night King attacked at night, and he brought a snowstorm with him. Of course, visibility was going to be reduced". Those complaining, are totally missing the point - the battle was AT NIGHT. It was DARK. The entire point was for the audience to experience what the participants were experiencing - the terror of not being able to see s**t, while fighting for you life. I thought it was brilliant, in every aspect.
Load More Replies... Doodlebug 6 years ago
I watched it on a ten year old Sony Bravia. It was fine. It wasn't as dark as this video. I could go either way. The darkness is effective at making you feel the confusion and chaos of war. This is literally humanity's darkest night. But there are a few scenes where a bit more visual clarity would've helped me follow the scenes better - the art should serve the story, not overpower it.
Sarabelle Palsy 6 years ago
I guess I've been confused by all of the issues with how dark it was... and a lot of people had an issue with it, so there must have been an overwhelming problem with it for the majority of people. I can only go with my experience watching it live, on a regular 70 inch HD TV in a dark room... at the start we noticed right away it was darker than any episode before it, but we knew it was literally the dead of night and all you had was candles and torches as their only light source, and that's what made it brilliant for us. All those before images in this post, they looked a bit darkened on purpose to make a point, because at no point did I have an issue seeing Grey Worm or anyone else's faces or expressions. and I've watched it three times now at different times on the same TV... idk.
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