wysiwyg has been used to create lighting designs for the epic fantasy series since 2011 and the start of filming for Season Two, which saw Belfast-based Key Console Systems take over lighting duties using a specially adapted rig put together by company director, Keith Shanks. At the request of production executives, who had been impressed by his work on the first season of the show, Shanks designed a new lighting system, which saw the introduction of wysiwyg and ChamSys MagicQ consoles to the Game of Thrones set.
Prior to this, Shanks owned a stage lighting rental company, which he subsequently sold to launch Key Console Systems, with HBO as one of its first clients. He had gained experience using wysiwyg handling production design for Queen tribute act Flash Harry, when the band performed alongside an 80-piece orchestra at Belfast's Odyssey Arena. Shanks pre-programmed the show entirely, using wysiwyg to stunning effect, and notes that, apart from a few focus tweaks on the day, there was little more to do once the wyg design was complete. This alerted him to the software's potential in the television production sphere.
"When this opportunity arose I knew wysiwyg was the only way to go. I'd already planned to do the 3D thing, so I did some research into the Perform version and decided to go with that. Based on the use of wysiwyg, I chose ChamSys MagicQ 100 & 200 consoles with Play Back Wings to make sure everything gelled well together - wyg and ChamSys work hand-in-hand with each other. I found no issues here at all; they connect seamlessly, every time."
Shanks uses wysiwyg for the entire virtual stage of the set lighting design - Autodesk's AutoCAD is not used in this application, either by himself or the show's art department, which, he points out, "prefers to use pencils and rulers". In the place of electronic plans, they provide him with A0 scale drawings of the set, which he then re-draws to scale within wysiwyg. Finally, he takes photographs of the actual set and imports the textures onto the drawing, so the resulting renders are exceptionally faithful to the real thing."
(Jim Evans)
