REGIONAL CASE STUDY
NORTHERN IRELAND
D
rones, wind and rockslides are just
some of the obstacles the cast and
crew of HBO hit show
Game of Thrones
overcame when filming the show’s sixth sea-
son in Northern Ireland. Despite these chal-
lenges, however, the production has never lost
a day of filming, thanks to the tenacity of the
crew and the flexible support of the local
infrastructure.
That is just one of the many reasons why the
popular fantasy costume drama has been
returning to Northern Ireland since it shot its
pilot episode there in 2010,and the show’s com-
mitment to the region has grown in line with its
popularity since HBO opted to locate there.
“Belfast keeps improving its infrastructure
and we train people up, so we have a lot of
different success stories of people who started
out on our show,” says Executive Producer Ber-
nie Caulfield. A Californian native, Caulfield
spends nine months of the year living and
working in Northern Ireland. “Since we have
been together for five or six years, we have a
shorthand together,” says Caulfield.“We always
aim to leave a city or location better off than
when we found it. Belfast has helped us grow
and we have helped Belfast grow.”
Caulfield points to the fact there are few cit-
ies in the world boasting great international
connections and infrastructure coupled with
easily reachable, amazing locations less than
an hour away. She lives a stone’s throw from
Titanic Studios — where the show’s sets are
located—which is now one of Europe’s largest
film studios, and currently marketed by North-
ern Ireland Screen, the UK government-backed
lead agency for the region’s film, television and
digital content industry.
Since 2010, Northern Ireland Screen has
injected nearly $20m (£14m) into
Game of
Thrones
’ six seasons. According to figures from
the agency, the production’s expenditure on
goods and services has contributed an esti-
mated $195m (£137m) to the local economy
for the same period.
The sheer scale of production is jaw-drop-
ping. For season six, two full-time production
units named Dragon and Wolf employed
around 300 people on the shoot. Producers
added a third, named White Walker, to help fin-
ish on time. Each unit films for around 20
weeks simultaneously,with 30 of those 40 total
weeks being spent in Northern Ireland. Filming
also takes place in Spain, Croatia and Iceland.
Fantasy island
South Africa-born Supervising Location Man-
ager Robbie Boake, who has unearthed loca-
tions in Northern Ireland’s Mourne Mountains,
Castle Ward, Shane’s Castle and Magheramorne
quarry, says the production “doesn’t feel at all
like television”.
“The crews are the reason it has worked
here,” he says. “It’s been an awful lot of hard
work for a lot of people and there have been
situations where we have been under a lot of
pressure. People have gritted their teeth in
astoundingly bad weather, sub-zero tempera-
tures, up against the clock with no complaints.”
Last year the paparazzi flew drones over the
shoot in an attempt to gather footage of film-
ing, and Belfast officials helped stop them. “It’s
like shooting in Los Angeles or New York,” says
Caulfield. “People don’t bother you because
they realise we’re doing our job.”
UK
Game of Thrones, season six, is broadcast
by HBO in the US and Sky Atlantic in the UK
“
BELFAST HAS
HELPED US
GROWANDWE
HAVE HELPED
BELFAST GROW
”
Bernie Caulfield, Executive Producer
HBO’s Game of Thrones has taken up residence in Northern Ireland having shot its pilot there in 2010.
Stuart Kemp
explores why it is the ideal place to recreate the epic majesty of the Seven Kingdoms.
FIT FOR A QUEEN
Game of Thrones
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