'Game Of Thrones' Season 3 Effects Reel Shows How The Magic Is Made

“Game of Thrones” fans will have to wait almost a year before the critically acclaimed fantasy series returns to HBO, but if you’re dying for more (and are too lazy to read the books), SpinVFX’s “Game of Thrones” season 3 CGI highlight reel might be able to whet your appetite.

Throughout the four-minute reel, special effects agency Spin VFX breaks down multiple shots from the third season of “Game of Thrones,” showing the initial shot, animated meshes and finally the finished image. The effects are stunningly realistic. Many viewers simply assumed that the shots of castles seen in “Game of Thrones” were real, but this shows that many are entirely computer-generated.

Possibly the most impressive part of the reel comes at the end, as it breaks down all the components of Jon Snow’s treacherous climb up The Wall, a 700-foot-high frozen wall of ice.

“The Ice Wall was one of the most compelling sequences for us. The 3D build provided the camera range required to deliver the drama and fear of the climb, and of course, the realism of the ice slide,” Doug Campbell, Spin’s effects supervisor, said in a statement.

From Spin’s description of the wall’s construction, it certainly seems like a monumental project.

“Comprised of over 80 shots, Spin created a 700-foot wall, a couple miles in length (real world scale) that would hold up from any distance and any angle,” the agency said of the process. “Spin then simulated the entire ice slide event, shooting it from all cameras set up in the sequence that created a sense of scale and continuity over the sequence, playing out the action in real time."

Check out SpinVFX’s highlight real for “Game of Thrones” season 3 below. But fair warning: There are plenty of potential spoilers in the clip, so make sure that you’re all caught up on the show first.