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'Game of Thrones' cinematographer describes shooting that battle of roasting Lannisters, including trouble with an HBO safety officer

'Game of Thrones' cinematographer describes shooting that battle of roasting Lannisters, including trouble with an HBO safety officer

"'Game of Thrones' is quite unusual. I have shot about 500 episodes of television, worked on feature films, and with 50 different directors, and I've never been on a set like this."

"My favorite scenes in both the episodes I shot this season are the simplest, but the most satisfying."

"I love bringing the dark, beautiful moments to life. In episode four, I loved the scene where Arya and Sansa reunite in the crypts below Winterfell. And in episode five, the scene between Jaime and Tyrion among the dragon skulls below the Red Keep. I populated it with torches for some subtle light. That scene was incredibly acted, decorated, and written — and one of the best, most exciting things I ever got to work on."

"We got lucky that the heavy smoke was such an important part at the beginning of 'Eastwatch,' as Tyrion walks through the wreckage.'"

"The heavy smoke in the aftermath is so dense. We cranked the smoke machines, and all that ash you see on the battlefield is recycled gray paper. Because of the sun, this scene was prepared months in advance. But there was one morning where the fog was so bad that you couldn't see your own hand."

"Early on, we knew we couldn't shoot the battle entirely from Dany's perspective. Every frame the dragon is in just costs too much money."

"So that was when Jaime's POV came in, and more briefly, Bronn's. Jaime's already been through war, and witnessed the Mad King, and that changed him," McLachlan said. "But we wanted this to feel different, like the first A-bomb drop. The nature of war has completely changed. An early outline described the action of the battle in broad strokes, with no POV. If it didn't have the POV from Jaime and Bronn, it would've been pointless mayhem."

"Since we wanted black smoke, we had to burn diesel. After a few days the cast and crew were hacking. Our faces were black, even though we were wearing masks."

"And the actors couldn't wear masks, since they had to be on camera. The HBO health and safety officer told us we had to stop using the diesel," McLachlan told Business Insider

"More so than movies, I often seek inspiration from fine art. In this case, I looked at one of my favorite painters, J.M.W. Turner."

"Turner's paintings have a horrible beauty to them, and I really wanted to capture that."

"For inspiration and reference, director Matt Shakman and I looked at the Napalm scene in 'Apocalypse Now' and 'Saving Private Ryan.'"

McLachlan and Shakman wanted the brutality of the battle to feel realistic.

"Our biggest enemy and our biggest ally is mother nature."

"For cinematographers, consistency often measures the quality of our work. So thank goodness there was smoke involved. Smoke helps with consistency when you're shooting exteriors, but I also love the way it looks, especially with the sun shining behind it."

"My initial reaction after reading the outline of this [Loot Train] battle was, 'Oh boy, this is not gonna happen quickly.'"

"My other thought was, 'We're gonna need lots of cuts and shots.' It's a really daunting action sequence. This battle is massive, so it was important to keep the momentum. We were also under a lot of pressure, since the Battle of the Bastards was one of the best battles ever filmed, including television and movies."

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