Angus Wall:I got a call two years ago from Carolyn Strauss who we had worked with on Carnivàle, Rome and several other main titles for HBO. She is a friend and a co-executive producer on this show. We discussed a concern which is that [Game of Thrones] doesn’t take place on the Earth that we know. It takes place in a world that exists only in the books. So similar to how the legend or map at the front of fantasy book works, she felt like there was a need for a map to the show.

Now in the original pilot script, Dan Weiss and Dave Benioff had written a title sequence in which a raven flies from King’s Landing to Winterfell. We did some concept sketches around that idea but when the pilot was shot, they called us in and said, “People are confused about where they are. Can you guys create little map pieces? Not a title sequence per se, but something that shows us exactly where we are when we go from place to place.” We created five previs map shots that were cut in every time the show went from one place to the next. It worked really well in terms of telling you where you were, but it interrupted the narrative flow of the show. We looked at the synopsis for season one and identified what it would take to make these little interstitial shots for all ten episodes, but due to the fact they somewhat disrupted the narrative, the whole map idea got pushed back into the title sequence.

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World map concept art

At this point, we made a list of the locations we needed to build. Then we figured out how many different versions of the sequence we would need to create, the idea being that the opening title would show you all the places you would visit in each episode. And we boiled it down to four different sequences, each a subtle variation.

Title sequences can do a lot of different things, and besides taking you on a journey, this one offers a lot of information about the world you’re going to see. It allowed us to really create our own little world. HBO and the creators of the show really let us run with this idea and we wanted to do something distinctive with it. We didn’t want to create something that’s been done before like what you’ve seen in Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. Those things are wonderful, but we wanted to do something different.

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House sigil examples (6 images)

Art of the Title: During the pilot stage, when you’re dealing with the maps that are throughout the show, had you gotten into the style that we see now in the final piece?

Angus Wall: No. In the beginning, it was very simple, nothing animating and everything very flat. One of the things we realized early on was that you couldn’t really tilt the camera up very far because it raised the question, what’s beyond the map? I kept thinking that if you had all the money and craftsmen in the world, and you could do whatever you wanted, what would you do? In my mind, you’d build the most intricate, beautiful map you could possibly imagine. You’d get the best craftsmen in the world, give them the materials they’d need and give them five years to make this crazy, working, super-detailed miniature.

Art of the Title: So about the same amount of time that it takes Martin to write one of the books?

Angus Wall: [laughter] Exactly. Our goal was to try to replicate something that looks and acts like a physical object. Art Director Rob Feng referenced