Catherine Goldschmidt, BSC, cinematographer for HBO’s House of the Dragon, talks with Awards Daily about her work on the Emmy-nominated episode “The Lord Of The Tides.” Here, she details several of the gorgeous shots from that episode including the send off of King Viserys, the trial scene at the Iron Throne, and the “last supper” of the royal family. She also gives us background on translating the emotions of these characters through camera angles and set-ups on the actors faces.
Awards Daily: How did you get involved with House of the Dragon?
Catherine Goldschmidt: At the start of 2021, I got a call out of the blue from Fabian Wagner ASC BSC, who I’d never met or spoken to before. He said he was kicking off a new prequel series to Game of Thrones with director/showrunner Miguel Sapotchnik and there was another director on the show looking for a DP – did I want him to throw my name in the hat? I said yes please! I met Geeta Patel over Zoom and we hit it off. We shared a love of classic Hollywood cinema as well as the original Game of Thrones. I had just wrapped on A Discovery of Witches, so I was able to show her some of my work on that, which I know she appreciated. A few weeks later, I got offered the job!
Awards Daily: You shot episode 8. Which ends on the already iconic shot of King Viserys on his death bed moving into his bedroom across the model of the kingdom, the focusing on his mask before we see him in bed and then on Alicent coming in helping him cutting back and forth between them capturing her confusion then determination as we see her misunderstanding his speech. Then Viserys death and the unintentional chaos we know he is about to unleash. Can you talk about what went into that scene?
Catherine Goldschmidt: We knew Viserys’ death would be an iconic scene to shoot, and we wanted to approach it the right way. Compared to the family dinner scene that comes before it, we wanted it to feel dark and lonely. He’s surrounded by his family one minute, and he dies alone the next. The shot over the model was one that we originally intended to come at the very end of our episode. We envisioned it pulling out from him just after he takes his last breath, to see his model- his lost legacy, and to leave him behind, small and all alone in his room. Geeta spoke about the shot like a candle flame being extinguished. In the end, the same shot was reversed and used to get into the scene, which I think works as well. It still reminds viewers of everything Viserys couldn’t achieve in his life- his unfinished model being a symbol for things left undone, peace left unmade.
Awards Daily: You were the cinematographer for the first three episodes of the miniseries Chloe (a show I loved). So much is capturing Erin Doherty’s facial expressions as we see what she observes both in person and on her phone. Can you talk about crafting that insular feeling with in that show and anything else about the experience working on it?
Catherine Goldschmidt: I loved working on Chloe with director/showrunner Alice Seabright because I thought the psychology of the main character Becky, played by Erin, was so endlessly fascinating. The story is told entirely from Becky’s point of view, and this gave us great visual opportunities to see the world through Becky’s eyes, not only in the present but also through flashback and fantasy sequences. In the present, Becky is mercurial- pretending to be Sascha when she’s out and being Becky when she’s home. This duplicity in her character we underlined with certain visual choices, ie: using a handheld camera for Becky and dolly/Steadicam for Sascha. However, as the narrative gets more complicated and Becky’s pretense as Sascha starts to fray, the distinct camera choices start to bleed into each other. The flashback and fantasy strands of the show I shot using different crops of the Sony Venice sensor- S16mm for the flashbacks vs S35mm for Becky at home vs Large Format for Sascha and the fantasies. This variation in resolution, depth of field and field of view all serve to subtly emphasize the fractured nature of Becky’s psyche.
Awards Daily: Another huge moment in the episode is the trial scene in the throne too, starting with the imposing overhead shot of the iron throne with just Otto speaking to what seems like an empty space before cutting to the large group of people. Yet despite the large amount of people we are always focused on individuals as they speak creating a sense of the intense political intrigue, individual ambitions and desperation on all the characters faces before Viserys big reveal. Can you talk about the choices to create that mode within that space? As well as setting up Viserys’s entrance?
Catherine Goldschmidt: This is a wonderfully dynamic scene, with so many power shifts like you say. The opening shot of the scene is actually a mirrored shot of the very first shot of the episode- we come up from behind the Driftmark throne in the opening scene, wondering who is sitting on it as we hear of Lord Corlys’ brush with death. And then later in the episode when Corlys’ succession is being formally tried, we start over the empty Iron throne, pulling down and back to reveal Otto currently in charge. When Viserys enters the throne room, it’s a huge moment- for him, for Rhaenyra, for Alicent, for everyone in that room- so it was important that we get everyone’s reaction. However, the point of view of the camera is really with Viserys, coming behind him, being in his POV, seeing what he sees. During rehearsal, Geeta had a wonderful realization that although he’s heading for the throne, he’s also heading straight for Rhaenyra. This staging shows he’s come to support her, his rightful heir, in her time of need. The moment when Viserys’ crown falls off and Daemon picks it up and puts it back on his head…this wasn’t scripted. Daemon was supposed to help Viserys up the stairs to the throne, but the crown falling off was something that happened once by accident. As soon as we saw it happen, we knew we had to keep shooting it this way- it was such a perfect image!
Awards Daily: The family dinner scene was a great contrast in one of the few times everyone (for awhile) pretends to be a family. I found the lighting of the scene appearing just by candle light created a great mood the whole way through. As well as the shots of Visery observing his family when he starts to get ill we have fuzzy outlines of his dancing blocking the shot of him at times. What was behind those choices?
Catherine Goldschmidt: The family dinner, or the Last Supper as we always referred to it, is the last time that everyone comes together in the season. I wanted it to have an intimate, warm feeling, and as I’m always motivating the light from real sources, candles were the obvious choice. Gaffer James Bridger and his crew rigged up a lot of little LED lights that we could hide behind the real candles, supplementing the actual sources with our own. The shot you’re asking about happens after Viserys has taken off his mask and inspired his family to essentially all apologize to each other. He feels at peace for the first time watching his grandchildren from both sides of the family dance together. We used a Hawk 150-450 zoom lens to do an in-camera zoom in on him, which highlights this last moment of tranquility before his inevitable demise.
Awards Daily: The dinner scene we also get Aemond as he taunts his nephew’s lineage. It is a tight space shifting from one face after another building the tension, the outburst and the standoff between Aemond and Daemon. In crafting those shots we get a lot of close up of faces getting across the feelings everyone is going through. What was the discussion with director Geeta V. Patel and the actors in getting that all across?
Catherine Goldschmidt: The standoff between Aemond and Daemon is a small, but essential moment at the end of the dinner scene. We build to it via the pig that comes in, reminding Aemond of his painful childhood and re-igniting the familial tensions that were just momentarily soothed by Viserys. The generational divide is felt at the table- although the adults in the room have apologized, their children have not, and Aemond makes it known he doesn’t forget his grudge. In shooting this part of the scene, we shifted our axis to be the line between Aemond and Luke- the line that will be crossed again in Episode 110. Daemon comes to his step children’s rescue at the end of the scene almost casually. Aemond is still no match for him, but we wanted to imply through all their similarities that perhaps one day, he will be…
Awards Daily: I read you used a “hero triangle” of King Viserys, Queen Alicent, and Princess Rhaenyra in many of your choices of blocking and lighting. How did this decision to focus on them come about?
Catherine Goldschmidt: Because we were juggling so many hero characters in our episode, we needed to focus our camera choices on what was the essential through line of the story. The “hero triangle” of Viserys at the head, Alicent on one side and Rhaenyra on the other is what we came to view as the foundation of our episode. This decision informed everything from the blocking of the Last Supper (Viserys literally sitting between Alicent and Rhaenyra) to whose POV we were in at any given time. When we come back to the Red Keep in this episode, for example, we see it through Rhaenyra’s eyes, who has been away for 6 years and doesn’t know Alicent has taken over. We see her dwarfed by the imposing, new 7-pointed star in the Great Hall, and we discover with her for the first time her small, shrunken, ill father alone in his sick bed.
Awards Daily: Correct me if I am wrong but it lists on imdb that you are doing two episodes for the new season of House of the Dragon. What has the experience been like this time around?
Catherine Goldschmidt: I am! Geeta and I have reunited to do Episodes 203 and 208. The experience has been wonderful, and it’s on- going! We’re working with a lot of familiar faces from last season and a lot of new ones. We have a fantastic cast and crew, and I’m excited for people to see what we’re making.
Awards Daily: Any final thoughts?
Catherine Goldschmidt: My experience shooting Episode 108 of the first season of House of the Dragon was incredible. The script was so good, the cast was excellent, the crew was amazing, and I felt true collaboration with so many talented HoDs. Everyone from the art department to costume to VFX to SFX to hair and make-up- everyone who works on the show is so brilliant at what they do, and so collaborative- it makes it a real joy and a privilege to go to work every day. I’m really gratified that our episode was so well received by the fans and critics alike, and I’m honored to have received an Emmy nomination for my work.
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