House of the Dragon – Season 2

Based on material from George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon tells the story of the Dance of Dragons and the events leading up to the brutal civil war.

King Viserys I Targaryen rules over an unprecedented time of peace, but questions about his succession threaten to send the realm into chaos.

Directors: Geeta Patel, Clare Kilner, Alan Taylor, Andrij Parekh & Loni Peristere

Production Designer: Jim Clay

Studio: HBO

Starring: Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke & Rhys Ifans

Locations: UK & North Wales

Location Brief: Rugged Coastal & Pine Fantasy

Collaboration on House of the Dragon Season 2 Pre‑Production

Although my work was focused in pre‑production, it was an incredible experience collaborating with production designer Jim Clay and the talented roster of directors who shaped the season’s cinematic identity.

Jim Clay (known for Death on the Nile, Love Actually) returned as production designer and received an Emmy nomination for his outstanding work. His goal was to ground Westeros in a “believable and plausible world,” blending feature‑film scale with epic storytelling.

From the vast Red Keep sets—spanning over 2,500 m² per level—to the frescoed tapestries inspired by Pompeii and Byzantine motifs, Clay’s design laid the essential foundation for the season’s intensely atmospheric visuals.

I also contributed to early location scouting and environment planning for episodes by:

  • Geeta Vasant Patel, returning after her acclaimed work on “The Lord of the Tides”. A master at visual storytelling, especially emotional resonance and scale.
  • Clare Kilner, whose direction of intimate yet operatic scenes (episodes 2 & 5) deepened character-driven drama.
  • Alan Taylor, an HBO veteran with Game of Thrones roots, who brought a cinematic sweep and nostalgia to his episodes.
  • Andrij Parekh, known for Succession and Watchmen, who infused story-led visuals into his episode.
  • Loni Peristere, with a strong genre and visual-effects background, who elevated the show’s tone.

Together, in pre‑production meetings, we laid the groundwork—maps, mood boards, and scouting—to align Jim’s grand designs with each director’s vision, ensuring a seamless transition into filming key visual experiences that later would be enhanced by VFX and cinematography

Here is a selection of original location scout photo’s for the show:

North Wales

Image of

Show Trailer:

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