Greg Spence, the producer in charge of post-production for “Game of Thrones,” is worried about leaks.
The Denver native who oversees editing, music, special effects, color, sound — not to mention dragons — for the HBO hit, is concerned about the potential for hackers, too. He was fretting about this long before the Sony hacking incident, well before the Season 5 premiere was in sight.
Spence, a Smoky Hill High School graduate, said he fears the possibility that somewhere, someone might slip a digital file to a friend and upload a bit of the top-secret footage to the Internet.
“The cast is looping all over the world, sending files back and forth. Artists are working in special-effects houses all over the world. The files are watermarked, and editors have to confirm in writing that they’ve deleted them.” Still, with fans desperate to get a sneak peek of the epic drama, it’s troubling.
“Game of Thrones” returns on April 12 at 7 p.m. on HBO.
Other than the anxiety over leaks, Spence said his is “the best job on Earth.” So far he’s shared in two Emmy nominations for “GoT.”
Spence is based in Belfast, but his family lives in Los Angeles. Over coffee in downtown Denver, he talked about overseeing a staff of 20 in the cutting room, six working on dailies, 20 on visual effects, 15 on sound and editorial and hundreds of visual-effects artists.
It’s not all dragon glamour. Some staffers spend their days “fixing”: erasing contrails in the sky, wiping out evidence of microwave towers on a hillside, making sure the epic looks sufficiently medieval.
To give you an idea of the workload, Spence said, 1,600 visual-effects shots were in Season 4.
Spence works closely with the cinematographers and directors of photography. He sees author George R.R. Martin a couple of times a year. He regularly cites the “genius of David (Benioff) and Dan (Weiss).”
The logistics amount to “the equivalent of two feature films at a time,” shot out of order. Preparation for the season begins April-May. Shooting starts in July and wraps in December. HBO doesn’t see an entire assembled episode until October or November. However, the network does receive dailies (more than 500 hours’ worth last season).
“HBO is brilliant that way — they are so good at trusting producers,” Spence said.
The only hint Spence will provide: “Season 5 is really big.” The show gets 25 percent more complex each season, he said. The 10-episode season is expected to run through mid-June. Fans know from a teaser released in November that Arya, aboard a ship bound for Braavos, is dabbling in the dark arts. And, per last season’s finale, Tyrion was directed to seek out a “her” rather than a “him” to inherit the throne. Could it be Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke)? HBO cleverly released artwork on a number of female characters to bait a guessing game.
More, Spence cannot say. No spoilers here, except to say Season 5 opens with a flashback and a prophesy for the young Cersei Lannister (Lena Headley). She is uncertain whether a witch she encounters in the woods is “boring” or “terrifying.” Knowing what we do about the epic, nobody’s guessing “boring.”
The thrill of watching the series is unlike the tedium of producing it.
In Spence’s line of work, “spontaneity is the enemy.” In fact, they call it “Game of Meetings” in the early months of each season. It’s all about planning: “When you’re doing giant 3-D dragons,” he said, “everybody needs to know where the wings are.”
“We shoot really fast so you have to know how everything is going to happen. There are no car chases and little onscreen music, but every other complication. Kids, animals, stunts, war, tricky hair and clothing.”
At a reported $6 million to $10 million per episode, “Game of Thrones” is among the most expensive series on television. However, financial constraints are still a factor in production, Spence said, even with the ease of digital technology.
“You can’t do all the dragons you want,” Spence said. “You can’t go in and out of Spain and Croatia six times. You have to send a crew once,” and shoot scenes out of order.
Clearly, not every wish in fantasyland comes true. The crew wanted to use drones for aerial shots this year but couldn’t get FAA approval.
“HBO insists you’re disciplined” — financially, legally and otherwise.
Promotional blitz
HBO is mounting an unusual promotional campaign tied to the show, the network’s first in many years.
In addition to pumping the new season, the aim is to make noise around HBO’s new stand-alone streaming service, HBO Now, available exclusively on Apple products (Apple TV, iPad, iPhone). That subscription service, for $15 a month, doesn’t require cable or satellite service. Presumably it will boost the already huge hit and move the network forward in the increasingly platform-agnostic digital entertainment sphere.
“Game of Thrones” Season 4 drew nearly 19 million cumulative viewers, making it the biggest HBO original series ever.
Spence’s first series
Spence, 50, has seen the industry shift dramatically in his career so far.
After Smoky Hills in Aurora he attended the University of Colorado for two years, then landed at New York University, completing a degree in film and journalism.
“My career has spanned the digital revolution,” he said, recalling a hand-crank newsreel camera he learned to operate at NYU. When a friend interning at Miramax helped him get a trial assignment, he jumped at the chance to shape the story flow on a film. Miramax hired him as director of production and post in the early 1990s.
He has been riding the wave of HBO’s success for years, first in miniseries production. His production credits include “Temple Grandin,” “Generation Kill” and “John Adams,” all award-winning HBO miniseries projects.
“Game of Thrones” is Spence’s first television series — nothing like starting at the top.
“It’s helpful,” he said, “if you’re going to be away from the family for months at a time, to be on a show your kids think is cool.”
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830, jostrow@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ostrowdp
