Stunning Game Of Thrones Time Cover Shoot Mixes Old Hollywood Glamour With Medievalism
A new Game of Thrones Time magazine cover shows the cast in a very glamourous but also slightly surreal setting. British fashion photographer Miles Aldridge shot the Time magazine cover photo, and also a series of individual portraits for a feature story that Time were running about how Game of Thrones is made.
For the Game of Thrones Time images Aldridge wanted to merge the real life actors and their counterparts in the show for its penultimate series. So he captured the glamour of being an A-list actor in pretty much the most popular and celebrated show on the planet, with the fantastical and Medieval world that the show inhabits.
"When thinking of how to photograph each individual I wanted to acknowledge influences of themes in the show while capturing the traits of their own unique characters." Aldridge writes on website Broncolor about the Game of Thrones Time shoot.
For the colors and visuals the photographer referenced northern European Renaissance painters, Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach. Their paintings were not unlike the environment of the show, but as Aldridge told Time they also had a “bizarre super reality of detail.” So they recreated these using modern lighting and stage design, resulting in uncannily lit and candy-bright images.
Miles Aldridge On The Game Of Thrones Time Shoot
Along with the strong colors and lighting, Aldrige also placed props in each scene, the type you might find in Renaissance paintings, heavy with symbolism to convey the "mystical, dark world of The Game of Thrones."
Time call the shoot a "culture clash of brash cinema and fine art; and [Aldridge] refuses to treat the latter with any reverential preference." You can see all the behind-the-scenes preparation and action in the video above.
"I’m dealing with lights and film and so I don’t like the idea of trying to ape or create paintings, because that seems silly,” Aldridge notes of the Game of Thrones Time shoot. “But I like the idea of aping a rather bizarre director’s vision of painting.”
Along with some of the cast, the photographer also shot the writers for the Game of Thrones Time cover. But he placed them in contemporary suits to make them feel awkward in the Renaissance setting. “What I love about those paintings is the uncomfortableness of them.” Aldridge says. “So my direction to [Weiss and Benioff] was try and feel as uncomfortable as you can…as if you’re really not enjoying this process.”
Check out the images below. See more of Miles Aldridge's work at his website.
