House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal promised that the show's lighting was just right when viewed on a correctly calibrated television.
Speaking to Deadline following the House of the Dragon Season 1 finale, Condal explained that the creative team is aware that many fans found the series difficult to follow due to scenes that were too visually dim. The filmmaker explained that the problem with television is that despite the production using top-of-the-range equipment, the final product will always be adjusted by different distributors. These networks "compress the file differently" and broadcast it in a range of other formats that sometimes results in altered settings. "You’re also releasing it to tens of millions of different television sets that are all different technology, calibrated differently and set up differently in different viewing environments," Condal continued. "It’s almost impossible to account for all those variables when you’re making the television show."
While the House of the Dragon boss assures fans that the files he worked with were "perfect," he also promised that the creative team knows that the lighting may need to be examined for future seasons. "I heard the note and we’re aware. But I will tell you that it looked phenomenal when we posted it and released it," Condal said. "And it looked great on my television, which has been professionally calibrated."
House of the Dragon's Bright Side
It may be too late to tweak the lighting on House of the Dragon Season 1 but fans can still look forward to Season 2. HBO greenlit another installment in the Game of Thrones prequel before it had even premiered and the next chapter will continue the story of House Targaryen's fall from grace. While it's unknown whether House of the Dragon will continue past this point, George R.R. Martin, who penned the source material Fire and Blood, believes the narrative requires at least four seasons.
"As it is, I am thrilled that we still have 10 hours every season to tell our tales, it is going to take four full seasons of 10 episodes each to do justice to the Dance of the Dragons, from start to finish," Martin wrote. House of the Dragon is expected to chronicle conclude with the aforementioned civil war which ultimately results in the destruction of House Targaryen.
House of the Dragon Season 1 is now streaming on HBO Max. Season 2 does not yet have a release date.
Source: Deadline