Game Of Thrones analysis

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Analysis of Game of Thrones script
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Game Of Thrones writing and production

Game of Thrones

Media and genre

The US TV series Game of thrones adapts a saga of heroic fantasy novels – A Song of Ice and Fire – whose writing by George R. R. Martin started in 1991, and whose first tome was released in 1996. This makes the work crossmedia: transposed from a media to another.

The script of the series is a collective work to which the author of the novels took part (he wrote for example the episode 2 of season 2 and the episode 7 of season 3).

Author & screenwriters

The main scriptwriters of the TV series are:

  • David Benioff, screenwriter and the son of Stephen Friedman, an important executive in the US administration.
  • Daniel B. Weiss, specialized in game design – he adapted the videogame Halo into a TV series.

The website of HBO also mentions :

  • Bryan Cogman, “Executive Story Editor
  • Vanessa Taylor, Author
  • Jane Espenson, Author
  • George R.R. Martin, Author

Production and reception

Produced by TV channel HBO, the 2 first seasons of Game of thrones were shot in Europe (mainly in Northern Ireland, Malta and Croatia) and Morocco between 2009 and 2011.

Season 1 was released in 2011 and season 2 in 2012, in several languages on several continents : USA, Brazil, Europe, Africa…, over several channels: mainstream channels, on-payment channels, TV series channels…

The critical acclaim and the reception by the audience were very good; the series obtained prizes and awards, especially for its actors, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister or Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen.

Actors

The series does not use famous/Hollywood actors, but confirmed british actors.

The story & the characters

The main story tells a generalized struggle for power between a few aristocratic houses – mainly the Lannister, the Stark and the Baratheon – who fight to get control over the Iron Throne, in a medieval, epic and fantastic world.

HOUSE BARATHEON

King Robert Baratheon
Joffrey Baratheon
Stannis Baratheon
Davos Mervault
Mélisandre d’Ashaï
Renly Baratheon

HOUSE LANNISTER

Tyrion Lannister
Jaime Lannister
Cersei Lannister
Tywin Lannister

HOUSE STARK

Eddard Stark (Ned Stark)
Catelyn Stark
Robb Stark
Jon Snow
Sansa Stark
Arya Stark
Bran Stark
Rickon Stark
Mestre Luwin
Osha
Hodor

HOUSE GREYJOY

Theon Greyjoy
Balon Greyjoy
Yara Greyjoy

HOUSE TYRELL

Margaery Tyrell
Olenna Tyrell
Loras Tyrell

HOUSE TARGARYEN

Daenerys Targaryen
Jorah Mormont
Viserys Targaryen
Barristan Selmy

PEOPLE OF ESSOS

Khal Drogo
Qotho
Mirri Maz Duur
Illyrio Mopatis
Xaro Xhoan Daxos
Pyat Pree

COURT MEMBERS

Petyr Baelish
Varys
Pycelle

NIGHT’S WATCH

Jeor Mormont
Samwell Tarly
Mestre Aemon
Alliser Thorne
Benjen Stark

THE WILDLINGS

Mance Rayder
Ygrid
Tormund Giantsbane

Game Of Thrones analysis of a worlwide success-story

Story&Drama analyzes for you the 20 first episodes of Game Of Thrones, scene by scene.

Our goal is to disassemble the TV series to see how it was made, how it works from the scriptwriter’s point of view, and to find inspiration in this knowledge.

Game Of Thrones tells many plots in a long chronology of hundreds of events in broad spaces, but still with a remarkable coherence, some overall moves, parallelisms, seizing characters‘ destinies, powerful episode climaxes and frequent cliff-hangers, among other drama effects (suspenses, convergences, general crises).

How to reproduce all of that in your own scripts ? How to generate such dramatic intensity?

  • Title: Game of Thrones
  • Release year: 2011
  • Creators: David Benioff, Daniel Weiss
  • Scriptwriters: Bryan Cogman, Vanessa Taylor, Jane Espenson…
  • Genre: TV series ; fantastic and medieval epic story, Heroic Fantasy, war
  • Analyzed episodes: 20
  • Scenes: 410
  • Plots: more than 100, including around 40 major plots
  • Characters having at least one actantial role: 67
  • Total of actantial roles: 174
  • Average of roles per character: 3
  • Most important characters: Catelyn Stark (14 roles), Eddard Stark (8 roles), les Lannister (7 roles), Cersei (7 roles) etc

The series of novels A song of Ice and Fire knows an international success and regularly ranks in the top of the list in various countries.

The TV series Game of Thrones does even better, TVs of the world fighting to buy the broadcasting rights. Each new episode generates peeks of Google searches, Youtube video views, Facebook and Twitter shares, and records of piracy over the streaming and illegal download websites.

The common point between the two success-stories ?

Game of Thrones‘s story of course, the thrilling quality of the way it is written, the richness and depth of its characters, the intensity of its narrative rhythm and of its multiple dramatic explosions.

At the source of this global phenomenon, were just a few ideas in an author‘s mind – Georges R.R. Martin!

Fans of Game of Thrones or authors willing to learn the art of scriptwriting through one of its masterworks, Story&Drama offers you to behead together the mysteries of the world of the 7 Crowns.

As meticulous archeologists who would have found an incredible mummia, dissect with us the sacred body of the genius series‘ two first seasons.

Analysis of the story of Game Of Thrones

Our analysis consists of:

  • A detailed and commented scene by scene summary of seasons 1 et 2, listing all its remarkable narrative and dramatic effects
  • A detailed commentary about the dozens of plots and a world by world  reconstruction of the main plots of Westeros, King’s Landing, Winterfell, the Wall and Pentos
  • A detailed commentary about the characters, their 174 actantial roles and their multiple thematic roles
  • A study of the medias and genres involved in the series (television, literature, epics, fantastic, gothic novel…)
  • A study of the registers and tones (eroticism, humor, tragedy, politics, military history…)

Learn to write a series from the best TV scriptwriters.

Here are a few pages from the script analysis of Game of Thrones :

Script analysis of Game of Thrones  Script analysis of Game of Thrones - methods, concepts and tools

Script analysis of Game of Thrones - Season 1 episode 1  Script analysis of Game of Thrones - Season 1 episode 1, dramatic overview

Script analysis of Game of Thrones - Season 1 episode 6  Script analysis of Game of Thrones - Season 2 episode 1

Script analysis of Game of Thrones - dramatic synthesis  Script analysis of Game of Thrones - Actantial roles of the character of Jon Snow

Game of Thrones script analysis – Table of contents

1. Introduction

  • Analytic methods and tools

2. Episode by episode and scene by scene commented summary

– Game of Thrones – Season 1

– Game of Thrones – Season 2

3. Synthesis

– The plots

  • Plots and scenes
  • Structures / architectures
    • King’s Landing and the Lannisters
    • The Stark family
    • The Baratheon pretenders
    • The North, the Wall and the Night’s Watch
    • Daenerys in Pentos
  • A multi-level architecture
    • Types of plots structures
    • Frequent scenes in double-action

– The characters

  • The actantial roles of the characters
  • Thematic roles
    • The families
    • The relationships of power

– The story settings and dramatic effects

  • Time
  • Spaces
  • Media and genres
  • Registers and tones

General conclusion

So, are you ready to learn storytelling from the scenario of Game of Thrones?

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