Video: Game of Thrones production ices over

HBO has released a new behind-the scenes video for the third season of the hit fantasy drama.

Game of Thrones is a unique television production. Shooting for only ten hours of finished footage per year, it take a production budget that rivals some minor films, choosing to travel around the world for the varied locations of the harsh fantasy setting, rather than relying on special effects or green screens to accomplish various environments.

For some scenes that means the beauty of the English countryside, or the comfort of a tropical cliff-top castle. For Jon Snow’s part of the story however, the crew needs snow and ice and frigid wastes to represent the lands north of The Wall; where else but Iceland to find such a place.

The latest production vlog talks to the cast and crew about filming in Iceland, and not needing to fake their reactions to the bitter cold.

This is the third such video log for this season, the previous two covered general production reactions and a look at how the book is referenced for the episodes.

Season three of Game of Thrones, which covers the events of the first half of the third novel of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series begins Sunday March 30, 2013 on HBO.