GOT: Comes to Life Using Teledyne Lidar

Imaging hardware and software from Teledyne Optech helped enable 3D spatial data acquisition and visual effects for HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones. 

 A team, led by Vektra d.o.o. of Croatia, utilized Teledyne’s lidar (light detection and ranging) technology to create a detailed 3D representation of the old city of Dubrovnik, the model for the fictional city of King’s Landing.

Lidar is becoming increasingly popular for creating realistic computer-generated imagery (CGI) and visual special effects. Traditionally, lidar has been used for mapping and in construction, civil engineering, mining and transportation. Lidar is now of particular interest in the film industry because of its ability to scan buildings or even entire cities in 3D, while maintaining a high level of detail and accuracy. Lidar’s ability to generate exact replicas of locations reduces the time and cost for 3D modelling and helps create more realistic visual effects.

Vektra generated 3D point clouds in Dubrovnik using various lidar technologies including Teledyne Optech’s Maverick mobile lidar system and Polaris fixed terrestrial scanner. The lidar point clouds were then colorized with digital camera imagery and image fusion software.