House of the Dragon: York's Viridian FX works on HBO TV show

Viridian FX, based in offices in Swinegate in York city centre, contributed two hundred and fifty visual effects shots to, the prequel to Now TV's epic Game of Thrones which is based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood series.

Head of Studio, Ben Louden, explained how the firm were called in to solve a last-minute crisis after an important shot wasn't quite working - when it was filmed half a year ago, it was with a static camera, but now, the showrunners and editors feel it's not dynamic enough. It needs a creative, technically flawless solution, and time is of the essence.

House of the Dragon (Image: HBO)

And, as Ben explains, the problems were easily resolved by the small, closely knit team of fifteen people, working above the streets of York, from where they deliver work to Netflix, Amazon, Paramount, HBO, Universal and others.

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Ben Louden head of studio at Viridian FX at work in Swinegate, York (Image: Viridian FX)

He said: "The response we've had from our work on House of the Dragon has been incredible. The supervisor's at HBO were pleasantly surprised at the standard of work coming out of a little-known company in the heart of York, and for me, that's the true vindication of the hard work the whole team has put in to get us to this point. Strangely it now feels like we're just getting started, with more big projects on the horizon that have since come to us off the back of House of the Dragon.

"Five years ago, York may not have seemed the most sensible location for such a company, with 90 per cent of the industry working out of London.

"Now however, with the increasing globalization of the VFX industry, we believe being here has turned around into an advantage. With more affordable spaces for small companies, combined with the increasingly normalised remote working culture, it's now easy to see why places like York are hugely attractive for small tech companies like us. The quality of life and the vibrancy of the city are big factors in our staff retention, and with London only an hour and fifty minutes on the train, going down for meetings with clients on the bigger projects couldn't be easier."

Despite being at the forefront of the international VFX industry, Viridian FX is keen to stay close to its York story, which began ten years ago with five graduate students from the University of York and one idea; to make an experimental ninety-minute green-screen movie for Universal Pictures.

The inexperienced team devised the pre-visualisations, worked on-set as VFX supervisors, and delivered the completed film, given four stars by The Times and described as 'Quite unlike anything you've seen before'.

This passion for the city and the power of its connections has led the company to lend its full support to York's Aesthetica Short Film Festival. As well as sponsoring screenings, the company is hosting a networking event at York Theatre Royal on Tuesday, (November 1) aimed at encouraging young aspiring filmmakers to explore the world of visual effects.

Kit Monkman, a company founder and director, is also lending his artwork People We Love, which was shown in York Minster in 2021 and is currently on show in Pittsburgh, USA, and Viborg, Denmark, to the ASFF fringe festival.

Viridian FX's York office in Swinegate (Image: Viridian FX)

Kit said: "I've spent all my working life in York and have been nourished and inspired by the place and its people. When Cherie (director of Aesthetica) told me that this year's festival would have a York focus, I wanted to support it in any way I could. I'm so proud of Viridian's progress from students at the university to the elite of the UK's VFX industry, and I'm delighted that the company is supporting the festival."

Further details about Viridian’s networking event and People We Love can be found in the ASFF programme or at their website.