Full Sail University

Return to Westeros: Full Sail Grads Credited on 'House of the Dragon'

To celebrate the premiere of the Game of Thrones prequel, grad and HBO Senior VP Stephen Beres came to campus for a night of cosplay, prizes, and conversation.

Wearing a suit and glasses, Stephen Beres leans against a beige, textured stone wall with the HBO logo carved into it.

This August, Game of Thrones fans around the world were eager to return to the fabled world of Westeros in HBO's prequel series House of the Dragon. Full Sail Hall of Fame member Stephen Beres is Senior Vice President, Production Operations at HBO and HBO Max, and he leads production and post-production teams on the series, which also features the work of several other Full Sail graduates in roles including VFX Art Director, Rigging Artist, and more. Stephen returned to campus to celebrate the return of the Targaryens with students and faculty at an event featuring food, fandom, and lots of dragons.

"I think that Full Sail is such an incredible incubator for such amazing talent that to bring something here is to have it appreciated at a level that I'm not going to get in a bar in Burbank," says Stephen on bringing House of the Dragon to students on campus. "These are not just fans because it's a great product and a great genre piece, these are fans because they appreciate the craft that goes into making something like this. What better place to share the world's greatest television shows than with the future of the film and television industry?"

On stage inside the Full Sail Live Venue, Stephen Beres, Rick Ramsey, and Leslie Brathwaite hold mics and stand before a large screen showing the fiery House of the Dragon logo.

Left to right: HBO Senior VP Stephen Beres, Visual Arts Education Director Rick Ramsey, and multi-Grammy winning mix engineer Leslie Brathwaite

The event invited students to the Full Sail Live venue to try their hand at winning some incredible prizes including a 65" Fire TV, Nintendo Switches, and gaming monitors. Students competed in a Game of Throne-themed costume contest as well as trivia to determine who would reign victorious. Students and guests were able to grab some free food and Red Bull as well as secure smaller giveaways before the premiere.

These are not just fans because it’s a great product and a great genre piece, these are fans because they appreciate the craft that goes into making something like this. What better place to share the world’s greatest television shows than with the future of the film and television industry?"

The new series makes extensive use of virtual production to place actors directly into the sprawling landscapes of the fantasy universe, something Full Sail students are getting first-hand experience doing at the recently opened Studio V1.

"Now we have the technology to do something we're very familiar with and the school is starting to do now…virtual production," says Stephen. "So instead of having to be out in the middle of nowhere Northern Ireland where it's raining sideways and there is mud up to your knees, we're able to put people comfortably on a stage and render these environments that would be either impossible or too expensive for us to build."