Game of Thrones title sequence

The title sequence for every episode of HBO’s *Game of Thrones* acts as a visual tour of the series’ fictional world. Created by the design firm Elastic, it features music by Ramin Djawadi. The sequence shows a three-dimensional map of the world, set on the inside of a curved sphere. A small sun sits inside an armilla—a spherical astrolabe—at the center, with carvings on the armilla depicting major events from the world’s history, such as the Doom of Valyria, Aegon’s Conquest, and the rise of House Baratheon. The camera flies across the map, zooming in on the locations where the episode’s action takes place. As it does, clockwork mechanisms make buildings and structures rise from the ground. The names of the main cast appear alongside their characters’ family sigils, followed by the creative staff. The sequence ends after about ninety seconds with the title card and brief credits for the episode’s writers and directors.

The map uses the same geography found at the start of the book series, showing the continents of Westeros and Essos. Each episode’s sequence changes to reflect the locations visited in that episode, with new places added each season. However, no more than six locations can appear in any single episode due to time limits. King’s Landing, Winterfell, the Wall, and wherever Daenerys is located are always included, even if the episode’s story doesn’t feature them. Sigils on the map shift with the storyline—for example, Winterfell shows the Bolton flayed man when they hold it, then reverts to the Stark dire wolf after the Starks retake it. After Winterfell is burned, smoke rises from it. In the final season, the sequence was redesigned: it now starts at the breached Wall and follows the army of the dead south. For the first time, it shows interiors, including the crypts of Winterfell and the Red Keep’s throne room. The armilla and its carvings also update to reflect events like the Wall’s fall.

The sequence was a collaboration among three teams: Elastic handled the design, a52 did the computer graphics, and Rock Paper Scissors edited it. Elastic had previously created title sequences for HBO shows like *Rome*, *Big Love*, and *Carnivale*. HBO’s Carolyn Strauss, who had worked with them on those shows, brought them in for *Game of Thrones*.