Creative content studio Beautiful Destinations and OSN+ headed to the landscapes of AlUla as part of a promotional campaign to launch the series ‘House of the Dragon’, also the prequel to Game of Thrones, which aired worldwide and in the region on OSN+.
Released on social media– the clip was shot on location at the archaeological site, while using CGI to introduce Daemon Targaryen’s dragon, Vhagar, spreading carnage with his flames and formidable size at the 2000-year-old Nabataean tombs of Hegra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in AlUla, Saudi Arabia.
The promotion further displayed the House of the Dragon’s symbol carved on AlUla’s iconic natural rock formation Elephant Rock, and a gigantic Balerion dragon skull seen in the Diwan at Jabal Ithlib, one of Hegra’s sites, and within the landscape of Wadi Al Fann.
The activations will continue throughout the series with more dragon action to be seen around AlUla’s natural and man-made monuments. The OSN+ activations were created by producer and director Tom Jauncey of creative content studio Beautiful Destinations to strike a chord with diehard fans while tempting the uninitiated to check out the show ahead of the thrilling journey in ‘House of The Dragon’.
“With its historical and archaeological significance in the region, as well as its striking rock formations set across the Saudi Arabian desert, AlUla was undoubtedly an ideal location for OSN+ to activate one of the biggest television premiers, House of the Dragon, the prequel to HBO’s Game of Thrones, both globally and in the region,” said Ashley Rite, VP of marketing and growth at OSN+. “We are pleased to have collaborated with the Royal Commission for AlUla on such an immersive activation and experiential campaign.”
Phillip Jones, chief destination management and marketing officer, at the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) explained: “With the otherworldly landscapes of AlUla and ancient sites built by civilisations stretching back 7000 years, AlUla is the perfect location to stand is as the home of the dragons. With so much history and as the crossroad of civilisations, AlUla has its own myths and legends and stories to tell and we are very happy to lend our destination to the HBO and OSN teams and be part of the Game of Thrones phenomenon.”
Saudi Arabia offers a 40 per cent cashback rebate for international and local feature films, television series and documentaries planning to shoot in the Kingdom. Film AlUla, The Royal Commission for AlUla’s film agency, was established to promote and support international film and TV production in the county of AlUla, supported the activations with location scouting and permitting.
AlUla offers filmmakers a diversity of landscapes to shoot including desert landscapes, interesting rock formations, luscious oases and historical landmarks. Film AlUla supports with filming incentives and on-the-ground facilitation and has most recently welcomed Ric Roman Waugh’s US action thriller ‘Kandahar’ starring Gerard Butler and homegrown production ‘Norah’ written and directed by Tawfik Alzaidi. The location was also recently used to shoot the promotional campaign for season four launch of the Netflix series Stranger Things.
Creative agency: Beautiful Destinations
Director, executive producer & drone pilot: Tom Jauncey
Cinematographer: Preston Chen
VFX: Preston Chen, Mostafa Eldiasty & Karim Djennaoui
