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His Dark Materials is
set in an alternate universe

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populated with iconic characters,
daemons and magical creatures.

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To adapt this for television,

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there's no doubt that
this much-loved story

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would be an ambitious undertaking.

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It's got to be epic,
it's got to be a grand scale.

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You can't really just pop a book
and make it a TV series.

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That's probably the
paramount challenge, I think.

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I believe it will translate
really, really well.

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Follow production as they tackle
this challenge head-on

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from envisioning the costumes...

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Everybody that reads the books

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is going to have a different
imagination

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and they're going to visualise it
differently.

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..building the worlds...

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It always stuck in my mind
as something

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that was going to be a very hard
thing to try and do,

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and it's such a fun challenge that

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I defy anyone to not think it would
be utterly brilliant thing to do.

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..mastering the daemons...

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The scale of this is,
I would say, unprecedented,

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especially from a creature
perspective.

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This is one of the most ambitious
projects I've ever come upon.

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I just thought, "This is utterly
extraordinary",

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and I wasn't entirely sure
that it was doable.

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Yeah, this show is above and beyond
what has ever been done before.

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..and the challenges of writing
the screenplay.

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I want to be 100% true
to the original.

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I am a fan of these books,

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and I want people
who are a fan of these books

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to feel pleased
with this adaptation.

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What we're bringing
to the screen

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is a faithful adaptation
of the books people love,

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but it's just plus, it's just more.

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Buckle up as we delve into
Making His Dark Materials.

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First published over 20 years ago,

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His Dark Materials has spawned
a dedicated fan base,

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which unsurprisingly
includes myself...

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Lyra, I promised once to do
everything I could to protect you

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from anyone who might do you
harm.

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..and some of our
key cast.

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His Dark Materials is one of my
favourite book series of all time.

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I read it with my wife
when she was still my girlfriend.

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We had just started dating
and it was one of those trilogies

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we read together. And it's such
a beautiful coming of age story,

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it's such a beautiful world,
it's so smart, it's so full.

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I've read it three times, I think.

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I've listened to the audiobook
twice,

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I've listened to the
BBC radio adaptation twice.

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I'm a massive fan.

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Philip has created such a unique
world and such a complicated world.

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Which means it's... definitely has to
be, like, dramatised in some way,

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but it's very hard to do.

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And you feel utterly magnificent.

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Taking on these much-loved
characters

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was filled with mixed emotions.

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They told me, "We're doing
a series on His Dark Materials."

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which I believe is what the material
deserves, it's such a rich world,

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so I was in from that dinner onward.

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I had to do a musical number
and get into a bar fight

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on the first and second days
of filming respectively.

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Those are two dreams for an actor.

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GLASS SHATTERS

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When I heard that they were going to
turn it into a TV series,

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I got very excited as a fan.

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There's never really been a part
in it

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that I've thought I should play.

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I've never really seen myself as
Lord Asriel.

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Came in, walked into the
read-through and was like,

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"Right! I'm Lord Asriel!,"

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smashing it and really enjoying it.

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And I've been loving it.

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That was clumsy, wasn't it?

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It most certainly was
nerve-racking.

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I was like, "My God, so many
people who have read the books

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"and love Lyra." So it's very,
very nerve-racking thinking

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that you've got to live up
to everyone's role model.

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Funny, the character was so exciting
and interesting and bold

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and colourful and so many things
to explore with her.

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That really excited me, but, yes,
there's a huge fan base,

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and she has a huge following
and people love her

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and despise her in equal measure.

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Bringing this iconic tale
to television may seem

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like an obvious decision, but it was
actually a long time in the making.

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I read the books when they came out
in the late 1990s.

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And I really felt that this material
was something I wanted to make.

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I would, every now and again,
reach out to Philip's agent,

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then to New Line, and keep pitching

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for why I felt these books
should be adapted for television.

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I mean, to say I circled
like a shark

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makes me sound more aggressive.

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I think I probably just
waited on the porch

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like a really loyal
and faithful puppy.

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There have been various attempts
to make adaptations of this story

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in all sorts of different media.

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I was always attracted to the
idea of long-form television,

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as we now call it,

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because it does give the opportunity
to tell a long story in full.

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It's a wonderful illustration
of the skill and the talent

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and the dedication
we now have in the British TV world.

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I'm very privileged to have seen
my story taken over by Bad Wolf

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and made into such a spectacular
piece of work.

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With Philip Pullman's blessing,

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it was time to get this
project set in motion.

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First up,
who would pen this ambitious tale?

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When it was announced that we had
the rights to His Dark Materials,

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Jack put his hand in the air
really early on

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and just said that he really wanted
to do it,

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and what's more, he really wanted
to write all of the eight episodes.

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Most shows of this scale,
you've got a writers' room,

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you got a lot of people breaking
the episodes.

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We're, like, on the Aaron Sorkin
model.

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Jack Thorne is, like,
writing every script.

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The task I always set myself
is to follow a truth of the books

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so you can't always put
everything in the same order,

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but fundamentally, you are still
going in the same direction.

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It's hard and you often find
yourself in a cul-de-sac

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because you've made a series of
decisions

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which have taken you too far away.

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It's kind of difficult in a much
more passive form of entertainment

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like TV or film
where you are sitting, being fed.

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You only get to see what
we show you,

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and you don't have time to
let your imagination ruminate and,

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or a sentence really kind of roll
around in your mouth

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or in your mind.

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You're on to the next thing,

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and if you don't keep up,
you've lost it, you know?

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One bonus of having a living author
is that you can pick them up

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and you can shake them

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to find all the story
that falls out.

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So going, "There's a gap here,
Philip, so what happened here?"

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You know, "Who's this person?
Where did they start from?"

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All those questions.

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Um, but there's also the big general
questions you ask, which is,

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"What would you change?"

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The word itself, adapt...
The story has to be adapted

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to suit the nature of
the medium into which it is going.

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It's the same thing for television,

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same thing for movies,
same thing for radio.

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It's inevitable. I wasn't, um,
going to be insistent

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that every single item in the story
had to be exactly presented

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as it was on the page.

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Whilst Jack got to grips with this
rich adventure,

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the art department was tackling
the alternate universe

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that is Lyra's world.

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The design department
is extraordinary.

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I mean, just extraordinary.

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The scale and the level of detail
is so incredible.

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Lyra goes through so many different
forms of existence and worlds,

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so it's a huge job.

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It just shows the amount of respect,
I think,

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that people have for the project,

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that producers have gathered
together

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this incredibly talented
group of creatives.

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You get the chance to have
real-life, grown-up playgrounds

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to inhabit and populate
the world of make-believe.

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And that just adds such joy.

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Asriel's lab has so many little
things, they are so detailed.

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It's like they have every
single switch.

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It actually really helps,
acting-wise.

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To understand how to build
the beginning,

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I wanted to really understand
all three books

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and the story that Philip
had told across those three.

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I worked out from, um, from a kind
of, like, an emotional perspective,

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Philip was using nostalgia,
using memories,

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using kind of his own childhood
nostalgia, maybe,

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so I used that ideology, but tried
to move it forward

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so that newer audience
could find some common ground,

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with the way we were telling
this story.

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One of the biggest problems
with this story is how crazy

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and fantastical and amazing
and kind of vast it is.

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And ultimately, it's a very complex
thing to put in front of the screen

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and I think the presumption might be
that you would

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do it all against blue screens.

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It's way more enjoyable to try
and really feel the environment,

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I think, to try and put in camera
as many of the real-world elements

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and ground this whole place, this
world, in reality as much as we can.

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You know, each area and each space

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has been quite carefully curated
to tell the story.

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I love the airships,
they're really fun.

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And we've had three different
kinds of airships,

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so we had one that was like a tube,
you know a London tube,

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one that's like a sort of private
jet, and one that's a military one.

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So I mean, they're amazing,
I could spend all day in those.

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I absolutely love
the set of my boat.

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Everybody walks onto that set and
really wishes they could live there.

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On every shelf, in every cupboard,
every cushion,

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I cannot tell you
just the extraordinary,

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microscopic attention to detail.

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I will give you that.

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I've just been doing a lot of scenes
in the frozen wastes of the North

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and you walk onto set
and it's actually pretty stunning.

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And the light is incredible,

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you are lit by our Northern Lights
a lot of the time,

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so it's like being in a brilliant
psychedelic disco. Sometimes.

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In a kind of frozen north
sort of way.

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This theme of bespoke design

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would need to be threaded into
everything, including the costumes.

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I think every costume on this show

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is incredibly thought about
and impressive.

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It's kind of a free for all
because it's this alternative world.

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The clothes you wear determine
the way people see you.

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It's interesting, the style of the
show and the sort of period,

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because it's kind of not
set in a particular period.

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Again, we have that freedom
to explore, it could be '40s,

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but we push the boundaries of that
and modernise it slightly.

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I like it.
e your colour.

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That era where you're never without
a shirt and a tie, you know,

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even if you're not wearing a suit,
you've got a shirt and a tie.

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And this might be
one of the only times

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you don't see his shirt and tie.

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From my point of view,
the books give me

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all the guidance that I need.

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I'm always going back to the
books to find out

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what Pullman has said about
different characters

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and what Pullman has said
about the world.

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There has to be a logic within
Lyra's world.

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We've dressed people in
non-definable clothing.

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It's trying to mix up things
that exist

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and create a look that you believe,
but is timeless.

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There's different technologies in
Lyra's world.

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They travel by zeppelin

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so there would be certain things,
fabrics and technology,

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that wouldn't exist in Lyra's world,

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so that then will influence
how people dress.

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The costumes are really interesting.

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There's something slightly military
to him, even though he's a,

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he's been a theologian and he is a
scientist.

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He's also an adventurer
and explorer,

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I think we've reflected that
really well.

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I loved the first costume
of all of them.

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But then I got my beautiful
fur coat,

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which is a bit of a pain when
you're doing location

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and it's boiling hot in September,

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but it's great for when you're at
the studio and it's freezing.

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Do you trust me?

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Caroline is an incredible designer
and we had good fun, actually,

238
00:11:37,155 --> 00:11:39,925
because the Gyptians are so cool.

239
00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:43,000
You'll see, when you see
all of the extras and everything,

240
00:11:43,035 --> 00:11:45,765
we were like, "We are so cool!"

241
00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:49,200
Um, so we do, we have a great
old time with our costumes.

242
00:11:49,235 --> 00:11:52,600
With the Gyptians, their clothing
has to be practical,

243
00:11:52,635 --> 00:11:54,845
and there's a sense of history
with the Gyptians,

244
00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:59,000
so their clothing should look
like it's been passed down.

245
00:11:59,035 --> 00:12:02,525
So it's all mended,
it's broken down.

246
00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:07,040
The Gyptians have a harmony,
a real harmony with their daemons,

247
00:12:07,075 --> 00:12:10,845
and so they celebrate that
with their jewellery

248
00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:14,680
and, um, some of the patterns
I've put into their clothing

249
00:12:14,715 --> 00:12:15,880
and their knitwear.

250
00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:21,520
I don't think anybody could really
say what Lee Scoresby,

251
00:12:21,555 --> 00:12:23,605
what his look was going to be.

252
00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,165
And I had this sort of
quite strong idea

253
00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,040
taking in more of the fact
that he's an aviator

254
00:12:29,075 --> 00:12:30,645
and he's in this balloon,

255
00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:34,245
give him the kind of Texan-ish vibe
from the book.

256
00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:37,800
Yeah, man, I have never dressed more
badass in my life.

257
00:12:37,835 --> 00:12:41,320
I've worn blouses on stage,
I've worn guayaberas on stage,

258
00:12:41,355 --> 00:12:44,965
but, like, going full steampunk
cowboy is,

259
00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,400
is very much my aesthetic.
I'm very much enjoying it.

260
00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:52,340
I've had these most, I mean,
glorious costumes.

261
00:12:52,375 --> 00:12:54,400
I mean, the best thing about this
job is, you know,

262
00:12:54,435 --> 00:12:55,685
that she's going to look good.

263
00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:57,805
You know, she wears heels
in the Arctic.

264
00:12:57,840 --> 00:12:59,885
I mean, everything's been
made for me as well,

265
00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:04,080
so it's a real pleasure to have
these things designed and made.

266
00:13:04,115 --> 00:13:07,725
I love my big Arctic outfit.

267
00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,805
I had a very clear idea
of how I saw Mrs Coulter.

268
00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:13,685
She had to have a beautiful,
but really practical coat.

269
00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:18,120
I'm really, really pleased with it.
I think she looks fantastic in it.

270
00:13:18,155 --> 00:13:22,280
The costumes aren't the only part
of a character's persona,

271
00:13:22,315 --> 00:13:25,197
there are also their daemons
to think about.

272
00:13:25,232 --> 00:13:28,080
Bringing these to life
was an immense challenge.

273
00:13:28,115 --> 00:13:29,880
We went through hundreds
of iterations

274
00:13:29,915 --> 00:13:31,565
of how we could do the daemons.

275
00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:33,565
And in the end we went back
to Philip's version.

276
00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,760
There's so many things
that are impossible to do on screen

277
00:13:36,795 --> 00:13:39,165
that he sets us the challenge to do.

278
00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:42,720
They have to be CGI. I mean,
that was really clear,

279
00:13:42,755 --> 00:13:47,085
full-on, furry critters, CGI,
photo-real.

280
00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:49,680
Those daemon animals have to
give a performance.

281
00:13:49,715 --> 00:13:52,285
They are representing something

282
00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:54,285
of what the character is
thinking or feeling.

283
00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:57,285
No, Lyra, don't! The retiring room
is expressly forbidden.

284
00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:01,160
Making photo-real, nuanced visual
effects creations as creatures

285
00:14:01,195 --> 00:14:05,000
or characters is kind of our bread
and butter, it's what we do.

286
00:14:05,035 --> 00:14:07,005
The worry was the volume.

287
00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:10,840
A show like this, you know,
it has what is, what is undeniably

288
00:14:10,875 --> 00:14:14,485
a high level of visual effects
as its baseline

289
00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,205
because it is very much
part of the pulse of the show.

290
00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:20,520
Probably one of the hardest
creatures that we've had to create

291
00:14:20,555 --> 00:14:22,760
is the Golden Monkey because
that is a character that,

292
00:14:22,795 --> 00:14:24,477
first of all,
and it's no small feat,

293
00:14:24,512 --> 00:14:26,125
has to play alongside Ruth Wilson.

294
00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:27,965
And we have to support her
performance.

295
00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:29,900
Sometimes we have to be
part of her performance

296
00:14:29,935 --> 00:14:31,800
and sometimes we just have to
get out of the way

297
00:14:31,835 --> 00:14:33,525
whilst still having a monkey
on screen.

298
00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,120
And we have to do all that with
something that doesn't talk,

299
00:14:36,155 --> 00:14:38,680
so we have to do all that with
various, with body language

300
00:14:38,715 --> 00:14:40,405
and just nuanced facial expressions.

301
00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,600
We have these daemons,
which adds a whole other dimension

302
00:14:43,635 --> 00:14:46,680
to what this, what
Philip Pullman's world is about,

303
00:14:46,715 --> 00:14:48,285
that are with you all the time.

304
00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:50,500
So to put that on screen
is quite difficult.

305
00:14:50,535 --> 00:14:52,645
And in the end they decided that
on the day,

306
00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:55,605
we would have a series of puppets
that would help us,

307
00:14:55,640 --> 00:15:01,880
but also the camera team and also
the CGI guys on the other side

308
00:15:01,915 --> 00:15:04,525
to work out what our
daemons were doing.

309
00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:08,320
So we had to build representations
of those things

310
00:15:08,355 --> 00:15:10,285
that would give the actors
an understanding

311
00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,800
of the space that they filled
and the weight that they might be

312
00:15:12,835 --> 00:15:15,800
and the interactions
that they had with them,

313
00:15:15,835 --> 00:15:19,045
without it being too overly present.

314
00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:23,000
The directors also wanted some
emotional sense of this thing,

315
00:15:23,035 --> 00:15:25,840
because it's not good enough
just to have a ball on a stick,

316
00:15:25,875 --> 00:15:28,800
you know, you need something
to respond to.

317
00:15:28,835 --> 00:15:30,520
HESTER SIGHS Here we go again.

318
00:15:30,555 --> 00:15:32,325
Friendly place.

319
00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:36,280
And working with Framestore, we knew
they had to fill the space, almost.

320
00:15:36,315 --> 00:15:38,365
They had to be smaller than
the final thing

321
00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:43,800
because they could move
and affect people, objects,

322
00:15:43,835 --> 00:15:45,965
props, bits of scenery.

323
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:50,320
Having a reference for performance
or timing or rhythm in a scene

324
00:15:50,355 --> 00:15:52,045
is really, really helpful.

325
00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:54,925
For example, Brian, who played
the Golden Monkey exclusively,

326
00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:58,840
who pretty much became Ruth Wilson's
own daemon, he was incredible.

327
00:15:58,875 --> 00:16:01,160
You know, he would pick up on the
rhythm of a scene really,

328
00:16:01,195 --> 00:16:02,805
really beautifully and start
picking up

329
00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:05,280
the nuance of what the monkey
would do and why and where.

330
00:16:05,315 --> 00:16:07,320
And although we sometimes changed
the position,

331
00:16:07,355 --> 00:16:09,045
there was kind of like an energy
on camera

332
00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:11,440
that he put into it
that really, really helped us.

333
00:16:11,475 --> 00:16:13,085
And even though over time
in the edit,

334
00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,240
the emotion of a scene may change
or the timing of a scene may change,

335
00:16:16,275 --> 00:16:19,360
it's always really good to have
the initial sort of on set instinct

336
00:16:19,395 --> 00:16:22,005
of a puppeteer and a director
with a puppeteer.

337
00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,480
So they were pivotal for us
being able to get through the show.

338
00:16:25,515 --> 00:16:28,005
A puppet would be used in a pass
to say,

339
00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:30,520
"Well, it's over here and this is
what it's going to do."

340
00:16:30,555 --> 00:16:33,445
It may scurry up,
it may be sitting still.

341
00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:38,200
But we have an emotional accuracy
in where it is, at the right time,

342
00:16:38,235 --> 00:16:41,280
and get the beats
that are part of the story.

343
00:16:41,315 --> 00:16:43,405
Lyra, the gift the Master gave you.

344
00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:47,000
They're so amazing, they really do
help because if not you're like,

345
00:16:47,035 --> 00:16:49,565
"Where's Pan?" But then
you do the pass,

346
00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:52,720
and you're like,
"This clears everything."

347
00:16:52,755 --> 00:16:55,485
And it's so fun working with them

348
00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:58,960
because the people who do it
are really nice also.

349
00:16:58,995 --> 00:17:03,040
Did I keep any? I, I, I...
I got an ermine.

350
00:17:03,075 --> 00:17:04,365
I love my puppet!

351
00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:07,040
Yeah, I love,
I love Brian, I love my puppet.

352
00:17:07,075 --> 00:17:08,925
I'm like, "Brian, where are you?"

353
00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:11,440
Every time I do a scene
I'm like, "Brian!"

354
00:17:11,475 --> 00:17:13,417
Coming in as Golden Monkey
performer,

355
00:17:13,452 --> 00:17:15,360
it was very exciting
because they said,

356
00:17:15,395 --> 00:17:17,085
"All right, we've got Ruth Wilson,

357
00:17:17,120 --> 00:17:19,160
"we want you to work with
her as the Golden Monkey.

358
00:17:19,195 --> 00:17:21,017
"You are going to be
one concise unit,

359
00:17:21,052 --> 00:17:23,146
"so you need to be able to work
together."

360
00:17:23,181 --> 00:17:25,350
Which means Ruth and I
got a rehearsal room

361
00:17:25,385 --> 00:17:27,485
for a week and a half straight,
pretty much.

362
00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:31,125
She's never worked with
VFX, in this capacity,

363
00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:34,780
so having something that is there
that is also not there.

364
00:17:34,815 --> 00:17:38,365
So it was very exciting just
to create that world with her.

365
00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:41,360
He was giving me some monkey moves,
because he walks like a mon...

366
00:17:41,395 --> 00:17:43,877
Well, you know, he sort of animates
like a monkey,

367
00:17:43,912 --> 00:17:46,360
so he would help me work out
anything I want to bring

368
00:17:46,395 --> 00:17:49,040
into Mrs Coulter
in terms of body language.

369
00:17:49,075 --> 00:17:51,605
We worked out a very important

370
00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:54,120
psychological relationship
between the two.

371
00:17:54,155 --> 00:17:56,497
To make sure that all the daemons
were

372
00:17:56,532 --> 00:17:58,926
as accurate and realistic
as possible,

373
00:17:58,961 --> 00:18:01,285
the production team
had an expert on hand.

374
00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,680
So I worked with the creature
department building the puppets

375
00:18:04,715 --> 00:18:08,040
so we would get them, I would
get them sort of reference,

376
00:18:08,075 --> 00:18:10,205
um, sizes and measurements
and colours

377
00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:12,520
and we'd say, "This is what it
should look like."

378
00:18:12,555 --> 00:18:14,165
Another property is, we, um,

379
00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:17,040
when they first started, they would
often come into my office

380
00:18:17,075 --> 00:18:18,845
and kind of look at the footage
that we'd got

381
00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:21,340
so they could get a feel
for how the animals moved.

382
00:18:21,375 --> 00:18:23,800
The monkey, as well, with Brian
was another one

383
00:18:23,835 --> 00:18:25,405
that was obviously a big,
big character

384
00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:27,640
that we wanted to get as much
emotion into as possible.

385
00:18:27,675 --> 00:18:28,845
Because it doesn't speak,

386
00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,480
so the only development of that
character comes from movement.

387
00:18:31,515 --> 00:18:32,645
MONKEY SHOUTS

388
00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,280
One of the best things, in my eyes
as a biologist, from the books,

389
00:18:35,315 --> 00:18:37,357
is that Philip Pullman
did such a good job

390
00:18:37,392 --> 00:18:39,496
of casting the animals
for the daemons.

391
00:18:39,531 --> 00:18:41,425
Some of the more solitary characters

392
00:18:41,460 --> 00:18:43,320
like Lord Asriel
has a snow leopard,

393
00:18:43,355 --> 00:18:45,005
and you just think, you know,

394
00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:47,680
that snow leopards as a kind of
species in real life,

395
00:18:47,715 --> 00:18:50,005
you know, they're kind of
mysterious,

396
00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:52,045
they're kind of very enigmatic
and charismatic,

397
00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,045
they survive by themselves
in very harsh environments,

398
00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:57,560
and you think, "Well, actually,
that's what Lord Asriel is."

399
00:18:57,595 --> 00:19:00,205
LEOPARD GROWLS
We actually worked together.

400
00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:02,320
You're working with another
actor in a lot of ways.

401
00:19:02,355 --> 00:19:03,805
And I love Stelmaria

402
00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:08,240
and I love the fact that we can work
symbiotically as a duo

403
00:19:08,275 --> 00:19:11,360
because everybody in Lyra's world
works as a duo.

404
00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:14,320
So even just walking into a room
we were like,

405
00:19:14,355 --> 00:19:16,405
"Who walks in first, me or Stel?"

406
00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:18,960
You know, and it's like,
I think it's a dangerous situation.

407
00:19:18,995 --> 00:19:20,085
I think Stel might go first

408
00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:21,925
as her senses are more
in tune than mine,

409
00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:24,160
so she'd maybe run in, scope it,
and I come in after her.

410
00:19:24,195 --> 00:19:25,965
Do you know what I mean?
And that's quite...

411
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,920
Just decisions like that
are really interesting to me.

412
00:19:28,955 --> 00:19:34,000
Lyuba, soul, companion
and protector of my son.

413
00:19:34,035 --> 00:19:35,965
That was really, really useful

414
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,680
just because it constantly
reminded us of their presence.

415
00:19:38,715 --> 00:19:41,357
Just to have a tangible
nature of something,

416
00:19:41,392 --> 00:19:43,896
just for its height,
for the way it might move,

417
00:19:43,931 --> 00:19:46,400
for the size of it, you know,
or the weight of it.

418
00:19:46,435 --> 00:19:48,600
You know, if you've got
a bird on your arm,

419
00:19:48,635 --> 00:19:50,817
then it's very important
to storytell

420
00:19:50,852 --> 00:19:53,000
that there is some weight
behind that.

421
00:19:53,035 --> 00:19:54,205
It informs everything,

422
00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:57,000
it's sort of the missing actors
in the scene at any given time.

423
00:19:57,035 --> 00:19:58,960
It's really wonderful,
and the puppeteers here

424
00:19:58,995 --> 00:20:00,765
are so incredible that, you know,

425
00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:03,560
as soon as Hester's in their hands,
she comes to life.

426
00:20:03,595 --> 00:20:05,005
Especially with children around,

427
00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:07,520
it's important that
those puppets were there, I think.

428
00:20:07,555 --> 00:20:08,605
It doesn't take very long

429
00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,000
for a child to attach something to a
puppet, you know.

430
00:20:11,035 --> 00:20:12,960
And watching that has been
really good fun.

431
00:20:12,995 --> 00:20:14,685
They're vital to the piece,

432
00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,885
and without that,
it wouldn't be the show it is.

433
00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:20,045
Yes, we are in a world
full of make-believe and magic,

434
00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:23,600
but it helps to have a little
magical assistance, shall we say.

435
00:20:23,635 --> 00:20:25,805
HE LAUGHS

436
00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:30,020
The daemons weren't the only
magical component to this story.

437
00:20:30,055 --> 00:20:34,200
There was one particular prop
that was integral to the show.

438
00:20:34,235 --> 00:20:37,285
What is it? ethiometer.

439
00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:39,005
If you read Philip's description,

440
00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:41,765
it embodies the description
of Lyra's alethiometer,

441
00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:44,920
but it's practically, it's just has
a different form to it.

442
00:20:44,955 --> 00:20:46,645
And that also fits more,
I think,

443
00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:50,760
with the mid-century sense of
timelessness that we were going for

444
00:20:50,795 --> 00:20:53,725
than perhaps something
that feels more elaborate.

445
00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:57,205
I loved the alethiometer,
it's brilliant, it's really heavy.

446
00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,440
I actually had, like, the shoulder
bag from Mrs Coulter's episode,

447
00:21:00,475 --> 00:21:03,725
it kept on breaking
because of the weight of it.

448
00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,760
But it's amazing. It has literally
all of the drawings.

449
00:21:06,795 --> 00:21:08,765
You can, like, move the needles.

450
00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:10,925
This is another
bit of a design journey

451
00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:13,920
because of what it means to the
audience, what it means to the book.

452
00:21:13,955 --> 00:21:16,157
And with the alethiometer,
there wasn't really

453
00:21:16,192 --> 00:21:18,360
a conscious decision
to make it not round,

454
00:21:18,395 --> 00:21:21,245
cos it is kind of round as it were,

455
00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:24,125
but there was a kind of feeling
I had that

456
00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:26,960
I didn't really want it to look
like a Victorian pocket watch.

457
00:21:26,995 --> 00:21:29,760
Ironically, actually, I was trying
to find something that probably

458
00:21:29,795 --> 00:21:32,125
was not inside the mind
of the fans,

459
00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:36,520
ie, round, for a start, because
I wanted to explore other shapes

460
00:21:36,555 --> 00:21:38,840
and feelings and sizes.

461
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,320
It wasn't to be controversial,
it was actually just,

462
00:21:43,355 --> 00:21:46,365
um, trying to not
push the audience away

463
00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:48,700
because they'd go,
"Well, I'm not interested in

464
00:21:48,735 --> 00:21:51,000
"a Victorian pocket watch,"
you know? Just...

465
00:21:51,035 --> 00:21:53,645
I wanted it to, like, look special.

466
00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:56,260
I break everything, but I did not
break the alethiometer,

467
00:21:56,295 --> 00:21:58,840
because Props were like,
"If you break the alethiometer,

468
00:21:58,875 --> 00:22:00,205
"that is very expensive."

469
00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,645
I think our alethiometer
is really special.

470
00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:08,880
Um, and it's special in its own way
and I hope people will like it.

471
00:22:08,915 --> 00:22:14,080
From designing the little details
to construction on a grand scale,

472
00:22:14,115 --> 00:22:18,000
production really did impress
with their Nordic fishing town.

473
00:22:18,035 --> 00:22:20,605
Trollesund in particular
has been my favourite

474
00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:24,520
because you really are transported
to a small, gritty,

475
00:22:24,555 --> 00:22:27,557
hard-bitten, dangerous outpost
somewhere far, far away.

476
00:22:27,592 --> 00:22:30,560
Go see the witches' consul,
get whatever help you can

477
00:22:30,595 --> 00:22:32,525
and then we leave here
as fast as possible.

478
00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:35,640
And they've got half a dead whale
and the blubber machine,

479
00:22:35,675 --> 00:22:38,480
and it's just all so real
and visceral.

480
00:22:38,515 --> 00:22:40,445
Just blows my mind.

481
00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:45,120
It's exactly what you want when
you're fulfilling a fantasy world

482
00:22:45,155 --> 00:22:47,320
that so many people have imagined
in their own minds.

483
00:22:47,355 --> 00:22:48,845
I was looking at a window

484
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:51,920
and there was, like, lentils or
something,

485
00:22:51,955 --> 00:22:54,537
but it had a label
about how much these were.

486
00:22:54,572 --> 00:22:57,120
Now, that was never, ever
going to be featured,

487
00:22:57,155 --> 00:22:59,285
all those jars and bottles
and things,

488
00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:02,800
but someone had taken the time to do
all that,

489
00:23:02,835 --> 00:23:04,797
and that's what gives it...

490
00:23:04,832 --> 00:23:06,725
You think it doesn't matter,

491
00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:08,760
you think, "Well, nobody's
going to see that."

492
00:23:08,795 --> 00:23:11,525
But actually, it does matter.

493
00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:14,780
Building this entire town wasn't
an ostentatious affair.

494
00:23:14,815 --> 00:23:17,707
There was actually a pragmatic
thought process behind it.

495
00:23:17,742 --> 00:23:20,565
Dan May and I were very closely
working together, as we do.

496
00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,540
He saw it as a kind of weak spot.
We know it's going to be expensive,

497
00:23:23,575 --> 00:23:26,480
we know it's going to be a huge
undertaking to do it authentically,

498
00:23:26,515 --> 00:23:27,605
do it well

499
00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:29,880
when actually, the cost of the bear
and the daemons

500
00:23:29,915 --> 00:23:32,257
and things like that
are going to be extraordinary

501
00:23:32,292 --> 00:23:34,600
and if you then put
environmental work in every shot,

502
00:23:34,635 --> 00:23:36,005
you've got real problems.

503
00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:38,285
It was an amazing feat,
it was literally a whole town

504
00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:42,180
with interiors, exteriors, a dock,
roofs and it was for one episode.

505
00:23:42,215 --> 00:23:46,040
We literally squeezed every bit
of that town out for that episode,

506
00:23:46,075 --> 00:23:48,157
and I think it's very exciting.

507
00:23:48,192 --> 00:23:50,205
Dan May and I, we'd work together

508
00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:52,125
because I'd want him
to try and work out

509
00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,000
the gap between the VFX and
live action world with me, you know.

510
00:23:55,035 --> 00:23:57,760
It's what we do, him and I
have worked together for years.

511
00:23:57,795 --> 00:24:00,520
By the time Trollesund came round in
pre-production,

512
00:24:00,555 --> 00:24:02,245
we already had, um,

513
00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:05,740
done a lot of concept art for Joel
and what we thought it would be.

514
00:24:05,775 --> 00:24:09,127
And then from that, we generated
a bunch of buildings and things

515
00:24:09,162 --> 00:24:12,821
and you can orientate them around
into various different layouts.

516
00:24:12,856 --> 00:24:16,928
We had to basically find this
location that really didn't exist.

517
00:24:16,963 --> 00:24:21,201
We found this quarry, so part
of the process was to scan and plan

518
00:24:21,236 --> 00:24:25,538
that environment out so that
we could do some 3D storyboarding

519
00:24:25,573 --> 00:24:29,840
and some more complicated pre-vis
sequences involving the bear.

520
00:24:29,875 --> 00:24:33,097
Um, so two big sequences we did were

521
00:24:33,132 --> 00:24:36,320
the bear armour retrieval sequence.

522
00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:39,845
If it was a normal chase scene
with humans,

523
00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,560
you'd shoot it very, very
phonetically and cutty

524
00:24:42,595 --> 00:24:45,205
and you'd have a lot of different
shots in it

525
00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:47,560
and you'd kind of, you'd fly
the camera round the place.

526
00:24:47,595 --> 00:24:49,165
And what we saw in the pre-vis

527
00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,485
was actually by slowing it down
and seeing the sort of

528
00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:56,800
scale and geography of this enormous
beast rampaging through town.

529
00:24:56,835 --> 00:24:58,485
So because of the pre-vis,

530
00:24:58,520 --> 00:24:59,845
I actually ended up shooting it

531
00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:02,720
a lot, a lot simpler than I would
have without the pre-vis,

532
00:25:02,755 --> 00:25:05,177
which means you save an enormous
amount of time,

533
00:25:05,212 --> 00:25:07,565
you save an enormous amount of money
on VFX.

534
00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:12,040
So it's an expensive process,
pre-vis, but it's, without question,

535
00:25:12,075 --> 00:25:15,080
does... you know, absolutely,
definitely saves you time

536
00:25:15,115 --> 00:25:17,925
and is a really, really supportive
thing,

537
00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,280
both from a production level,
but also creatively as well.

538
00:25:21,315 --> 00:25:23,365
Iorek is key to this story

539
00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:27,360
and like the daemons,
he needed to be represented on set.

540
00:25:27,395 --> 00:25:31,080
Performing this role
was a novel experience for Joe.

541
00:25:31,115 --> 00:25:34,277
Iorek Byrnison,
can we talk with you?

542
00:25:34,312 --> 00:25:37,405
I know the people you are seeking.

543
00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:39,640
I've done characters
and voiceovers work

544
00:25:39,675 --> 00:25:41,045
and motion capture before,

545
00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:42,960
but obviously I've never done
puppeteering,

546
00:25:42,995 --> 00:25:45,005
which was... It's a challenge.

547
00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:47,640
I mean, if you've never done
it before, it's quite challenging.

548
00:25:47,675 --> 00:25:50,365
When you play a character like this,

549
00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:53,460
you'll have to know how they move
before you know how they act,

550
00:25:53,495 --> 00:25:56,520
like, before you start acting.
And so it was very important for me

551
00:25:56,555 --> 00:25:58,445
to understand the weight of him,
you know,

552
00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:02,920
I can't move my feet the way that
a polar bear moves his front paws.

553
00:26:02,955 --> 00:26:06,360
And so was important to understand
all of that technically

554
00:26:06,395 --> 00:26:08,565
before we started filming it,

555
00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,600
but also very important for the
other actors, I think, and me

556
00:26:11,635 --> 00:26:14,805
to, um, to have in those scenes

557
00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:17,680
because it just helps
the whole atmosphere of

558
00:26:17,715 --> 00:26:20,925
having a giant creature next to you.

559
00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:24,720
The reference dots, um,
as glamorous as they are,

560
00:26:24,755 --> 00:26:26,937
you, yeah, you kind of forget
about it,

561
00:26:26,972 --> 00:26:29,085
it becomes part of the costume,
really.

562
00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:31,480
So when I have the camera
in front of my face

563
00:26:31,515 --> 00:26:33,805
it captures all of the movements
that I have

564
00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:37,480
and they use the dots as references
to drive the animation.

565
00:26:37,515 --> 00:26:40,645
But it's so rewarding
because it's so liberating.

566
00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:44,600
You know, you get to...
It's very theatrical in a sense

567
00:26:44,635 --> 00:26:48,520
that you get to play this
larger-than-life character.

568
00:26:48,555 --> 00:26:50,725
And I love playing
larger-than-life characters

569
00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:54,160
because it means that you have to
use your creativity

570
00:26:54,195 --> 00:26:57,560
and your imagination to,
to realistically produce

571
00:26:57,595 --> 00:27:00,480
something that people can relate to.

572
00:27:00,515 --> 00:27:03,840
I am not for sale.

573
00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:08,660
Whilst Joe dedicated himself
to performing lorek,

574
00:27:08,695 --> 00:27:11,800
there was still a technical issue
to deal with.

575
00:27:11,835 --> 00:27:15,205
How would Dafne ride this
enormous bear?

576
00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:18,965
We didn't want to just have
a digital version of Lyra, you know,

577
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:23,040
galloping along on a digital polar
bear, so we had to build something.

578
00:27:23,075 --> 00:27:25,245
We didn't want it to be mechanical,

579
00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:28,460
because the repetition
of a mechanical device,

580
00:27:28,495 --> 00:27:31,605
a clockwork sort of device,
is always visible.

581
00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:35,680
The best option for this is
to have a rig that is puppeteered.

582
00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:42,400
One of our rigs was a child carrier
with the shoulders

583
00:27:42,435 --> 00:27:45,885
and neck of the bear set on top
of it

584
00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:50,480
that in the sort of motion
of the puppeteer underneath,

585
00:27:50,515 --> 00:27:53,320
it would seem like
Lyra was riding a bear.

586
00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:57,125
I enjoy the riding.

587
00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,920
There's, like, this really weird,
like, mechanic riding rig

588
00:27:59,955 --> 00:28:01,925
which also has, like, puppeteers
underneath it,

589
00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,525
but still, it's mechanic.
It's really heavy for them.

590
00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:07,640
It was so bouncy when we did the
test that they had to, like,

591
00:28:07,675 --> 00:28:10,040
strap me onto it because I was,
like, jumping that much.

592
00:28:10,075 --> 00:28:11,965
It was like, boing, boing, boing.

593
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,485
Pragmatic problem-solving wasn't
exclusive to lorek.

594
00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:19,800
A huge amount of thought
went into adapting our queen witch,

595
00:28:19,835 --> 00:28:21,240
Serafina Pekkala.

596
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,920
We tried lots of different things
with, with the make up

597
00:28:25,955 --> 00:28:29,520
and the hair initially
to figure out who, who really she is

598
00:28:29,555 --> 00:28:32,005
and what we want
to bring to her.

599
00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:34,045
Because obviously, the look of
Serafina

600
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:36,380
is different from the description
in the book,

601
00:28:36,415 --> 00:28:38,927
and I'm sure a lot of people will be
wondering why

602
00:28:38,962 --> 00:28:41,501
we've decided to go with,
with the short hair,

603
00:28:41,536 --> 00:28:44,040
and one of the reasons behind that
was, so,

604
00:28:44,075 --> 00:28:46,617
in the book she flies on a
broomstick,

605
00:28:46,652 --> 00:28:49,125
and we wanted to make her really
powerful.

606
00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:53,040
And the idea that she flies,
that this is her cloud-pine,

607
00:28:53,075 --> 00:28:57,037
and that she flies using
wind thermals and currents,

608
00:28:57,072 --> 00:29:00,716
which is going to be incredibly cool
and quick and fast

609
00:29:00,751 --> 00:29:04,360
and if you're doing that
and you've got long, flowing hair,

610
00:29:04,395 --> 00:29:07,565
it's going to be distracting
and inhibiting for her.

611
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:11,805
So we wanted to make her strong
and powerful and not a...

612
00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:16,960
Without any vanity whatsoever,
so we kept the hair short and fixed.

613
00:29:16,995 --> 00:29:20,205
And, um, and the make up, this,

614
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:23,940
was how we denoted
that she is a queen,

615
00:29:23,975 --> 00:29:27,605
rather than
the very delicate flowers.

616
00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:30,280
That's the whole other journey
that I've been on,

617
00:29:30,315 --> 00:29:32,765
to learn about visual effects.

618
00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:35,360
For example, the witches
in the book are described as

619
00:29:35,395 --> 00:29:38,445
wrapped in ribbons of black silk.

620
00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:42,040
So ribbons of silk
flying all over the place

621
00:29:42,075 --> 00:29:43,445
would have been a nightmare,

622
00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:46,440
but I was still trying
to cling to the fact

623
00:29:46,475 --> 00:29:49,365
that it's fabric that's wrapped
round the body.

624
00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:54,120
We had to make a costume that would
look, um, of the Earth,

625
00:29:54,155 --> 00:29:58,840
of the forest. Like she had just
wrapped rags around her,

626
00:29:58,875 --> 00:30:01,445
but also be sturdy enough
for her to fly,

627
00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,765
for me to have a harness underneath
my costume.

628
00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:07,240
I've done a little bit of
wire work before this job,

629
00:30:07,275 --> 00:30:10,440
but, um, but nothing
quite as extensive as this.

630
00:30:10,475 --> 00:30:13,845
Most fun I think
I've ever had on set.

631
00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:16,320
It's incredible, you actually feel
like you're flying.

632
00:30:16,355 --> 00:30:17,525
I am here to help.

633
00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:21,040
It's just remarkable,
the journey from a bow and arrow

634
00:30:21,075 --> 00:30:24,045
to tiny, tiny little daggers

635
00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:28,700
and the idea behind that being just
very short, sharp lethal weapons.

636
00:30:28,735 --> 00:30:33,320
It's such a brilliant idea and just
feeds into your character more.

637
00:30:33,355 --> 00:30:35,245
With such high expectations,

638
00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:37,325
how are our cast and crew feeling

639
00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:39,445
about being a part of
this adaptation?

640
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,765
It is an honour, and it is a
tremendous honour

641
00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:45,965
to be given the opportunity
to adapt books this beautiful.

642
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:50,640
I hope we do it well. Cos if we
don't, I'll be gutted as a fan.

643
00:30:50,675 --> 00:30:52,045
To get that tone right,

644
00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:56,140
and to give the fans what they want
is quite a daunting challenge.

645
00:30:56,175 --> 00:31:00,200
Have this extraordinary fondness
for the, the ideas in this project.

646
00:31:00,235 --> 00:31:05,040
We are trying to be as true
to the books as we can.

647
00:31:05,075 --> 00:31:06,725
You can so easily get it wrong,

648
00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:09,380
and I'm desperately,
desperately trying not to.

649
00:31:09,415 --> 00:31:12,000
I'm thrilled to be here and play
Lee Scoresby,

650
00:31:12,035 --> 00:31:14,205
and be the American on set.

651
00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:19,720
With series one wrapped up and Lyra
off on the next part of her journey,

652
00:31:19,755 --> 00:31:24,880
there'll be a whole new adventure
for everyone in series two.