Creating the rain ships sequence
To prepare to film the epic opening sequence of episode 2, director Toby Haynes worked with internationally renowned storyboard artist and illustrator Temple Clark to convey the visual expections in his mind on paper.
The storyboards were then used by the production team whilst filming the sequence, which took place in a duck pond transformed by a large green screen wrapped around scaffolding. Finally, the moment was brought to life by some incredible visual effects, which you can see brought to life in the clips below. And if you'd like to see how Toby's original ideas translated to the screen (and what was left out), why not watch the sequence again before taking a look at the storyboard pages?
To navigate between the storyboard pages, click on the links at the bottom of the page.
Conceptual atwork by Howard Swindell (colour) and Jim Kay (black and white).
Watch the full sequence and behind the scenes videos
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Page one
Rain falls as the Port of Brest sequence begins
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Page two
The Admiral sees the rain ships for the first time
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Page three
The French Navy discover the mysterious ships are deadly still...
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Page four
The ship is viewed through the Admiral's telescope
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Page five
Inside the Admiral's cabin
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Page six
We see ships through the telescope
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Page seven
The French row out to examine the mysterious ships
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Page eight
The French Navy get close to the hull of the ship
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Page nine
A seaman reaches out to touch the ship...
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Page ten
The French Navy discover the ships are a magical illusion!