The more than a minute-long, 360-degree shot of the battle took three and a half weeks to stage and film. Director
Neil Marshall included it when he saw the fully realized Castle Black set and felt that this set and action "were just screaming for it." It was blocked and rehearsed in two hours and shot in seven takes with a camera mounted on a crane. Marshall stated that the greatest miracle was that they got such a complex scene on film in only seven attempts and that no one got hit by the sweeping camera, which was an indication of how well everyone had timed their movements.