Visiting the Warner Bros Studios just outside of London to see the sets, props, costumes, and special effects that were used in the Harry Potter films was an incredible experience. I learned so much about the making of the films and thought that it would be cool to write about some of the film making secrets that were used.
1. Hogwarts Castle Shots
All shots of the outside of Hogwarts Castle that are used in the first six films are actually from a large scale model of Hogwarts Castle (pictured below). The model was filmed in front of a greenscreen and that footage was combined with visual effects to create the views of the castle that we see in the movies. Unfortunately, Hogwarts Castle does not exist in real life :(
2. Patronus
Harry's Patronus is a stag but the real life Patronus was played by a live Scottish Deerhound who was covered in LED lights. The image was then edited to create this glowing stag Patronus.
3. Voldemort's Nose
Voldemort is infamous for his flat and snake-like nose. However, actor Ralph Fiennes kept his real nose during filming and simply covered his face with a bunch of green and blue dots. With computer editing, the nose was removed and the new snake-like feature was added. This must have been comical to be dueling the darkest wizard with a face full of colorfuldots.
4. Quidditch
This secret may be obvious but flying brooms do not exist in real life. Actors were filmed while sitting on stationary brooms in front of green screens. The broom could move, wind was blown, and computer effects were added to create the competitive game that we all know and love.
5. Harry's Scar
Who is Harry Potter without his scar? To create this scar, scar-shaped stickers were placed on Radcliffe's forehead and computer editing created the believable scar that we see today. Around 300 scars were used during the filming of all 8 movies. Apparently, young Radcliffe would always scratch the stickers off between takes. There is a note from a makeup artist at the Warner Bros Studio that says, "We love Dan if he does not pick his scar off."
6. Hagrid
Rubeus Hagrid is a fan favorite character in the Harry Potter films but not many know that numerous steps that were taken to transform actor Robbie Coltrane into this "Giant." We never get to see Coltrane's face at all because an animatronic head was worn by his stunt double during action shots. Additionally, Coltrane had to have stilts in his boots in order to appear as a large 8ft 6 inch man.
7. The Moving Staircases
The moving staircases inside of Hogwarts are quite the magical but mysterious operation. Unfortunately, these staircases do not exist in real life. Only one staircase was created for filming. The staircase was then duplicated and edited to produce the stair-filled halls in Hogwarts.
8. Great Hall Ceiling
The ceiling in the Great Hall has always displayed magnificent scenery in the films. However, the actual set of the Great Hall has no ceiling at all. This was all computer edited.
9. Animals
We all love the various animals that appear throughout the Harry Potter Films, but these animal characters were not played by just one animal. 9 different dogs were used for Fang, 4 owls for Hedwig, 3 cats for Mrs. Norris, and 4 cats for Crookshanks.
10. Harry's Jacket
Harry Potter's brown jacket in Deathly Hallows Part II was attached to the back of a car and driven around the studio parking lot in order to create a distressed and dirty look.
In addition to traveling to the Warner Bros. Studio, I took advantage of my time in London and Oxford to track down some more Harry Potter filming locations. The Millennium Bridge in London was used in the opening scene of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Remember the death eaters destroying the bridge as people were walking across?
The second filming location that I sought out was the Bodleian Library in Oxford which was the set for the infirmary at Hogwarts.
There were several other filming locations that I wanted to see in Oxford but I arrived too late. New College has the courtyard and the tree where Professor Moody turned Malfoy into a ferret. Christ Church has the staircase used in the first film when all the first year students walk up to the entrance of the Great Hall. A fun fact that I learned in Oxford during my city tour was that a shape on the concrete near the Bodleian library inspired J.K. Rowling to add a scar to Harry's forehead. She was confused as to which shape the scar should be. She looked down and saw this mark.
In London, one can also visit the London Zoo to view the Reptile House set from the first film. Being the huge Harry Potter nerd that I am, I hope that I can make it back to Oxford to see some of the locations that I missed. I also will continue to hunt down filming locations in the UK this semester. I highly recommend going to the Warner Bros. Studio if you are a Harry Potter fan!
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