Photos will be added to the post when I'm home, stalk the Facebook ones in the meantime.
6/25
Monday
was probably one of my favorite days in London J
Adrenaline got me through the morning knowing that we were on our way to the
Harry Potter Studio Tour!!!! We took the tube to Euston, and then the
overground out to Watford Junction, from there we took a double-decker decked
out (say that five times fast) in Harry Potter photos to the studio. Pulling up
to the Warner Bros. studio, I was literally bouncing in my seat. Getting off of
the bus, I was literally bouncing down the stairs. Finally standing in front of
the studios, I was literally bouncing around while we were getting our tickets
and waiting to go inside. I couldn’t believe I was here-my excitement that
preceded even entering the body was superseded tenfolds once we actually got
inside, if that was even thought to be possible. We posed for a group
photograph outside of the entrance before entering the main atrium. The
entrance was flanked by a café on the left, and gift store on the right. The
topmost parts of the walls were lined with headshots of the actors and
actresses in character. The photographs were already rolling, and continued all
the way through (I took over two hundred). Our tickets were scanned, and we
joined the cue waiting to go into whatever laid beyond the closed doors. While
we were cueing we already got a glimpse of what was to come-as the cupboard
under the stairs was right by where the line weaved.
First,
we were led to a holding room which had four digital screen on each side in
which posters for the Harry Potter movies scrolled through from different
countries. We were given a brief introduction from a guide, then led into a
theatre in which Daniel/Harry, Rupert/Ron, and Emma/Hermione gave us a brief
introduction to the studio and described what it meant to them, both as actors
and as children growing up through the filming of the series. After getting
pumped up from the guide again, the movie screen lifted to reveal the entrance
to Hogwarts. The doors slowly creaked open to reveal the Great Hall, and thus
began our tour. Awe filled the air as the group shuffled into the long hallway,
flanked with tables and silverware from the set in addition to robes from each
of the houses. This was the only room actually that the guide provided his own
commentary for, before we were off on our own. One of my favorite things the guide
pointed out was the Hogwarts crest engraved into the back of the fireplace.
This is a detail never visible to the viewer, as the fire was always burning in
the movies, but goes to show how much intricate consideration was put into the
set. Another fun fact is that there isn’t actually a ceiling built for the
Great Hall. As in the movies it changes with the seasons, weather, and
holidays-they actually build a scaled down version of it that they would add
special effects to (this was shown in the next room).
After
we explored the Great Hall, we moved into the first of the lots-Lot J. I
honestly could probably write a ten page essay about my experience here. If
only I was able to actually be capable of writing that much for my final paper.
Anyway. We entered the first Lot and were absolutely taken aback in amazement
of all of the site surrounding us. The giant room was divided into sections in
which narration was provided on different signs from different parts of the
crew, e.g. screenwriting and costume design. We moved from Yule Ball
arrangements to the boy’s dormitory to the Hogwart’s gates to the Gryffindor
common room. Everything was breathtaking and mindblowing. Being able to see the
amount of STUFF that went into the making of the movies really gave me a
newfound appreciation from the process. Okay so instead of a rambling narrative
about each of the lots, I’m just going some highlights from the first lot in
hopes that I can be selective.
Lot J:
·
The
Goblet of Fire-I learned that the five-foot goblet was carved from a single
trunk of an English Elm.
·
Snape’s
Potions Classroom-This was by far one of the biggest rooms on the set.
Apparently they had to keep expanding it to accommodate for scenes that were
being written into the films.
·
Learning
how to fly-There was a section dedicated to flying brooms, flying
motorbikes, and flying cars. It showed the machinery that was involved in
simulating flying movements as smoothly as possible. Following the exhibition
on this, we entered a room filled with green screens where we were able to fly
ourselves J
First, Jessie and I took a ride in Mr. Weasley’s car, out chasing the Hogwarts
Express as we raced to get to school on time. Afterward, we were given a
Hogwarts robe to get the full experience of racing on a broom. We took turns
mounting a broom, and we were off. We “flew” through London, alongside
double-decker busses and down the Thames, once again arriving at Hogwarts.
After a few photos were snapped, we dismounted the brooms and continued
wandering through the lot.
·
The
Ministry of Magic-Only two of the sixteen emerald green fireplaces were
displayed from the Ministry of Magic set. We took the time to watch videos at
most of the different parts, but this was one of my favorite. It discussed how
much of the crew had the chance to be extras in this scene, which was
incredibly exciting for them. Between this, and the directors being
immortalized in the Hogwart’s paintings, I thought it was really cool how the
crew got some recognition on screen. The video also made it clear that this was
one of the most breathtaking sets that the cast had worked on.
·
Dolores
Umbridge’s Office and Kitten Plates-Apparently a solitary prop buyer
traveling all throughout England searching for plates in which the cats would
eventually be added. It then talked about how one of the most fun days of
filming was with the variety of different cats that were added to the plates by
the visual effects team.
After thoroughly exploring the
entirety of the first lot, we made our way to the Back Lot where we first
grabbed some Butterbeer to quench our thirst. The back lot consisted of Mr.
Weasley’s Car, Hagrid’s Motorbike, the Knight Bus, Tom Riddle’s grave, the
Hogwart’s bridge walkway, No. 4 Privet Drive, Potter’s cottage in Godric’s
Hollow, and the giant chess pieces from Chamber of Secrets. My favorite two
things from this lot was the Knight Bus (both due to its construction and also
a running inside joke I have with Kaele) and the chess pieces. Apparently the
Knight Bus was put together from pieces from three different double-deckers,
and the interior of the busses was filmed on a whole different set altogether.
The chess pieces were just as massive as they appeared in the movies, and also
just as intimidating. We walked around outside under the shining sun taking in
everything the outside lot had to offer.
We finally moved onto the last
lot, Lot K (yes, they were named J and K). The first portion of this lot was
dedicated to makeup effects. Masks of the Gringott’s goblins lined the walls.
Then came the animatronics section, the magic behind any inanimate moving
objects, or mythical creatures. Even the littlest props, such as the Monster
Book of Monsters, opened up to reveal an intricate weaving of wires and
switches that allowed it to come to life. One thing that I thought was
interesting was that the creation of the werewolf was originally an animatronic
suit that an actor would wear. However, this became too burdensome so it was
just digitally created by the effects department. As we moved into the second
room, Aragog-the giant spider-looked over us with its menacing eyes and
pincers. The Hungarian Horntail swooped over, as if it was going to breath fire
at any second. And Buckbeak sat calm and submissively in front of the screen.
Though these mythical creatures were incredibly impressive in their making, one
of the most unexpected things I learned from this room, and mentioned earlier
on, was about Hagrid. Apparently the actor who plays Hagrid is not as large as
the cameras make him seem. To compensate for this, a body double who is a
professional rugby player will often be filmed as Hagrid. In order to make this
as seamless as possible, a mask was created for his body-double that both had
motion and was the replica of the original actor’s face. Facial movement was
evident in the mouth, eyebrows, and more. Who had any idea!
After the makeup effects and
animatronics section we moved into Diagon Alley. Ok I said I was going to list
things instead of talking about them continuously, but oh well. Each shop’s
exterior had a different personality to it, from Slug & Jiggers to
Wiseacre’s Wizarding Equipment.
Following Diagon Alley came a feature on the architecture crew, a very
underappreciated or underrecognized group. This all led up to what I believe
was probably the pinnacle of the tour. Rounding the corner and down a hallway,
we emerged into a room sparkling in a blue shade of light. In the middle of
this room was a scale replica of the Hogwart’s castle. It was absolutely
beautiful. This was used when filming scenes that involved sweeping shots
around the castle or panoramic views.
Fun facts about the Castle:
- The replica was put together brick by brick. In the winter scenes, salt was sprinkled to represent snow.
- The model in itself was a 1:24 scale model, built by 40 artists and crew-members and maintained by 50 sculptors, painters, and other artists.
- 300 fibre optic lights were installed to simulate lanterns, torches, and students passing through the hallway.
- Artists used real gravel for rockwork and boulders, and real plants for landscaping and trees.
It was something that I had never
even thought about before, and was blown away by the techniques used with this
piece. This was probably the best representation of the amazingly detailed work
that went into the films. Needless to say, I had to pick my jaw off the floor
afterward. After making a lap around the castle, ooh-ing and aah-ing at each
and every angle, we walked through Ollivander’s shop. Before exiting, we
admired the thousands upon thousands of hand-painted wand boxes. Finally, we
got to put on the sorting had and snap a few photos before looking through the
giftshop. I ended up getting a mug and buying a copy of me flying over
Hogwarts, which I will scan when I get home. Overall, it was an incredible day
and I left feeling so elated. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to do
the studio tour. At the end of the afternoon, my cheeks hurt from grinning so
much. I was exhausted from having to almost hold back tears of joy. Like I
said, I have an great newfound appreciation form film and all of the hard work
that goes into it. Seeing the magic behind the magic of the films that so much
defined my generation is something that I will never forget.
Just when I thought the day
couldn’t get any better, Monday night was by far one of the most fun nights out
yet. It was Nate’s birthday, so we all celebrated by going to O’Neill’s. Yes, all of us finally went out together for
the first time in a while-and stuck together too! When we were going up to the
bar to get drinks once, I had one of those “after you..” “no, after you”
shuffles with this random guy. It lasted about a minute until I finally gave in
and walk by, at that point he grabbed my hand and led me to start dancing. It
caught me off-guard but it was hilarious and he was really nice. Derrick the
Canadian backpacker definitely knew how to dance, I had no idea what I was
doing but he did a good job leading me. After spending some more time there, I
left with Alesha, Moira, and Jessie to head back to Gazzano. It was definitely
the cherry on top of an amazing day overall.
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