Harry Potter: Page to Screen

C ontents

PART I 8 The Making of Harry Potter



17 introduction



21 setting the scene



43 harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone



71 harry potter and the chamber of secrets



93 harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban

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119 harry potter and the goblet of fire 149 harry potter and the order of the phoenix

171 harry potter and the half-blood prince



195 harry potter and the deathly hallows



PART II 8 The Art of Harry Potter



233 introduction



235 characters       Costuming



323 locations        Set Design

PAGE TO SCREEN The Complete Filmmaking journey

421 creatures       Special Makeup and Digital Effects 479 artifacts 





     Prop

Making

PART III 8 Epilogue

529 the golden boards

531 acknowledgments and colophon

An Insight Editions Book

hogwarts castle Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had to be grounded in reality. “An early decision was not to make it whimsical, not to make it a fairy-tale castle, but to make it heavy, enduring, and real,” explains production designer Stuart Craig. “Here is a story about an English public school [similar to an American private school], so we made it as much like one as we possibly could.” And so Craig looked first to “the two great universities in England— Oxford and Cambridge. But we also went to the great European cathedrals. We wanted Hogwarts to be in the medieval Gothic style, which is strong and dynamic, and so we cherry-picked TOP Concept art by Dermot Power of

from everywhere—the best from the universities, the best from the cathedrals—and then slammed them together.” Although designed to look and feel like an enduring institution, Hogwarts has evolved to match the needs of the story over the course of eight films. “The way to go would have been to be able to read right through the seven books when we started,” Craig laughs. “But I think some of these changes and additions have added a level of interest to the films. We’ve moved things around, let things expand, had them develop, or made them disappear altogether.”

Hogwarts seen through the trees from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 8 Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

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LEFT Concept art by Andrew Williamson of

the castle from Harry

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The

slytherin common room The Slytherin common room has a completely different atmosphere than Gryffindor’s. “It’s in the dungeon under the lake, literally underwater,” says production designer Stuart Craig. “We chose a slightly earlier style of architecture that’s Norman or Romanesque. It’s stockier, sturdier, much more dungeonlike. Our other premise was that the room should appear to be carved out of solid rock, like Petra, in Jordan.” The Slytherin house colors of green and silver added to the austere atmosphere. “They have those wonderful black leather sofas,” says Craig. “And the tapestries on the walls have all the red taken out of their color palettes.” Not surprisingly, the silver fixtures in the room are replete with snake-head motifs.

left The Slytherin common room, as seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The décor makes ample use of the green and black colors of the house. 8 TOP Another view of the common room, highlighting its tapestries. 8 ABOVE LEFT Detail of the Slytherin door knocker. 8 ABOVE RIGHT The list of Slytherin house captains from throughout the house’s distinguished history.

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The

HOwler Graphic designer Miraphora Mina wanted to give the Howler in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets the look of origami, the Japanese art of folding paper. “I thought there were so many things in the design that lent themselves to this,” she explains. “The ribbon that encircles the letter could turn into a tongue, for example. The white paper inside could turn into teeth within the red mouth. I didn’t want there to be a face put on the letter digitally; I wanted the letter to tell its own story.” As the talking Howler would be animated, a library of shapes that mimicked a real mouth saying the dialogue was created.

The

sorting hat The Sorting Hat was originally to be portrayed using a puppet, but when the filmmakers tested it on camera, that’s exactly what it looked like—a puppet on a child’s head. So the on-screen Sorting Hat was created digitally based on a leather hat made by costume designer Judianna Makovsky. The leather hat was soaked in water, squashed into a cone shape, left overnight to dry, and then further shaped with wires sewn into its lining. When Makovsky first brought the hat to the set, visual effects supervisor Robert Legato asked, “Where does it talk?” Director Chris Columbus looked at Legato and said, “She made the hat. You make it talk.”

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TOP Expression studies by Adam Brockbank for the Howler, ranging from a demure, sealed envelope to a hysterical, spitting, screaming letter. 8 ABOVE The design by Adam Brockbank for the Weasley wax seal that adorns Ron’s Howler. 8 RIGHT The text of Molly Weasley’s letter was transcribed onto a sheet of paper that was incorporated into this mock-up of the Howler. 8 BELOW Phonetic mouth shapes for the Howler animation.

TOP LEFT Different views of

the Sorting Hat from pre-production on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. 8 MIDDLE The final Sorting Hat 8 ABOVE Steve Kill, a member of the design team, breaks down a group of Sorting Hat props to ready them for filming.

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The

SNEAkoscope The Sneakoscope, used to detect untrustworthy or Dark magic, was created for a scene in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban that takes place after Ron and Hermione return from their first trip to Hogsmeade. Sad that Harry couldn’t join them, Ron gives him a Sneakoscope he bought for him at Zonko’s Joke Shop. Unfortunately, this scene ended up on the cutting-room floor.

The

Deluminator The Deluminator, or “Put-Outer,” as it is also known, was first used by Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to withdraw illumination from the street lamps on Privet Drive. After Dumbledore bequeaths the Deluminator to Ron in his will, it is learned that it also functions as a type of homing device. TOP Blueprint by Hattie Storey for the Deluminator, a device that captures nearby light and holds it until the owner chooses to release the light again. 8 RIGHT A preliminary concept for the Deluminator by Peter McKinstry. 8 BELOW The final Deluminator prop, as seen in the Deathly Hallows films.

THIS PAGE Concepts by Dermot Power of a variety of different designs for the Sneakoscope, and the final prop (top right). The illustration directly above describes materials to be used in making the prop and attempts to explain how it might work.

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