Yesterday was probably one of the top ten best days of my life! We woke up at the crack of dawn to hop the train to London to visit the world-famous "Making of Harry Potter" Studio, which is actually outside of London in Watford. I was just in awe the whole time because we got an inside look of basically everything from costumes that actors actually wore in the movies, to the creation of all of the animals and beasts in the films, and of course the amazing special effects. I had no idea that we would get to see all of the amazing things we did!
The day was going smoothly, we had been on time, even early, for our train and bus, and everyone was in good spirits and excited to get there. I was too, but somehow thinking of Harry Potter for the past few days must have actually put some sort of spell on me because I was so absent-minded all day! My first spell of absent-mindedness was forgetting to actually put my SD card into my nice Canon camera, and therefore not getting to take good pictures all day. THEN, as we were walking into the studio, Helen was handing all of us our tickets to get in and somehow, within approximately five minutes and fifteen steps through the doorway and into the main lobby, my ticket literally evaporated out of my hands. GONE. I panicked, turning my pockets inside out while Joe turned my backpack inside out, and it was no where to be found on the floors. If you know me, you know that I never lose things like this, and as a matter of fact, I usually like to be the one who hangs on to tickets and such because I'm good at keeping up with them. Basically it was a freak accident, but the people at the studio were more than happy to help and let me through without making me buy a new ticket. PRAISES.
So after that embarrassing catastrophe, we began our journey through the different sections of the studio. First, a video about the beginnings of Harry Potter and short interviews of the producers and directors. Then we went into a big room and watched a short video of Emma Watson, Dan Radcliffe, and Rupert Grint introducing the studio and talking about what life was like growing up on set. They were standing in front of the golden Great Hall doors as they spoke, and to the audiences' surprise, when the backdrop that the video was being shown on lifted, there were the same doors. It was a cool surprise, and naturally from there we toured the Great Hall where we got to see the long tables dressed with the plates and utensils used for the films. Also, the house robes and costumes of popular characters from the films, one of my favorites being Moaning Myrtle's robe. It was all very well-organized and easy to walk up to and look at closely.
Next we went into a giant room full of sets from all eight films- ranging from the Gryffindor Common Room to Dolores Umbridge's pink office to Hagrid's Hut, it was all there for us to see. Looking at everyone's costumes was definitely one of my favorite things to see because being near their clothes is probably as close to them as I'll ever get! haha. It was all just absolutely fascinating and there was lots of good information at each set so we could read about the making of and how it was filmed in the movies.
In the courtyard we ate lunch and viewed the famous Knight Bus, the set used for Privet Drive and the Potter's Cottage, the blue car Weasley and Harry rode to Hogwarts in, as well as the motorbike that Harry and Hagrid rode in. PLUS the Wizards Chess pieces were set up in a row along the walls which was way cool. I honestly did not expect to see everything I did, but you could see that people worked really hard to get all these props and sets into this building for everyone to see and experience. Also in the courtyard was a sign of all the different locations that Harry Potter filmed at in the UK, including a few places I have visited which blew my mind, such as the Mersey Queensway Tunnel going into Liverpool where the motorbike chase with Harry and Hagrid.
Another part of the day that had me and Helen laughing ourselves to tears was the Harry Potter Experience, where you got to ride a broom on a green screen. You saw yourself on the camera in front of you so you knew where you were and you could play it up from there. It was hilarious just being on the broomstick and watching yourself look absolutely ridiculous. Plus, the line could see your video and was laughing along, too. Joe's was the best, so we bought his video and a picture of each of us on broomsticks with robes on. I will never forget that!
After lunch and the boys enjoying a glass of Butterbeer, we continued through to the section of special effects. We learned a lot about how all of the beasts (including Hagrid, who had a robotic head most of the time!) were brought to life and made to look realistic. We saw original designs of them and a video about how they used different special effects for the various scenes. We got to see models of the Basilisk, the Werewolf, the Hippogriff, and many more.
We saw many more designs of architecture, costumes, creatures, and places throughout the rest of the museum, leading up to the final exhibit of the Hogwarts Castle. They used this model to film all of the scenes of Hogwarts from the outside. It was breathtaking! And it's not as big as you would think. It's really just amazing what people can do with green screens and special effects.
So to say we all enjoyed the day is a huge understatement. The only thing that could have made the day better would have been if they actors and actresses themselves were giving the tours... but I guess you can't have everything in life! haha. But really, it was so amazing. Now I want to visit the studios in Orlando! That's next on my list for sure.
Thank you for reading!
Bethany
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