top team
(Main picture) Much of the furniture used in Dolores Umbridge’s study was found in second hand shops; (below) the potions classroom contains thousands of jars, all with hand-written labels
FIRST PERSON EXPERIENCE
Kathleen Whyman
on my forehead, but I love the films and became the most unsociable person on the planet each time a book was released, unable to interact with other human beings on any level until I’d finished reading each instalment. So I was very excited to visit the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter. Too excited perhaps? Was I setting
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myself up for disappointment? The answer is no – I thoroughly enjoyed it. The sets are everything they’re hailed
to be. The attention to detail is truly fas- cinating and I could stand and stare for hours (and did, in fact) and still not feel as though I’d seen everything. Staff gave me additional behind-the-scenes facts, as did the written media and accompanying interviews with cast and crew, all of which enhanced the experience. After being on my feet for two hours
I was ready for a break so was pleased to head onto a rest area in the back lot between the sets and the second part of the tour – the Creature Effects Workshop and the art department. Refreshments are sold here, including the famous Butterbeer and I doubt many visitors can resist a
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am a Harry Potter fan. Not to the extent that I’m con- templating getting a lightening tattoo
glass. The external sets of Privet Drive, the Dursley’s and the Potter’s house, Hagrid’s motorbike, the Ford Anglia that Harry and Ron “borrow” and the Knight Bus are placed as perfect photo opportunities. The Butterbeer, a few poses in front of
the set pieces and a foot rub (self admin- istered – the guides are helpful, but even they have limits) pepped me up and I loved looking around the Creature Effects Workshop and learning how the animatron- ics were created. The art department’s transitions from sketch to detailed drawing, to model to film still were amazing to look at. It never occurred to me that tiny models would be made of almost everything used, right down to a printing press, which you only see fleeting in one of the films, and miniscule owls perched in the owlery. Walking along Diagon Alley and peering
into the shop windows was great fun, but my real wow moment was when I turned the corner and saw the amazing model of
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Hogwarts Castle. It’s called a model, but it’s nothing like the Airfix type my brother and I used to create; this is an intricate miniature creation of how Hogwarts looks, complete with lights at the windows. Fifty feet in diameter (15m), it’s a masterpiece of craftsmanship and is breathtaking. My last stop was the exit through the
gift shop, which is impressively stocked. Although tempted by wands, a puppet owl which turns its head and coos, and even a replica of the dress Hermione wore to the Yule Ball, the prices stopped me going overboard, so I limited myself to some authentically-themed confectionary. The attraction has been done extremely
well and afterwards I wanted to race home and rewatch the films, so I could take in everything I hadn’t noticed before. I will def- initely come back, as there was too much to absorb in one visit. Too bad the shop didn’t sell floo powder to make it quicker for me to return. l
AM 2 2012 ©cybertrek 2012
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