London, England: Warner Brothers Studio Tour London Part 3: Model Room and Studio Shop

I guess these must be the top highlights of the trip, so that the Tour ends with a Bang and you leave with something to remember the Tour by (on top of the many intangible memories).

The last leg of the Tour features the Model Room and Studio Shop. 

When I first saw the Model Room on the map at the start of the Tour, I honestly didn't think much of it. Seeing the big darkened shape right smack in the centre of the room didn't prepare me for what was to come.

Before entering the Model Room, walk along the path peppered with White Card Models.

White-Card Models 

Before the actual set construction began, the Art Development created white card models. These models heped the director and production designer look at size and scale, and determine camera angles. To plan shots and camera movement filmmakers inserted a tiny camera (called a lipstick camera) into the moel to get a perfect point of view.

 

I stepped into the Model Room and was blown away. I didn't think much of it, so with zero expectations and very hyped-up reactions from students on excursions, the Room was truly the highlight of my highlight! The white-card models were table-top big. But this set, was as big as a ROOM. Here are some shots of it, sometimes with people, just so you have a sense of how huge this 1:24 model is. The path winds around the Model, so you can walk around it and scrutinize it from top to bottom, under various lights (from simulating day to night perhaps?).  

The Hogwarts Model 

This is a jewel in the crown of the Art Department, the intricately detailed, spectacularly constructed model of Hogwarts castle. For the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, many close-up scenes of Hogwarts were shot on location, but the script also called for sweeping wide shots of every courtyard, tower and turret. To create those shots, the film's artists built this 1.24 scale model based on Stuart Craig's initial sketches, and filmed it against a greenscreen. The production shots of this incredibly detailed model were then combined, using digital effects, to create unforgettably realistic views of J.K. Rowling's magical school. 

About the Castle 

A team of 40 artists and crew-members built the first version of the Hogwarts castle for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. 

More than 50 sculptors, painters and other artists maintained the castle during production. 

To make Hogwarts appear even more real, artists borrowed real courtyards from Alnwick Castle and Durham Cathedral, where scenes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone were shot. 

Model makers installed more than 300 fibre optic lights that simulate lanterns, torches, and even the illusion of students passing through the hallways. Artists used real gravel for rockwork and boulders and real plants for landscaping and trees. 

Everything is perfectly hand-sculpted to scale. The Hogwarts landscape is inspired by the Highlands of Scotland, including the regions of Glen Nevis, Glen Coe and Loch Stiel.

Upon exiting the Model Room, enter the wandshop to stir up some wand envy before you enter the Studio Shop where they sell wands!

Studio Shop 

You can purchase the photos that you posed for, or just gorge on HP memorabilia. 

I'm glad they preserved the sets and props they so painstaking created for the HP movies. Although the movies featured heavy CGI effects (the books are magical after all), it was an eyeopener to know that they created replicas because CGI has its limitations. An awesome Tour, which I would recommend, especially if you are a die-heart HP fan! 

London, England: Warner Brothers Studio Tour London Part 2: The Backlot, Creature Shop and Diagon Alley

Once you step out of the Interior Sets section during the Warner Brothers Studio Tour London, you cannot return, so decide wisely!

This post will feature the sections of the "Tour": The Backlot, Creature Shop and Diagon Alley. You are free to roam as long as you like at each section but you can't turn back at particular junctures.

Upon stepping out into the bright summer day, you'll be greeted with this huge map of UK showing where key scenes are shot.

 

Such as some places in London, Piccadilly Circus, King's Cross Station and Millennium Bridge.

 

Of course, the place is swamped with people.

 

And huge, awesome props!

 

 

 And actual movie sets!

 

 

 And there was a refreshment stand which sold BUTTERBEER! Funny how I don't remember if I tried some, maybe I need to try some again to refresh my memory.

 

After leaving The Backlot, it is on to the Creature Shop.

    

Earlier we saw the Animal Actors, now catch a glimpse of some immortal creatures.

 

Buckbeak 

 Though the only practical model of Buckbeak that ever appeared on the screen was the seated version curled up in Hagrid's pumpkin patch, the Creature Shop also built two standing life-size, animatronic models that could move their wings, nostrils, eyes, tongue and neck (and one of those could bow and move two of its legs). For Buckbeak's walking and flying sequences, the Visual Effects team created a digital version of the Hippogriff. 

 This way to Diagon Alley.

 

Welcome to Diagon Alley

The Diagon Alley set has never been the same twice. Since its construction for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, walls have shifted, shopfronts have been removed and entire buildings have come and gone. IN fact, many of these set pieces were redressed and repurposed in Hogsmeade Village for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Years later, Stuart Craig and his artists went back to the original drawings and redesigned all of Diagon Alley for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Each building's architecture was carefully tweaked and refined to create the picture-perfect street as it is now.

 

Let me leave you with some Puking Pastilles, I'm leaving the BEST of the Tour for last. It's awesome, I promise.