Harry Potter: Page to Screen

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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.”

In addition to his role as a Weasley twin, James Phelps also served as an assistant director on the "Half-Blood Prince" set. I often begrudge movies the fact that they are not like the book, but it's really like comparing apples and oranges-- though similar, they are inherently different.There are concept art in the book as well, and they are great. There are designs for Dobby, dragons, props, environment art, etc. This is the only book where you can see them because there aren't any Harry Potter art books. Emma Watson (Hermione) had a huge crush on Tom Felton (Draco) during the filming of the first several movies The Good & The Bad: I read another book on a *very* similar topic earlier this year, Harry Potter Film Wizardry. You might ask what the difference between them is, and the surface answers would be size and the fact this book encapsulates the final film, while the other (rushed out for last year's holiday gift-giving season) did not. But on a more realistic level, this is a book for a student of the films, not a fan. You have to have a real interest in production and art direction (which I'd say I somewhat do...but not quite to this degree) to really appreciate the final detail included here. Having said that, if you are a fan of the movies or at least fans of the people working in the 8 HP movies, this is the one book you simply must have. If Harry Potter: Film Wizardry by Brian Sibley is the fan's ultimate fun book, this is the budding filmmaker's ultimate textbook on how to make an epic franchise that lasts a whole decade. Whatever shortcomings the films have, you can not deny that a lot of thought went into the making of the films. From casting to scriptwriting to designing sets and characters, this book reveals all of them. An amazing Christmas gift... no way is this amazing volume going to be merely a coffee table book. I plan to read it cover-to-cover and soak up every amazing little detail that went into making this series.

As soon as I got this book, I knew I would have to read it cover to cover to really feel complete. I couldn't just skim, I had to know everything! And it was lovely and so rewarding. I knew a lot of stuff, granted, but that's what comes with being so immersed in this universe for so long. The book consists of a detailed chapter on each of the films, characters, costumes, locations, sets, creatures, makeup /digital effects, artifacts and prop making.The Bottom Line: A wonderful addition to any diehard Potterhead or avid movie fan's collection - but not an incredibly *necessary* one. 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.”

At first, I was in love with this book. I am a big fan of the books and then the movies, and I always wondered how they adapted those wonderful books for the big screen. There is just so much information in this book, and it is presented artistically through pictures as well as words. When I finished it, I felt like I knew so much more than I could have ever asked for. However, after a while, I realized that something was missing. The book discussed the changing directors and how they brought their visions to films that became progressively more dark, but the changing composers that brought music to these films are never discussed. Being a musician, I was somewhat disappointed. I would have liked to read about how John Williams was chosen to start the series, why he left, and how he and the others created the music that brought so much feeling to these films. The book itself is absolutely gorgeous. The biggest and heaviest book I own by far, and it's one of those books that you will look over again and again for years to come. It would have been nice to have a ribbon bookmark included for the book though, just as a useful crowning glory. It's fun to see which anecdotes I remember from magazine articles over the years, and which details are entirely new... Daniel Radcliffe wasn't even going to try out for the role of Harry Potter; fortunately for him, his family ran into one of the producers at an opera and talked his parents into letting him auditionThe stories on set designs are really interesting. You can find out how sets are constructed, like Hogswarts and all the different rooms and secret locations. I thought the underwater scene in Goblet of Fire was totally CGI but it turned out that Daniel Radcliffe actually had to swim, while holding his breath, and act in a water tank. And of course, there are details on how that water tank was built, with heaters, bacteria-killing UV lights, and the little things that don't cross our minds.