They're the defintion of practical magic. Welcome to MsMojo today we’re counting down instances where the “Harry Potter” movies utilized practical effects rather than solely relying on CGI.
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00:00Yes Hermione, I think this is going to be exactly like Wizard Chess.
00:07Welcome to Ms Mojo and today we're counting down instances where the Harry Potter movies
00:11utilized practical effects rather than solely relying on CGI.
00:16I think the ability to put something that is a fantasy creature in front of people is
00:22actually the joy, it's the kick I get.
00:26Number 10. Mad-Eye Moody's Mad-Eye. Various.
00:30But here's the rub. How do we sort out the liars?
00:36Whoever suggested Brendan Gleeson to play Alastair Moody certainly had an eye for casting.
00:42As well-suited as the Irish actor was for the role, the irritable Auror's look would
00:46have been incomplete without his all-seeing magic eye.
00:50There's something odd wrong with the peripheral vision to his left side. The doctors don't
00:56quite know what's wrong, but he's made this magic eye for himself that can see out through
01:00the back of his head and see in various different directions.
01:04Chris Barton, who got his start at Jim Henson's Creature Shop in 1987, was the wizard behind
01:10this animatronic. While CGI was used in some shots, most of what we see on screen is practical
01:16with the eye being radio-controlled. Barton compared the effect to a contact lens, as
01:21the eye itself didn't move, but the pupil was given a life of its own. The effect was
01:25achieved utilizing a small magnet inside the brass holder. Whenever the magnet link
01:30broke, the eye would fall out.
01:32End of story. Goodbye, the end. Any questions?
01:37Number 9. The Letters from No One. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
01:45Determined to keep Harry in the dark about his wizardly heritage, the Dursleys attempt
01:50to suppress his acceptance letters from Hogwarts. Not even Sunday can stop Harry from getting
01:55the memo. However, it isn't long until 4 Privet Drive is flooded with letters, entering
02:00through the chimney and the front door's mail slot.
02:10When special effects supervisor John Richardson suggested filling the set with actual letters,
02:15director Chris Columbus had his doubts.
02:17There's not a visual effect in that sequence. Those are all real letters flying around the
02:22room. But it gave you a real sense of practical magic.
02:28Richardson's team worked their magic, though, devising a series of vices around the set
02:33that could swiftly propel the envelopes into the air.
02:36We had printed 25,000 envelopes, all addressed to Harry Potter, and we built six letter-firing
02:45rigs.
02:46One letter-firing rig was specifically designed to hit Mr. Dursley in the face. Thousands
02:51of letters were printed for the scene, none of them CGI.
02:558. Aunt Marge Enlarged
02:57Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
03:15Have you ever had a nasty relative you wish would just float out of your life? Well, float
03:20might be oddly specific, but makes for a fun visual in the case of Aunt Marge. Harry
03:26can handle Marge insulting him, although when she speaks ill of his parents, he inflates
03:30her like a balloon.
03:31In this film, there's a major stand towards Dursley with Aunt Marge getting inflated by
03:37a spell. I don't even try to do it.
03:40For this hair-raising dinner scene, actress Pam Ferris wore a series of prosthetic inflatable
03:45suits, reaching an estimated maximum of four and a half feet wide. Ferris couldn't eat
03:50or walk while wearing this 50-pound outfit, at one point passing out due to the heavy
03:55latex.
04:04Even Marge's ascension into the sky was executed practically using wires. Although those wires
04:09were removed using CGI, the scene otherwise relied on no digital effects.
04:157. The Marauder's Map
04:17Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
04:33Naturally, animation was used for certain aspects of The Marauder's Map, which provides
04:37a layout of Hogwarts and its inhabitants.
04:47However, to make the map come alive, the filmmakers turned to a professional illusionist, Paul
04:54Keeve.
04:55The only magician to work on any of the films, Keeve was responsible for the Astronomy Room's
05:00floating spheres in Prisoner of Azkaban. Most notably, Keeve was behind the scene where
05:05the map folds itself, utilizing threads that needed to be carefully pulled in a specific
05:10order.
05:11With tiny, tiny threads that had to be pulled in a certain order in a certain way.
05:15Mischief managed.
05:16Keeve made a brief cameo in the film as well, playing a Three Broomsticks patron with a
05:21candlestick trick up his sleeve.
05:23He might not be a household name like Dumbledore, but Keeve is a real-life wizard.
05:29Until then, mischief managed.
05:386. Forks
05:40Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
05:47To make forks fly and perform other specific tasks, CGI proved necessary.
05:59Amazing! This is just like magic!
06:04For Harry's first encounter with Dumbledore's fateful phoenix, though, Creature Effects
06:09supervisor Nick Dudman and his team constructed an animatronic. Actually, multiple animatronics.
06:16First there was the aging Forks on the verge of catching fire. Then there was the reborn
06:20Forks that rises out of the ashes.
06:22When Richard Harris came across the Forks animatronic on set, it proved so convincing
06:27that the Dumbledore actor thought it was a real, incredibly well-trained bird.
06:32The crew didn't immediately tell Harris it was a puppet, but when they did, he summed
06:36up his shock with a profanity.
06:38Richard Harris comes over to us and he says,
06:41It's absolutely amazing how they train these things, isn't it?
06:44Chris and I stood there for a minute and thought,
06:47Ah, it's a puppet.
06:51And he actually went,
06:53Bleep off.
06:54Although Daniel Radcliffe was in the know, the look of awe on Harry's face is genuine.
06:59There's this magical thing that happens with kids who are that young.
07:03They really were able to tap into that wonder.
07:06Forks the Phoenix was a lovely thing to do because it was a complete creature.
07:11Number 5. Wizard's Chess
07:13Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
07:15It's a chess board.
07:22On the heels of winning three Oscars, production designer Stuart Craig received five more nominations
07:28for bringing the wizarding world to life.
07:30What's pleasing about what we've done and what we're continuing to do is the number
07:35of children, especially, who said,
07:37Oh, it's just like I imagined it would be.
07:40And action!
07:41This is no graveyard.
07:43Among his most impressive achievements was the giant wizard chess board in Philosopher's Stone.
07:48This set was comprised of 32 sculpted pieces, which stretched 12 feet high and weighed at most 500 pounds.
07:55Outside of a few movements that required digital effects,
07:58the filmmakers attempted to pull off this scene as practically as possible.
08:02Pieces would be moved across the chess board through radio control.
08:06Well, white moves first,
08:08and then
08:12we play.
08:21Even many of the explosions on screen were done without CG,
08:25instead using compressed air.
08:27This includes Ron's sacrifice.
08:29That was really exciting because I got to sit on the horse.
08:31I remember really enjoying that.
08:34Actually, the coolest thing about it was when the pieces got smashed,
08:37because they actually exploded.
08:38The horse was destroyed in the process,
08:40but Rupert Grint picked up a piece of debris as a souvenir.
08:44Number four, Hagrid's height, various.
08:48How am I doing my first day?
08:50Brilliant, Professor.
08:52Casting doesn't get more pitch perfect than the late Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid.
08:57Standing six foot one, Coltrane was often the tallest actor on screen.
09:01With Hagrid being eight foot six in the books, though,
09:04the filmmakers conceived a few clever visual tricks
09:07to make Coltrane a half giant.
09:09Joe was a tiny little fella, my dad.
09:11I could pick him up at the age of six
09:13with one hand and put him up in the dresser.
09:16You laugh so hard at that.
09:18Coltrane's costume weighed 65 pounds,
09:20with boots that added several inches.
09:23Some sets and props were smaller to make Coltrane seem larger.
09:26The designers even constructed two versions of Hagrid's hut,
09:30one to accommodate Coltrane and another for the shorter characters.
09:33In addition to playing a young Hagrid,
09:35former rugby player Martin Bayfield stood in for Coltrane during certain shots,
09:40specifically those where we don't get a close-up of Hagrid's face.
09:44A little false perspective can go a long way.
09:47First years, come this way, please. Come on now.
09:49But as with all good visual tricks, it's a mixture.
09:53Sometimes you can do it in camera.
09:563. The Basilisk
09:58Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
10:05The Basilisk is another fantastic beast
10:08that was realized through a mix of CG and practical effects.
10:12Sometimes the giant snake is digital,
10:14but the Creature Crew also constructed a 25-foot mechanical model
10:19for Daniel Radcliffe to interact with.
10:21Although the effects team only made the top half of the Basilisk,
10:26they made it to scale with a mouth that could open 30 feet wide
10:29and jaws 3 feet deep.
10:31I felt that a gigantic snake needed to be mostly CGI.
10:36But Nick Dudman was very persuasive
10:39that a realistic giant mechanical version of the Basilisk
10:42could be very useful for Dan's performance.
10:45Along with its realistic head, complete with moving eyes and nostrils,
10:49the model could slither after Radcliffe as well.
10:562. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
10:59When Harry faces off against the Basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor,
11:03Radcliffe isn't stabbing thin air where a CGI puppet will be added later.
11:07This is the one that Dan actually stabbed through the roof of the mouth.
11:10He's still got all the stuff in it.
11:12It has nostril flair and it can open its mouth
11:15and its tongue moved and its eyes moved.
11:17Thankfully, the Basilisk's venom wasn't real,
11:20even if its fangs were.
11:222. 19 Years Later
11:24Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
11:36Digital technology has gotten to the point where actors
11:39can not only be de-aged on screen, but made to appear older as well.
11:44Of course, the results have been hit and miss.
11:46For that reason, we're glad the final film's epilogue
11:49went the practical makeup route.
11:51I need to miraculously look 30, 38?
11:5438. I've done lots of publicity and interviews.
11:58It feels like suddenly everyone's aware that this is coming to an end.
12:02Director David Yates briefly considered turning to CGI
12:06when early footage of the cast in their makeup leaked.
12:08While some subtle digital effects would be incorporated,
12:11Yates still felt makeup was the way to go.
12:14Asking Nick Dudman's team to modify the designs for reshoots.
12:18And action!
12:21Together.
12:31The revised makeup effects helped earn
12:33Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomlin an Oscar nomination.
12:37The practical approach added a personal touch to this emotional goodbye.
12:44Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
12:48Gringotts vaults and Chamber of Secrets doors, various.
12:51Those complicated locks really moved.
12:54And it actually travels all the way around the outside of the door.
12:57And as it does so, all of these stakes,
13:00which are supposed to be the locks for the door,
13:03they all retract.
13:04Illuminated wands, various.
13:07Wands could light up without even saying Lumos.
13:10I have to tell you, for the actors, it's hard.
13:13Because green screen is not the easiest thing to key off.
13:18If you're trying to find a performance.
13:20Weasley chores, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
13:23Making the most mundane tasks magical.
13:27It's not much, but it's home.
13:30I think it's brilliant.
13:32Devil's Snare, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
13:35A large puppet with terrifying tentacles.
13:38Stop moving, both of you.
13:40This is Devil's Snare.
13:41You have to relax.
13:42If you don't, it'll only kill you faster.
13:45Kill us faster?
13:46Oh, now I can relax.
13:48Levitating Feather, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
13:51It's amazing what you can do with a fishing pole and the feather.
13:55It really was simplicity because we had a fishing rod and a feather.
14:00And you could make the feather dance.
14:03So when she held the wand underneath it,
14:06I just had to follow the wand.
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14:25Aragog, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
14:28And Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
14:32And you, you're Aragog, aren't you?
14:36Yes.
14:38Working on Chamber of Secrets,
14:39Nick Dudman singled out the giant spider Aragog
14:43as the most difficult creature to crack.
14:45If poorly executed, a talking spider could come off as too silly.
14:50The results were spine-chilling, however,
14:52giving Rupert Grint a panic attack.
14:54Goodbye, friend of Hagrid.
14:58Can we panic now?
15:00Weighing roughly 1,500 pounds and reaching 9 feet tall,
15:04the Aragog model required a different crew member
15:07to control each of its legs, which spanned 18 feet.
15:11They made an exact replica of what a spider would look like,
15:15right down to the hairs and the legs.
15:17And the mouth is one of the most repulsive things you've ever seen in your life.
15:20It's just about your worst nightmare come true.
15:22Since the spider kicks the bucket in Half-Blood Prince,
15:25the team needed to make a whole new model.
15:27With Hagrid present this time around,
15:29the crew had to build a second, smaller Aragog as well.
15:32At least these models didn't have to move around,
15:35but they were even more detailed than the first model.
15:38Made them completely differently because
15:40I wanted to be able to get light to come through the legs.
15:42I wanted it to be translucent.
15:44Which acts of practical magic stood out to you?
15:47Let us know in the comments.
15:49I love magic.
15:51Do you agree with our picks?
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