30 Awesome Behind-the-Scenes Secrets About How Harry Potter Was Made.
The magic of Harry Potter isn't just in the spells and characters, it came from all of the hard work of the cast and crew to make such an incredible franchise feel totally real. While such an undertaking is no easy feat, the production team really made it look effortless. But here are 30 behind-the-scenes facts about how Harry Potter was made to prove that otherwise. Enjoy!
3/30. The moving staircases in Hogwarts were a combination of one real staircase and a tiny model of multiple staircases made to look real post-production. The actors stood on this single moving one to film scenes, and the rest were sweeping views of the model.
4/30. The Ministry of Magic set was so big, it took hundreds of extras to fill it, including some producers. Walls were lined with green and red tiles made of wood, and the fireplaces where wizards could warp to stand more than nine meters tall.
5/30. In addition to creating models and masks, the creature shop could actually make the monster models move with motors. The giant spider in one of the movies took motors and about 100 people to move.
Continue to learn more BTS secrets!
6/30. The Weasley's Wizard Wheezes store took three months to build and was filled with 120 designed products. Ollivanders wand shop had more than 17,000 individually labeled wand boxes in it.
7/30. In Harry's Gryffindor dorm room, props changed from movie to movie. Producers lined bedside tables and walls with things the characters would be interested in, like sports posters and pennants. But the beds were never upgraded. By the time the final movies were filmed, Daniel Radcliffe and the other boys had to curl up in balls to keep from hanging over the edge of the bed during shoots.
8/30. During the epic feast in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," tons of desserts covered the tables in the Great Hall. While most of it was made from painted resin, some of it was edible and the cast got to indulge.
9/30. Dumbledore's office was intricately designed by producers who bound hundreds of British phone books in leather to fill the bookshelf, and placed 48 portraits on the walls of "Hogwarts' headmasters." The memory cabinet, where Dumbledore showed Harry his memories, was decorated with more than 800 tiny, hand-labeled vials.
10/30. The potions classroom actually grew in size during the filming of the "Harry Potter" movies. Producers had to expand the set to make room for all the extras. The hundreds of glass bottles that lined the walls of the classroom were filled by producers with any strange thing they could find, from tufts of hair to unwanted guts or bones from local butchers.
Continue to learn more BTS secrets!
11/30. To make the Weasley house look disheveled, no walls in the set were at a right angle. Support beams were yanked out of place after the set was built to make it look accidentally skewed.
12/30. Five large warehouses were needed to store all of the props used during the "Harry Potter" films. They included 5,000 pieces of furniture, 12,000 handmade books, 25,000 printed pages of The Quibbler, and all the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products.
13/30. Hagrids beard was made up of six different hair pieces, and things got stuck in it all the time, including live bats.
14/30. In "The Order of the Phoenix," Harry goes to the Ministry of Magic to find a prophecy. There, he finds hundreds of prophecy orbs. 15,000 physical orbs were made and lit by set designers. In the end, all of them were scrapped because the whole scene was digitalized. The studio tour still has some of the originals on display.
15/30. The large "Magic is Might" statue in the Ministry of Magic was actually made with large quantities of foam and hand painted.
Continue to learn more BTS secrets!
16/30. Dolores Umbridge, the evil professor who wore pink, had a very pink office in the Ministry of Magic and at Hogwarts. Dozens of plates with cats painted on them hung on the walls. Only the cats weren't actually painted. Producers snapped photos of cats then digitally implanted them onto the plates during post-production.
17/30. As Umbridge gained more power (and became more evil), her wardrobe got progressively more and more pink.
18/30. The graphics team hand-wrote thousand of letters but then found out that they were too heavy for the owls, so they had to make them again. Even after replacing them, it took the owls six months to learn how to fly with the new letters.
19/30. There are two different Hagrids hut sets. One is oversize with oversize props so that the actors would look small and the other is normal size so that the actor that played Hagrid would look like a half giant.
20/30. To film sweeping views of the fictional Hogwarts castle, the art department built a 1:24 scale model based on a sketch by one of the production designers, Stuart Craig. The castle takes up a massive room and details every courtyard, field and tower filmed in the movies. The towers could be lit inside. Real gravel and plants were used for the landscape. It took 86 artists seven months to construct it, and when it was winter during the movie they used salt to look like snow on the miniature set.
Continue to learn more BTS secrets!
21/30. Quidditch was the work of the special effects and visual effects teams. Brooms were mounted in front of a green screen, which the visual effects team could replace post-production with a digital backdrop. Several versions of the golden snitch were designed. The final version was plated in actual gold.
22/30. There was an entire animal productions team used to tame and coach a variety of creatures that appeared in the eight movies. Hedwig, Harry's owl, was played by four different owls who were each taught very specific actions. More than a dozen rats played Scabbers, Ron's pet rat in one of the movies. Four different cats played Hermione's pet, Crookshanks. Nine Neapolitan Mastiffs played Hagrid's one dog, Fang.
23/30. The goblet of fire is over five feet tall and it was hand-carved from an English Elm tree. More than 3,000 wands, also handmade, were used during filming.
24/30. 18 cars were used to film Harry and Ron's getaway sequence in "The Chamber of Secrets." Three old double-decker buses were used to build the 22-foot high Knight Bus. It was so top heavy that 4 tons of weight had to be added to the bottom so it didnt fall over.
25/30. Each wizard chess piece used in the very first movie weighed almost 500 pounds.
Continue to learn more BTS secrets!
26/30. Not everyone in the films was supposed to look like a muggle or wizard, so there were tons of creatures, which required an entire creatures shop in set. The design team spent countless hours making and putting on masks for the Gringotts goblins.
27/30.The floating candles in the great hall were originally hundreds of real candles suspended by wires, which were digitally removed. But while the first movie was being filmed, there was a problem. The heat from the flames burned through the wires and caused candles to drop onto the tables. Afterward, all the floating candles were created digitally.
28/30. Diagon Alley changed throughout years of filming. It was originally built with Charles Dickens' books in mind, as well as descriptions from the "Harry Potter" series.
29/30. All the potions that the cast drink during scenes were actually just soup.
30/30. Crew members used ropes and wrenches to bend and twist the set for the Weasley twins' store once it was fully assembled to give it that whimsical look.
SHARE these awesome BTS secrets with a Potterhead you know!
So many exotic locales in the world to see... and plenty of places NOT to see.
When one travels, we have to be astute.
Do the research.
No harm in skipping where we don't need to be.
Redditor Just_Pizzy wanted everyone to share about the places to avoid when traveling, so they asked:
"What city is extremely overrated in your opinion?"
In my travels I've been very satisfied.
But tell me where to avoid.
Ouch
"Miami. A city of narcissists and attention wh*res."
_kevx_91
"I swear Miami Beach is the poser capital of the world!"
Cetophile
Value
"Scottsdale, AZ would be a close 2nd."
TWOCHOPPAS
"I’m visiting here right now, and am seriously wondering why I’m here. If I want high end, there are a million ritzy suburbs that do it better. Scottsdale is a ton of neighborhoods that all want to claim the Scottsdale name to increase the real estate values."
"But only 5% of it is actually high end Scottsdale. The whole Phoenix metro area seems like one long expanse of concrete and chain stores. The only reason I can see that Pheonix has so many urban hikes is that the rest of the city is completely unwalkable. What am I missing?"
Seachica
What is This?
"Nothing personal, but Dubai. And I'm not a city designer, but I don't think you call it a 'downtown' when there's a 12-lane highway cutting through a bunch of skyscraper walls and that's it."
GreatNameLOL69
"This city is so stupid. Instead of creating the palm island, they could have dug into the land, it still would have looked amazing, except much easier to build."
"They started from scratch with unlimited money, they could have made an awesome city with Arabic style and culture, something different. Instead they took the worse cities (from the US) as an example, and built something stupid."
Arvi89
But it has Luck...
"Dublin is a complete tourist trap. I am Irish and I see people coming to Ireland expecting the full Irish experience in Dublin, when really all the good stuff is outside the capital spread out all across the country. They head up to Temple Bar for the Irish pub experience and pay 3-4 times more for drinks than anywhere else in the country."
"The city itself is a product of British occupation, same style of city you will find up and down England with Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian architecture along with generic modern design. Look, there are historic places and nice places to eat but nothing out of the ordinary."
"If you want to see the real Ireland go to the countryside, the unique landscapes of the ring of Kerry, the Clare Burren and cliffs of Moher, the Connemara and donegal mountainous areas along with tonnes off historical locations all across the country. If you want an Irish city experience go to Galway instead."
Historical_Line7109
Not the Happy Place
"I don't know if anyone but children and retirees actually like this city, but lawd I hate Orlando."
notafanofwasps
"My best friend moved from Seattle to Orlando for financial reasons. His parents live in Orlando and had to move in with them. A year later they said f**k this and moved back. Drove cross country both times."
SubduedChaos
Orlando isn't that bad. I've had fun.
Bad Queen
"Gold Coast, Queensland. It tries to be Australia's Miami, but really, it's a tacky over-developed sh**hole."
otherpeoplesknees
"It is really bad, I loved every place I went to in Australia but the Gold coast was terrible. Reminded me of the cities in Spain where PPL only go to to get drunk at the beach (Ballermann in Palma, Benidrom, Lloret….)"
trbo91
“trendy”
"Not a fan of the 'trendy' cities like Charlotte or Nashville. A lot of younger people my age are moving there and they act like going to a mediocre brewery and spending $30 on a craft beer and tiny cut of brisket is some type of unique southern cultural experience."
"Not to mention the cities are now barely affordable for the people actually from there and every other block is full of those cookie-cutter gentrified apartments that just look bland as hell. Both cities have some cool parts to them but to me they just aren’t as special as people make them seem."
yinzerthrowaway412
Sounds with Problems
"The worst city I’ve ever been to is Oklahoma City, which is rated appropriately. No complaints on the current rating."
Shut--Up--Bird
"I have traveled to Oklahoma City a good number of times over the past six years, usually for a couple of weeks at any given time."
"Some areas of the city are okay, and I was pleasantly shocked upon the sight of a functioning streetcar service downtown. That being said, parts of OKC and its suburbs are so miserable that I almost convinced myself that Grand Theft Auto had become real life."
wheresaldopa
Off Tune
"Nashville. It’s a bunch of honky tonks and bachelorettes. It’s just a big party town now. I might be salty because I live here and remember old Nashville that was quiet and civilized, where locals could enjoy going downtown and we still had Opryland instead of a giant mall."
iwishiwereonabeach
Bad Falls
"Niagara Falls. Even if it’s poorly rated, that rating is still too high."
vanityfear
"It’s pretty cool to see once though. The area is just meh."
SparklyRoniPony
Go to Wendy's
"Vegas."
Calm-Associate-214
"I used to go there every summer for tech conferences. I always use the analogy that Vegas is a lot like KFC. It’s gross, greasy, and messy, and you wonder what possessed you to go there in the first place. 6 months later, for some inexplicable reason, you get the urge to go again. You remember what it was like the last time, but somehow you’re still drawn to it."
Ikarian
So many places in the world... NOT to go!
What destinations should we strike from our bucket list? Let us know in the comments below.
Why are men, particularly straight men, so adverse to trying new life things that go against their norm?
Like things women do.
Do men have a beauty regime?
You should.
Do you have regular mental health checks?
You should.
Do you and your friends talk about your feelings?
You REALLY should.
Men can learn so much from the daily aspects of a woman's life.
Redditor st_new34 wanted to hear about all the things men can learn from women, so they asked:
"What's a women's thing men should absolutely start doing?"
I'm interested in this list.
Aren't most things unisex now?
Smooth Surface
"As a former cook and current welder; hand lotioning."
meatlazer720
"My dad refused to use hand lotion for a while and he kept getting big cracks in his knuckles. The cold would destroy his skin. He would only put lotion on when it was basically bleeding, by which point it can’t really do much help."
PM_CACTUS_PICS
Get Checked
"Getting checked out by a specialist. There’s a reason colon cancer has a higher mortality rate among men when it’s actually one of the most preventable cancers. The thought of having a colonoscopy done makes them squirm."
Color_Wasted
"In the US you can also arrange for a Cologuard screening, where you literally just mail in your poop and get tested for certain colon cancers. It shouldn't replace regularly scheduled colonoscopies, but it can be done between them."
Puzzleworth
"Problem with cologuard is screening is 100% covered. If it the cologuard positive, you have to get a diagnostic colonoscopy which is subject to deductibles and copays. If you go with a screening colonoscopy in the first place you pay nothing."
skidoo1033
Basics
"Sewing. Sewing is awesome. I learned basic sewing to make some bow ties for my wedding and it's an extremely rewarding skill that allows you to repair clothes, save money, and it's superb meditation."
DeepStatic
"Not only repairing clothes, but basic tailoring. I learned how to do it on YouTube and it’s a game changer as a guy with broad shoulders that make every shirt fit like a trash bag."
TheFunkyMonk
Work Comfort
"Putting a blanket on your lap while you work. It's life changing."
13inchmushroommaker
"A few days ago my wife brought a whole a** double duvet into the living room because it’s winter now. I thought she was mad but it’s cozy as s**t, I’ve got the dog under here."
magicalmysteryharold
"In my house we have an assortment of couch blankets. You really need more than one because you'll want to have one on the couch while the other is in the wash."
sleepydorian
Snazzy
"Complimenting each other."
DEADINSIDE1880
"I do this with my co workers. 'Looking sharp today Phil' is all it takes to make a day."
cognitiveglitch
I love a good compliment.
Stretch
"Yoga, especially as you get older, wish I had started sooner."
needsmoreprotein
Pampered
"My husband never really did pedicures before we met and the fist time I did one for him he was in love with it. I used a scraper to get the dead skin off his heels (he calls them hooves haha) and he was horrified how much came off. He’ll even inspect my work now and say 'this toenail is a little jagged do want me to look a mess??' He likes being pampered and I’m happy to do it for him!"
Effective-Ad7068
Feels so Good
"I was trying on jeans for work the other day and I found this magical material that stretches but looks like denim. I was gushing over them and my wife laughed and said a lot of women’s jeans use that material and a lot of hers are the same. Men should discover these jeans!"
"Edit: A lot of responses are about the inferior quality. Fair enough but I work retail and am constantly squatting to fill shelves etc so I’ll take comfort over durability any day. Especially when I’ve got a bit of an a** on me, customers don’t need to be walking around the corner and catching a plumber’s crack unexpectedly!"
corny16
Feel It
"I work in a kitchen full of men and it's quite sad to listen to them tell each other that they can't cry. Or that they are not supposed to do so. I don't know who came up with this but I fight that 'concept' every chance I get. As a result, most of them feel safe to share their emotions with me. Even crying."
sem-fe
LOUDER!!
"Make noise during sex. Not even dirty talk, any words of encouragement would be enough."
jennicarrz
Well, that is a lot to process.
Men... take notes and start breaking some of these 'norms.'
Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments below.
The reason why some single people are unable to find love can be loosely attributed to either one of the following.
Person A might be difficult or overbearing and can potentially scare off certain people.
Or, Person B might be really picky and refuses to make compromises once they start a new relationship.
For the latter individual, it can be an idiosyncratic thing about the other person that can be enough to be a turn-off.
Curious to hear what some of these examples could be, Redditor DrDecane asked:
"What's the smallest thing that made someone unattractive for you?"
These Redditors found it challenging trying to make awkward romantic situations work.
The Silent Partner
"I once went on a date with a man who literally only spoke when responding to a question, answered as briefly and evasively as possible, and offered no reciprocating questions or remarks."
"At the end of a 45 minute struggle when we parted ways, while I was still trying to figure out why a person with such crippling social anxiety would subject himself to an interaction so far outside his ability to handle, he asked if we could see each other again sometime."
– willingisnotenough
Bad Taste
"They were a bad cook. They didn’t use SEASONINGS! It’s not an allergy thing either. They made good money too it’s not a poverty thing. Literally they liked plain chicken breast no seasonings and dry as bone. He made me a 'taco' that consisted of only unseasoned hamburger in a plain ( not even warm) taco shell 🌮. No salsa , no cheese, no cilantro.. greasy meat in a room temp shell."
"I’m not cooking 3 meals a day for 2 people for the rest of my life and I sure as sh*t ain’t eating his satanic creations."
– Winter-Ad1853
Annoying Catchphrase
"I dated a girl that had a catch phrase. I think she uses Reddit and the catch phrase is very distinct so on the off chance she sees this I won’t say it. It didn’t make a lot of sense, think if someone were to say 'If you’re there, then you’ve made it!'”
"Except she would say it in response to all sorts of random situations where it wasn’t at all appropriate. Whenever someone complimented her or me, if you talked about plans you had. Just randomly tossing it out on conversations."
"It became a turn off so quickly because I just could not wrap my head around why she said it so often. I got sick of hearing it from her. Legitimately one of the biggest reasons we broke up."
– validusrex
Some dates are just unkisseable.
Gross Deposits
"White stuff in the mouth corners."
– gardenomette
Exaggerated Masticating
"Went to dinner, they started chewing kinda loud with their mouth open. I have misophonia, so it's probably even worse for me when someone does that. Immediate no."
– Erenalianon
The Sloppy Friend
"My husband’s best friend can’t eat without getting food all over his face and making gross noises while chewing. He also is a SUPER loud drunk. And walks out of the bathroom and back to the conversation while still simultaneously zipping/buttoning his jeans and buckling his belt."
"Really sweet, funny guy and a wonderful friend to both of us. But I cannot even imagine dating him. It would probably end in murder."
– meegcabre
Food Flinger
"Jesus, I dated a guy who ate like a bird...there was food EVERYWHERE by the time the meal was done. Flinging it around somehow without me actually seeing him do it. A sneaky flinger. Picture a parakeet beak deep in a food tray filled with seeds. Just chucking the seeds. Dig, eat, fling, nope, don't like that one bite, fling over the shoulder..."
"Dude cringed when I brought out a beach towel and put it on my new couch before we started eating dinner. As I was spreading the towel, I looked him dead in the eyes and declared, 'if you damage my new, $2,500 couch, you are dead.'"
– 37-pieces-of-flair
Unsolicited texts and photos aren't always the way into one's heart.
Not The Way To Start The Morning
"He sent me selfies every morning with his good morning text."
– Witch_on_a_moped
Now What?
"Yesssssss. So awkward. Like, am I supposed to send one back? Every day?"
"We hadn’t even met in person yet."
– LeotiaBlood
It took a vacation for these Redditors to realize they were not with the kind of people they'd want to ever share a life with.
Realization During A Vacation
"On a trip to the islands. HE WAS STEALING BATHROOM TOWELS and putting all the sugar and tea packets into his bag. He was telling me to hurry and stock up as well😐 I asked him if he really planned to steal 'thousands of a** towels..' he stopped packing. This was an eye opener to me. I was turned off and we are no longer together.😎"
– Law_Yer7
Demeaning The Workers
"They went from an 11/10 to a 0/10 because they decided to berate and belittle the people who were helping us with our luggage as we got on and started our boat cruise. The rest of the trip was awkward af"
– WorstLuckChuck
At the risk of sounding shallow, years ago I briefly dated a tennis player whose winsome personality won my heart.
However, I noticed something really peculiar about him. Every time we were out walking, I noticed he had the tendency of leaning into me whenever I was on his left side while walking in tandem.
When I casually asked him about his frequent need for getting awkwardly close, he explained that his gait was affected by a condition that left him with one leg shorter than the other.
After we completed that day's rendezvous together, I subsequently ghosted him.
Okay, I fully admit my shallowness in that situation.
I'm not proud of it.
Sometimes adulting is incredibly hard, especially when we're going through a trying time or are struggling with our health or mental health.
These pieces of advice may seem simple on the surface, but especially during the hard times, they could create a meaningful change for someone.
Redditor TheSensibleTurtle asked:
"What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?"
Firm Boundaries
"It came from Reddit, funnily enough."
"'Set limits for what you’re prepared to give, because people who take don’t have limits for how much they’re prepared to take.'"
"I’ve definitely applied it to my life. Unfortunately, there are several people I know who have yet to apply it to theirs."
- RedWestern
Lending Money
"Never lend money you can't afford to ever see again. Also, loan money with the expectation that you're never going to see it again."
- levitatingloser
Closest Company
"The single most important decision you will make in life is your partner."
- bemest
Know What You Want
"If it's not a clear yes, then it's a no."
- hiraeth_99
Not Forever
"Nothing is permanent. Jobs, relationships, good times, and bad times."
"Something I say to myself when making big decisions."
- Real_Bridge_5440
Relationship Goals
"In relationships: It's not you and your significant other against each other. It's both of you against the problem."
- MaxRptz
Time After Time
"A very rich friend of mine told me that he can buy or access almost anything at this stage of his life, except time. Make the most of every moment."
- phalangepatella
Drink Your Water
"Drink water."
"I had a friend's mom down my childhood street that insisted this was the curative agent for all that ailed you. And most of the time, she was not wrong."
"Indigestion? Water. Constipated? One tall glass of water every hour at least. Headache? Water."
"Her kid got the flu and his mom was like, 'I'm not taking him to the doctor. What are they gonna do? Tell him to drink water and eat food? I'm not paying 20 bucks and waiting an hour to hear that."
- elementaryfrequency9
Gossip Goes Both Ways
"People who gossip about others to you, gossip about you to others."
- CommunicationNo5292
Communication Is Key
"You have the right to tell someone how they make you feel."
- RockyMtnOysterCo
Be Prepared
"Never attempt to fix a plumbing problem when the hardware store is closed."
"It was from my dad. I am pretty sure that he learned it the hard way!"
- tg1024
You Are Worth More
"Your job doesn't define you."
- vander_blanc
No Self-Sacrifice
"Don’t set yourself on fire to keep someone else warm."
- Phoenix_of_Asclepius
Financial Perspective
"If you can just barely afford a house then you can’t afford it really. Something for new homeowners to bear in mind."
"Have some friends that bought a very expensive house. They used every bit of what they were able to be loaned. They now work just to be able to live in the house. Tried to tell them that if the majority of their income goes to the mortgage, then they can't afford the house."
- Effurlife13
Be Happy
“'Just do the things that make you happy and don’t do the things that don’t make you happy.'"
"From an ex-boyfriend who said this to me years ago. It’s so simple but kind of blew my anxious little self’s mind."
- Dizzy-Worldliness-20
Don't Listen to Them
"'Don’t take criticisms from someone you wouldn’t take advice from.'"
"I suffer from insecurities and have had people make some horrendous comments to me in my life. Someone once told me the above quote and it made something click in my head. From then on, things have been a h**l of a lot better."
- FluffyDaedra
While some of these tips appear resoundingly simple, they could be a real life-changer if put into practice.