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masterofmystery · #1 (**permalink**) 03-05-2012, 10:51 PM

The first detailed video tour of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, opening March 31, 2012, was featured on BBC's The One Show, where Warwick Davis gave a tour of all the sets, including the Great Hall, Dumbledore's office, Diagon Alley, and the special effects and makeup areas. Warwick, who portrayed Griphook the goblin and Professor Flitwick in the Harry Potter series, also chatted with production designer Stuart Craig on the work it took to bring the sets to life, as well as his personal favourite (Dumbledore's office). That can be viewed, via HP Supporters, below.

Also, SnitchSeeker received confirmation that the Butterbeer offered at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter will be available for purchase within the tour.

BBC: It’s slightly odd to be sitting here with you with and then your [Griphook] head in between us.
Warwick Davis: Well it is weird for me actually sitting here looking at this because usually I’m tucked away, glued inside here.

BBC: Do you think that because we’re so used to CGI, we imagine that this stuff is all created afterwards?
Davis: Oh absolutely. I think people will be surprised who come to the Warner Bros Studio Tour how real everything is. Things like [the mask of] Griphook and all of the sets, all of the things you’ve seen actually have existed.

Warwick Davis: Working on Harry Potter films really allowed me to indulge my inner geek. In between filming, I’d spend hours exploring the special effects workshops and the incredible sets. Sets such as: Professor Dumbledore’s office, Hagrid’s hut, Snape’s potion classroom and, of course, Hogwarts Great Hall. All of this was created by a dedicated team of British designers and craftspeople who spent a decade bringing the fantastical world of Harry Potter to life. And it was production designer Stuart Craig who created all these amazing locations that me and my fellow actors got to work in.

Stuart Craig: There’s some great skill in the sets, great craft skills. In the 10-year span of these movies, obviously digital computer skills became more and more important as we went on, but also old, traditional craft skills were kept alive.

Davis: What set or design are you most proud of here?
Craig: Dumbledore’s office. I like the three little towers, hanging one off the other. I like the fact that it is bordering on complete fantasy, architecturally almost defying gravity and is impossible. But also, the props in it. The books – they’re actually yellow pages, a lot of them, just given a fake vellum cover. So I like those little tricks.

Davis: Now one of the things when you walk in [the Great Hall set] is this beautiful stone floor that you have. Tell us about that.
Craig: This is a real Yorkstone floor. It served the films for 10 years. It’s going to serve this studio tour for, hopefully, another several years.

Warwick Davis: One of my favorite places to hang out was the special effects workshop. John Richardson led to special effects team for the Harry Potter films. Now we’re stood here by the door from Chamber of Secrets; it’s one of your creations. I’m assuming that this doesn’t actually move. You’ll obviously have computer generated snakes and stuff.
John Richardson: It all moves. Let me show you.

Davis: Why is it that you created all these effects here for real as opposed to within a computer?
Richardson: They look real if they are real. Also it gives the director much more flexibility when he’s shooting because he can move all around this and do all sorts of shots and angles without any restrictions at all. I’ve never known of a film series that have so much detail in every movie. It’s quite exceptional.

Davis: Can you make me a front door?
Richardson: For a price.
Davis: That’s brilliant!

BBC: Now we’re in Diagon Alley, we’re outside the wand shop. How important has that been – this part of your life – over the past few years?
Warwick Davis: Oh it’s very important. This is the actual wand I used as Professor Flitwick in the films, and I always loved holding this.

BBC: Is there a special way of doing it?
Davis: Oh absolutely. There was something called the dance of the wand in which you were choreographed to use the wand in a very specific and very cool way.

BBC: This is fantastic. Now we can buy them.
Davis: Oh absolutely. You could have your own.

BBC: [The sets] just feel so real. And for you, it’s been a part of your life for the last 10 years. Does it feel like you’ve been iconized?
Davis: Oh absolutely. It’s really weird coming back here, but everything I see here is exactly as we used it when we were making the films.

BBC: So the public aren’t getting a plastic experience, they’re getting the real thing, aren’t they?
Davis: Oh, this is it. You can see it as we used it. And what’s great about this is a chance for all the behind-the-scenes technicians and designers and craftspeople to show off their work.