My Visit to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour

I adore Harry Potter; the books, the world, the films - everything. So when I found out that Levesden Studios which is about twenty minutes from where I live was going to do a tour I was beyond excited. What I imagined in my head was a small exhibit based on the mechanics behind the films. For some reason I thought it would be a bit of a minority, geeky thing that would be interesting for fans of the films but nothing more. I obviously wasn't thinking this though because the Warner Bros. Studio tour is MASSIVE.

If there was ever any doubt how much work has gone in to these amazing films then the tour sweeps them away. First off though I feel I need to point out that this isn't in London. It's near Watford which (for those who don't know) is near London. So if you're planning a day out then make it just that - a day. It'll take about twenty five minutes on a train from Euston to Watford and then the studio has laid on buses which leave Watford Junction every fifteen minutes to the Studio which is a fifteen minute journey. So, it's not an arduous trip but worth knowing.

The foyer has the shop (more of that later) and huge posters of the stars, a cafe and a Starbucks. Once in you can join the queue and you're allowed to enter of groups (of around 150 I think but I could be wrong). You're held in an area for a film but I'm not going to spoil this bit for you. Once into the great hall your visit begins and you're free to look at everything in your own time. I opted for a digital guide which works like any touch screen device. There are numbered stops for you to play the appropriate section but also a whole load of extra material like videos and the such. I need to go back so I can look at every single section on the guide, it's only £4.50 and well worth the money.

Once through the great hall I was in Harry Potter heaven. There's everything from gorgeous costumes and wigs, props, jaw-dropping sets, paintings and more. I could quite happily have spent about four hours looking at everything. The sheer amount of books blew me away. I was just loving seeing the ones that we've become used to from the films. Just look at this brown leather copy of Do It Yourself Broom Care. Comics were made to put in the common room, invitations for the Yule Ball - honestly, I was amazed at the sheer number of printed matter created.

So, from the little things to the sets. These things are massive. The Mirror of Erised and the Magic is Might statue - huge. The gates to Hogwarts are about 15 foot high and made of stone. Don't get me wrong, a lot of things are made of wood or plaster but it seemed to me that equal amounts of things have been crafted the old-fashioned way. Look at these: -

Add to this all the costumes which are beautifully displayed and placed next to the relevant sets. The dress that Hermione wears to the Yule Ball? Gorgeous in real life. The wigs? Stunning - the Dumbledore one is ridiculously long. For continuity they show five virtually identical outfits that Daniel Radcliffe wore, each one labelled with things like, "more dust." I was aware that all of these things went on but to see it all laid out is impressive.

One of the last things you see is Diagon Alley. I was speechless. Apart from a bit of green screen behind Gringotts you're basically in the street. There are cobbles on the floor, it's just … I'm really struggling for words here but I was smiling whilst my heart was being wrung out. I'm so used to seeing the world on the films and Diagon Alley was just so perfect that I couldn't have asked for more. Right, I'll shut up now but here's another piccy.

I have missed out some really wonderful exhibits but I wanted to give you a flavour of what you'll see if you visited. The artwork, model workshop and outside sets are fascinating too. Then there's the model of Hogwarts. Basically, I took nearly two hundred photos so I don't want to overload you! You leave via the shop where I bought a wand, a pygmy puff (which I immediately had to hide from my dog when I got home) and other stuff. There's a couple of gorgeous stained windows in the shop. Remember the one that got a close up in the Goblet of Fire? Where the rain runs over a face like a tear? It's there behind one of the tills. Books are piled up on library shelves - it's a nice touch to end the tour with. To sum up - I drank butter beer, I stood on the Night Bus and I was in Harry Potter heaven. Go, if you're even a mild fan of the films - just go. You won't regret it.

Pottermore Revealed!

Here we go - straight from the horse's mouth - the Pottermore Press Release

J.K. Rowling today, Thursday 23rd June, answered mounting speculation about the nature of her new project and announced Pottermore, a unique and free-to-use website which builds an exciting online experience around the reading of her hugely successful Harry Potter books, and is partnered by Sony.

The announcement today was heralded by the revealing of the website’s name via an online search for its letters, and a ‘coming soon’ holding page which received over a million visits within 36 hours of launching.

For this groundbreaking collaborative project, J.K. Rowling has written extensive new material about the characters, places and objects in the much-loved stories, which will inform, inspire and entertain readers as they journey through the storylines of the books. Pottermore will later incorporate an online shop where people can purchase exclusively the long-awaited Harry Potter eBooks, in partnership with J K Rowling’s publishers worldwide, and is ultimately intended to become an online reading experience, extending the relevance of Harry Potter to new generations of readers, while still appealing to existing fans. As the Pottermore Shop develops, it is intended that it should include further products designed specifically for Harry Potter fans, offering a potential outlet for Sony products and services related to Pottermore. In keeping with Harry Potter’s international appeal, the site will launch in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish, with more languages to follow.

In the new website, the storyline will be brought to life with sumptuous newly-commissioned illustrations and interactive ‘Moments’ through which you can navigate, starting with the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s (Sorcerer’s) Stone. On entering, you choose a magic username and begin your experience. As you move through the chapters, you can read and share exclusive writing from J.K. Rowling, and, just as Harry joins Hogwarts, so can you. You visit Diagon Alley, get sorted into a house, cast spells and mix potions to help your house compete for the House Cup.

At a press conference at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Rowling revealed some key features of the website. In an announcement which will thrill fans, she described how she has brought to life both the Sorting Hat and Ollivanders experiences from her books for the first time on Pottermore, by revealing the questions asked by the Sorting Hat - which places newcomers into their Hogwarts houses according to their characteristics - and the magic behind the Wand Chooser – which finds the right wand for each user from over 33,000 possible combinations. She also revealed glimpses of the new information she has provided on some of the best-loved characters.

J.K. Rowling’s announcement on YouTube and sony.com today revealed that Pottermore (along with the Pottermore Shop) will be open to all users in October 2011. From today, 23rd June, fans can submit their email addresses on Pottermore.com in order to be contacted by the site following the opening of registration on 31st July, Harry’s birthday. Also on that date, an online challenge will be launched, whereby the first million people to complete their registration will gain early entry into the website, and help put final touches to the experience.

J.K. Rowling commented,

“I wanted to give something back to the fans that have followed Harry so devotedly over the years, and to bring the stories to a new digital generation. I hope fans and those new to Harry will have as much fun helping to shape Pottermore as I have. Just as I have contributed to the website, everyone else will be able to join in by submitting their own comments, drawings and other content in a safe and friendly environment – Pottermore has been designed as a place to share the stories with your friends as you journey through the site.”

Pottermore has been made possible with the support and partnership of Sony.

Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Sony Corporation, commented:

“Sony's association with J.K. Rowling's Pottermore brings together one of the world’s most innovative brands with the most successful book series in history, in a pioneering partnership that will help shape the future of story-telling. We are proud to be a part of it, both at this momentous announcement, and as we collaborate on its development over the coming years.”

On Sony’s partnership of Pottermore, J.K. Rowling commented:

“As I think people know, I am very protective of Harry and have always been very selective with any new initiatives, but I am totally committed to making this partnership with Sony and this wonderful new website a success. There are many companies I could have worked with on this ultimate digital expression of Harry Potter’s universe, but it is Sony’s unique philosophy of creativity in harmony with technology that made them my first choice as main partner. The spirit behind Sony’s make.believe philosophy is one that rings true with Pottermore’s own values.”

The detailed creative execution has been led by TH_NK, a leading UK digital agency, under the supervision of J.K. Rowling and the Pottermore management team, in co-operation with Sony. J.K. Rowling’s publishers, Bloomsbury in the UK and Scholastic in the USA, as well as her international publishers worldwide, have been active supporters in the creation of pottermore.com and the Pottermore Shop. Warner Bros, the makers of the hugely successful Harry Potter film franchise, is also one of the partners who have worked to support the launch of Pottermore through a variety of marketing, promotional and other efforts, and will continue to collaborate as the project grows.

The storyline of the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, will go live on the site in early 2012. The Pottermore Shop opens when the site opens to all in October, selling complete ranges of the eBooks and digital audiobooks in a selection of languages, exclusively.

Designed for fans of all ages, the website has been created with child safety in mind, employing best practice and compliance with internet codes of practice in the UK, Europe and USA, and elsewhere.

www.pottermore.com

Images from the Pottermore Site - these look like screengrabs, so if you click them they will show up bigger.

Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone

Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy. He lives with his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley, who are mean to him and make him sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. (Dudley, however, has two bedrooms, one to sleep in and one for all his toys and games.) Then Harry starts receiving mysterious letters and his life is changed forever. He is whisked away by a beetle-eyed giant of a man and enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The reason: Harry Potter is a wizard!


I read the first 2 books in the Harry Potter series around ten years ago, when we first moved to the UK.  I hardly remember anything about them, but of course, I know all about Harry.  He's become such an iconic character in children's fiction and is the darling of so many kids who grew up with him and who are now all young adults themselves.
 
I've always been a bit bemused by Harry Potter's success and I'll admit, it really put me off reading the rest of the books. When something gets that big and that scary with that many dedicated fans, it's both a good thing and a bad thing.  I couldn't imagine loving it that much and it made me question my ability as a reader, not even a reviewer! What was I missing?
 
So, when I spied these gorgeous new covers, I threw caution to the wind and succumbed.  I sat down with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and read it from cover to cover and was smitten by a small skinny untidy haired boy with glasses and the ability to get into all sorts of trouble.
 
And I'll admit that although JK Rowling's writing is good, it is not awe inspiring but it is incredibly engaging and she really hits those beats that makes you want to read more and faster in order to find out what's going on. She uses a lot of archetypes in Philosopher's Stone and there are big elements of the fairy tale about it, but honestly, you can say the same thing about Star Wars and that is a perennial classic that just won't lie down and die.
 
What I loved about Philosopher's Stone is how the three characters of Ron and Hermione came together to form a small band of friends.  There was the initial bickering between then all and also the annoyingness of Hermione being such a goody goody but it works out really well - when Hermione grows up enough to put her friends first and her studies and tutors later, we see her character growing right before our eyes.
 
Harry's growth is a lot more subtle even though he is by far the main focus of the story. JKR really works quietly in the background and before we know it, Harry has somehow managed to transform from a shy boy, used to being degraded by his adopted family, into a young boy who has such belief in himself and his friends, that he is prepared to take on a variety of monsters to protect them all.
 
If, like me, you've been cautious about approaching the Harry Potter books, I can't recommend this, the first book enough.  It is far better than a) I remember it being and b) expected it to be.
 
Philosopher's Stone, really lays the groundwork of Harry, Ron and Hermione's friendship.  Harry learns much about wizzarding, and how completely different things are to what he knew before as a normal human being.  He finds out about his mum and dad and realises how much the Dursley's have kept from him.  But then he also finds a new family, his friends at Hogwarts.  It introduces us to Hogwarts and to Hagrid who I think is every single person's hero.  I mentioned on twitter one dire day at the office that I am now ready for Hagrid to come whisk me away to Hogwarts and had around thirty replies from various friends saying that yes, can Hagrid and I swing by and collect them on the way?
 
And it also introduces us to the enigma of Voldemort, of course.  I can't help but look forward to reading more because I feel I'd like to know more about what he'd done in the past and why exactly he is such a big enemy.  Obviously I know, because I would have had to be a stone not to, but I want to find it out in JKR's words.  I've not done a reading challenge on MFB before but I think this is definitely a worthy one and one I've enjoyed thus far.  Next up to read is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I shall report back anon!