I confess to being clueless as to what scenes in Half-Blood Prince or Deathly Hallows these sets could be for. Please share your thoughts if your speculative-gifts are crying out for exercise a year after the speculative-marathon of last May and June.
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I’d love to hazzard a guess but that link doesn’t work. It takes me to an Error 404 site and asks me to try the BBC home link.
Hmmm. I guess someone decided it wasn’t a good idea to have an aerial shot of the outdoor studios constructed for the Harry Potter movies and the link was taken down.
It was quite the show; someone from the BBC circled the entire closed off area and with telescopic lenses shot what the site where I got the original link described as “The Burrow, Privett Drive, the large courtyard inside Hogwarts, Hagrid’s hut and a train station.” I recognized Privet Drive and the Hogsmead Train Station but the rest would require a pitch of green screen (and indeed there were acres of green and blue screen around every set).
I checked the source of my original link and it also shows the 404 message. Again, I bet that means Leavesden Studios thought it was a bit too much information the general public had no “need to know.”
John,
I wonder in light of the JKR-RDR court case, that the BBC pulled its footage of the fly-over at Leavesden Studios as a precautionary measure to avoid any legal problems with Warner Brothers. Sad as it may seem , it would appear that because of all the legal “jitters” on the pending JKR-RDR case, the media and fans are going to be more apprehensive about what they photograph and video tape surrounding the books and the films.
Who would’ve thought that if Leavesden Studios works on a Quidditch scene that the studio grounds would become a NO-FLY zone!
No unauthorized brooms allowed!!
The BBC skycam over Leavesden Studios has been posted on You Tube.
The shot that has me puzzled is the rectangular, enclosed area which seems to have two rows of barren trees, separated by a strip of grass and dirt. I have heard there is a new scene (not from the book) involving a Death Eater attack on the Burrow and a subsequent chase scene. Perhaps this is the chase scene set?
All the other sets look familiar…….but it does take the magic out of it a bit, I think.
I saw this footage originally at Leaky. http://video.the-leaky-cauldron.org/video/1021 They also have screencaps in the gallery if anyone is intererested. http://gallery.the-leaky-cauldron.org/album/4393
The first image you see of the shack sort of building is possibly the House of Gaunt or else possibly the new Burrow. http://gallery.the-leaky-cauldron.org/picture/211945 The second image is obviously Privet Drive. Next is one of the courtyards at Hogwarts; I would venture to guess it’s the Transfiguration Courtyard, as it seems to be the only one not paved. After that, you see a lane of some type in the forest. http://gallery.the-leaky-cauldron.org/picture/211934 If memory serves me correctly, there could be two scenes in which we might see something like this: the lane leading to the House of Gaunt or else the lane leading to Slughorn’s cottage. This was described as being in a garden of it’s own, so it is possible that it’s Slughorn’s but I feel it is much more likely to be the lane leading to the House of Gaunt because it was described as a country lane bordered by high tangled hedgerows.
After that, you see Hagrid’s Hut and the train platform, both very obvious.
There is also a wonderful new set report for those interested http://www.leakylounge.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=60162&view=findpost&p=1605639
The chase scene jensenly refers to can be read about here http://the-leaky-cauldron.org/2008/2/21/david-barron-confirms-new-scene-added-to-half-blood-prince-movie/comments/10 . You can also read a leaked script of this scene and others (spoilers) at http://www.emma-watson-fans.net/harry-potter-news/2008/01/31/harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince-leaked-script (don’t read the comments, there is some bad language). From what I have read, it is my understanding that this scene has already been filmed, which would mean the building we saw in the flyover couldn’t be the Burrow, due to the fact that in this scene, the Burrow is destroyed. (This was originally reported on Leaky, but I can’t find it.) Although I suppose it is possible that they used CGI for the burning of it, but I don’t know why they would. The latest set report talks about burning Hagrid’s Hut. They actually burned it, so I don’t know why it would be different for the Burrow. Then again, there is some conflict about whether or not the Burrow actually burns or just the reeds around it, so it could possibly be the Burrow. This particular building looks much more like what I picture the Burrow and property to look than the House of Gaunt.
We’ll know the answer come November!!
Fun trying to figure it out though……..