This festive season, you are invited to experience Christmas time at Hogwarts and discover how film-makers created fire, ice and snow that never melts as we undergo a magical makeover for Hogwarts in the Snow.
Christmas trees will line the Great Hall, the Gryffindor common room will be dressed for the season and a blanket of filmmaking snow will be meticulously applied to the majestic Hogwarts castle model.
After stepping onto the original stone floor of the iconic Great Hall, you will spot wreaths, garlands and trees decked with golden baubles that are topped with witches on miniature broomsticks. The long dining tables will be dressed as they were for seasonal feasts at Hogwarts with prop versions of roast turkeys, hams studded with cherries and even flaming Christmas puddings.
The Gryffindor Common Room and Boys’ Dormitory will be decorated with the original props including handmade Christmas cards, some of which were made by the cast members during production.
The Hogwarts castle model will be transformed for the occasion by a team led by Model Effects Supervisor José Granell, who worked on the Harry Potter film series. During filming, a member of the crew climbed aboard an elevated work platform and sprinkled the ‘snow’ mixture of granulated paper and grains of salt onto the model by hand with a sieve – like dusting sugar onto a cake. The same process will be used at the Studio Tour this November. You will even be able to touch samples of the different types of ‘snow’ used during production, each selected for its ability to float like falling snow, crunch under foot or glisten in the light like ice.
