The sixth Harry Potter film has just had its UK premiere and the film will be released nation-wide on the 15th July 2009.
Gloucester Cathedral: here you can see the cloisters of the cathedral with lighting rig ready for filming © BBC Gloucestershire
As well as the stunning effects and famous names in the cast - Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman, Julie Walters, Maggie Smith and Robbie Coltrane - eagle-eyed cinema goers will notice that some locations used in earlier films have reappeared.
Scenes from the new film Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince were filmed in Gloucester in 2008 in locations that had previously appeared in the first two Harry Potter films.
Gloucester Cathedral
Location crews, lighting and catering vans were at Gloucester Cathedral in February 2008. The cathedral is one of the six former abbey churches that were established as cathedrals under Henry VII.
The cloisters of the cathedral are famous for their architectural splendour - especially their fan-vaulting. A vault is a curved stone ceiling and fan vaulting is a method of constructing ceilings which resemble a fan shape. The ribs radiate from one central point with the same kind of curve, are the same distance apart and look like a giant fan. The spaces between the main ribs are sometimes filled with smaller decorations.
Gloucester Cathedral’s cloisters © Stephen picturesofengland. com
Gloucester Cathedral is thought to be the earliest example of this kind of ceiling in the country. Now, as well as being famous for their stunning architecture, the cloisters are also well known from their appearance in the Harry Potter films. The film makers transformed them into the corridors of Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!
Modern switches and lights had to be covered up. Stained glass windows disguised. Lighting rigs put up. However, it looks as though we will see more than just the stunning architecture in the finished film.
Blue screens on site
One of the photos taken on location last February was of a lit blue screen inside the cloisters. This is a device that film makers use to film a real location so they can transform it later with computer generated special effects.
The blue screen set up inside the Gloucester Cathedral for filming © BBC Gloucestershire
The cameraman takes a shot of the location with the blue screen in place and then technical experts build in other images and special effects. From the photo shown it seems safe to assume that we can probably expect to see something strange and magical happening in this location.
The students at the nearby Kings School also had a treat. More than 170 students from the school, aged 11 to 18, were asked to take part as extras in the multi million-pound production!
Activity – source your own location
You might not be able to get your class to take part as extras on location, but why not do a lesson with your class on making a film?
Ask your students to work in groups, decide on a plot, storyline and then choose a local old building to feature in the film.
Ask them to consider what they would have to do to the building to make it work on camera and to write up a brief, listing the key points for the director and crew.
If you have video equipment, they could even make the film, or take some stills with a digital camera. We would be very interested to see their work, or hear about other ways you are using local buildings – you can email the Engaging Places education editor at rwhitty@cabe.org.uk.
For fans of fan-vaulting!
The ceiling of Henry VII's chapel in Westminster Abbey is one of the best examples of fan-vaulting. Other examples are Christ Church in Oxford, King's College Chapel in Cambridge, St George's Chapel in Windsor, Sherborne Abbey and the Divinity School, Oxford.
