Harry Potter became a global phenomenon, selling over $300,000 combined in the box office.

The
magic throughout the books captivated audience, taking them into a different fantasy world, a task
that was seemingly difficult to produce on screen. If this was a movie created in the Harry Potter
world, getting 6ft trolls, producing spells and getting flying cars would be easy. However in the
muggle world, producers and directors could not simply say accio and hope for something to
summon to them. Sadly, in the muggle world magic doesnt exist. Producers and directors had to
have a creative way to produce magic and make it believable, lucky for them they had some help
from special effects.
Special effects are an illusion created for films and television by props, camerawork and computer
graphics. Because Harry Potter is in the fantasy genre, it required a lot of special effects, in order
to create the magic.
In the first film, Harry Potter and Sorcerers Stone, you see Harry and Ron fight a 6ft troll.
Producers and Directors couldn't find a 6ft troll who would willingly fight Harry and Ron without
severely injuring them. Instead, the film team had to turn to the help of CGI. CGI stands for
computer generated image. The CGI of the troll helps enhance the film because it makes it seem
that Harry and Ron are really fighting a troll, making it seem believable. CGI would also help create
small yet important details, that wouldnt be possible if CGI wasn't used.
During Chamber of Secrets, you see Harry fight a huge snake (a basilisk) This was achieved
through animatronics. The film team had to create the head and the first few metres of the basilisk
before then editing the rest of the snake using CGI. This enhanced the clip because it gave Daniel
Radcliffe a visual snake that he can fight face to face with. This makes him fighting the snake more
believable because he knows what and how to fight the snake because he can see it. It makes it
more easier for him to act out a fight because he can see it instead of imagining it. Therfoer making
the fight more believable.
Pyrotechnics were used throughout the film series thanks to the character Seamus Finnigan, who
seems to always be blowing up stuff. However in the final movie, you see Nevile blowing up the
bridge to prevent the werewolves from getting into the castle. This enhances the movie because it
creates excitement and suspense for the audience. The audience will be excited when they see
Nevile blow up something, mainly because Nevile is normally such a shy reserved character.
Stunts were performed thoughout the film as it did have a lot of action in it. Daniel Radcliffe had to
fall down the roof of Hogwarts when he was flying away from a dragon. This enhances the movie
as the audience will be at the edge of their seat out of suspension because they would want to
know if Harry was ok and if he was able to escape the dragon. It makes the movie even more
exciting as it has action in it.
A scale model for Hogwarts school was created, making it easier for the production as it was a
cheaper alternative than building all of Hogwarts in detail in full scale. This enhances the film as it
gives away a lot of detail and accuracy of Hogwarts that wouldn't be possible if it was a full scale
model. It would also create a accurate model that the audience will recognise and be able to
remember it.
Makeup Prosthetics were mainly used for the Goblins. This would enhance the film as it would
make the Goblins more believable and realistic;It would make the audience believe that they are
real. The makeup prosthetics would also help the editing team as they wouldn't be required to CGI
loads of Goblins.
Morphing was first used in Sorcerers Stone, when Professor McGonagal morphed from a cat to a
human. This enhances the movie as it reinstates that she is magical being and in a magical world
and the movie is a fantasy. It would also help create wonder and excitement for the audience as
they might of her seen something morph before.

A matte Painting is used in all types of movies, however the most iconic matte painting was used in
Star Wars, Where C-3PO was standing in a desert. This enhances the movie because it creates a
setting for the actor to act in and enhance their acting because they know where they are and what
they can and cant do. It would also be cheaper to use a matte painting than actually going to a
desert to film the scene, therefore the movie wouldn't be over budget.
Animation was used in Prisoner of Azkaban and Deathly Hallows. 3D animation was used for the
demontors in Prisoner of Azkaban, this enhances the movie because it makes them more realistic
and human like, making them more scary like they were said to be in the books. If the dementors
were a 2D animation it would be clear they were fake and unbelievable for the audience, making
them less scary. In Deathly Hallows, Hermione was reading a story about the 3 Brothers. The story
she was reading was a 2D animation. This enhances the movie as it makes it clear to the audience
that Hermione is telling a story and it gives a visual for the audience to look.Keeping them
engaged.
Rotoscoping was used in Star Wars, were the light sabers were rotoscoped. This enhances the film
as it gives the light sabers a fantasy effect and makes it look more realistic, it makes the light
sabers look futuristic and deadly looking. Making the audience in awe as they have never seen
anything like it before.
Without the special effects used in Harry Potter, it wouldn't be the global phenomenon it is today.
The special effects are the reasons why the movie was such a success because it lived up to the
audience expectation. It made the movies more realistic and believable, it enables the audience to
escape into the Harry Potter world. Transporting them into a world that they wished was real.