“Wand Combat” Coming to the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour

Feb 08, 2013

Posted by: Catherine

News

Warner Bros. Studio is introducing “Wand Week” running from February 14-16. During this week, fans will be able to learn how to brandish wands, administer spells, strike proper dueling moves and poses, as well as behind-the-scenes information on making fight scenes through out the Harry Potter movies. Lessons will be taught by Paul Harris, the “Wand Combat” director of the Harry Potter films. Daily Mail reports:
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A former dancer, Paul Harris was given the credit ‘wand combat’ on the film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix after producer David Barron decided that ‘choreographer’ might imply dancing. “There was no dancing,” explains Harris “…and we feared that people would think I was being credited for a scene that had been cut so we went for ‘wand combat’ instead.”

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style=”font-size: 1.2em; “>This forthcoming February half-term (16th to 24th February) will see Wand Week at the Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, some 20 miles north of London.

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style=”font-size: 1.2em; “>A ‘motley collection’ of Death Eaters, as they are described in the book, all personally trained by Harris, will be teaching visitors at the attraction how to administer a spell just like Harry, Malefoy and co.

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style=”font-size: 1.2em; “>It’s not as easy as you think…there are lunges, pliés and wrist-twists involved and a definite nod to fencing moves.

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style=”font-size: 1.2em; “>”Lift the wand, you’re going to kneecap her holding it like that,” Harris barks as I let the wand dip below our intended target, an innocent bystander.

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style=”font-size: 1.2em; “>After a decade of working on BBC period dramas, Bleak House included, Harris took a call from Harry Potter director David Yates in the middle of 2006.

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style=”font-size: 1.2em; “>The technique used by Harris was then applied to all of the subsequent Potter films.

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style=”font-size: 1.2em; “>During Wand Week, fans will learn how to flourish the magic stick just so and get behind-the-scenes information on how the fight scenes from the films were brought to life.


The rest of the article can be read here.





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