SPOILERS: From ripped up bedsheets to Gollum's ugly brother: FX of PoA

[Picko]

I did a search for "PoA". I did a search for "special effect". I did a search for "special effects". And in the new found tradition of members being asked to search for topics which are arguably not the topic they are dealing with I searched for "Dogs and Cats". I would've searched for more topics but I desperately needed to go to the toilet.

If there is already a thread on this topic then clearly the search function is faulty or I was lying about my numerous searches. Regardless, please keep this one open because the title is quite brilliant for one and I'd feel really sad and throw myself off a bridge for another ;)

Anyway, this is a thread for people to comment on the special effects in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. From Buckbeak to the Dementors, special effects played a huge role in the realisation of Harry's world.

Feel free to discuss what you felt worked, what didn't, what could've been improved or done entirely different :)

[PhoenixUK]

It's amazing how Warner Bros can create the magic of JKR's books on screen with special effects so well, in my opinion. But, then, with a multi-million pound budget., you might kind of expect that.

As usual, all the basic stuff was done excellently: for instance, the rainbow thing going on with the Lumos spell, and also the Marauders Map, with the little footprints running across it (although it was a shame they didn't do the individual insults to Snape, but then, as they didn't bother to explain the whole Mooney/Wormtail/Padfoot/Prongs thing, I guess it wouldn't have made much sense).

Buckbeak was amzingly majestic and graceful yet still with the disdain and clumsiness that is mentioned in the book. Okay, when he was flying, it got a bit "Hollywood-we-love-the-world-with-soppy-music", but the CGI was amazing enough to make up for it.

Lupin as a werewolve was disappointing. He was less scary and more... cartoonish. Plus, he wasn't as wild as I thought he could have been. And, he was fooled by a "fake" werewolf cry, which was a pretty stupid and unneccasery addition.

Weirdly, the part I liked the most - The Knight Bus - wasn't much special effects at all. It actually was a real bus: they were doing the filming in Barnet, near me, and I went and saw it. It was only the sqeezing between two buses part that was special effects. However, the nice little touches - like the talking head ("Ernie, l'il old lady at 12 o'clock!") made the scene amazingly special. Okay, we lost some of the homely touches (toothbrush, hot chocolate) and also the objects jumping out of the way, but it was still incredibly well done.

So... that's my opinion on the special effects :) (thought I'd better get in quickly before someone tells me I should be discussing it in [this] thread and to search before making thread :p).

[Maagic]

I thought the new Whomping Willow looked AMAZING... although I got a bit tired of the "bird-flying-into-it-and-getting-smashed" bit

[Magi]

It's amazing how Warner Bros can create the magic of JKR's books on screen with special effects so wellFor the sake of giving credit where it's due, the CGI component of the special effects aren't done by Warner Bros. :) They contract it out to dedicated computer visual effects companies.

The visual effects in this movie is heads and shoulders above the others. As I said in the POA review thread, creature modelling and animation is difficult, and even more difficult when fur/feathers and fabrics are involved. Buckbeak was particularly impressive, especially with the animation, which was as realistic as one could expect. They should get at least an Oscar nomination for it, if not the award.

[Loz]

Some of the special effects were absolutely breathtaking. Others, not so.

How can the same production produce a creature as realistically beautiful as Buckbeak and also a Werewolf that looks like a stick-insect? I do not know, but I know one thing, I was so disappointed with Lupin as a Werewolf, I came close to crying.

Even though the dementors were nothing like I imagined them (or how they are described in the books), I actually didn't mind them. They genuinely scared me, especially when we saw one of their mouths.

The Whomping Willow is five thousand times better than in Chamber of Secrets, and I adored it.

Buckbeak, as I have said, was amazing. So real. Even when he was flying. It was fantastic.

All in all, I think the effects were fantastic, but some of them just didn't quite hit the mark.

[Deliah]

The werewolf was just so dissapointing - I've seen better ones in bad 80s horror movies :(

[Da_Chinkster]

Pretty much the CGI in the PoA blew me away. I think the detail they put in was great. Buckbeak looked so real and the whomping willow was brilliantly made. The dementors genuinely sent a shiver up my spine. I ahve tos ay I didnt mind the werewolf it still looked pretty good to me even though it wasnt as I preceived it to be. The Animagi and the changing between the human and Animagi were also brilliant. As you can tell I liked the CGI :D brilliantly put into a brilliant film

[dumbleedore]

I enjoyed the Whomping Willow in this film- it became a charecter. In CoS it was too fake. I cringed.

And I agree with Loz and Deliah on the werewolf- it took great restraint to stop myself from crying out in agony at how they destroyed it. It looks like something from Star Wars- it's too upright and human like still.

Buckbeak was wonderful- the only complaint I have is that they should've shortened that first flight scene- did we really need the spectacular castle shots when that time could've been better used developing the plot? That's a different thread but :p.

[NerfHerder]

I thought that the movie theatre had spliced in a clip from Signs when I saw Lupin's werewolf for the first time.

As for being distracted by the fake werewolf cry, my only guess is that Lupin was still not "completely" transformed, that is, he didn't necessarily have all of his werewolf wits about him. So perhaps his partially-human brain believed that it was a werewolf.

[dumbleedore]

I thought that the movie theatre had spliced in a clip from Signs when I saw Lupin's werewolf for the first time.

As for being distracted by the fake werewolf cry, my only guess is that Lupin was still not "completely" transformed, that is, he didn't necessarily have all of his werewolf wits about him. So perhaps his partially-human brain believed that it was a werewolf.
Or maybe he is just a really stupid werewolf :lol:. Or maybe Hermione is a werewolf in human skin :lol:.

Ok- now I'm just being stupid...

[Hufflepuffy]

I thought the Werewolf was a little off. I don't know. I thought werewolves looked like, oh, I don't know. Wolves? Maybe I'm not all up on werewolf information, though. I could be wrong. I always pictured something a little more like the werewolf at the begining of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video :)

[Sredni Vashtar]

The werewolf was rather reminiscent of the creature in American Werewolf in London, although unlike the creature from the 80s, Lupin's werewolf did not completely change into full wolf form.

Character designs aside, the movements of the werewolf were great and I enjoyed watching Lupin turn. That expression he had when his eye turned green was fantastic, but is just acting on Thewlis' part.

Buckbeak is nothing short of phenomenal. Computer imaging has grown by leaps and bounds since they first appeared in the early 80s. The most difficult things to recreate are feathers. According to a video I posted a link to in the thoughts on PoA thread, not only was each feather created, but each filament of every feather was rendered. On top of that, each filament had individual barbs, just like real feathers. I must say, they really did their homework on bird anatomy. They also did their homework with bird and horse movements. I'm sure tying the two animals together to create a beast nobody has ever seen before was a monumental challenge, and the folks at the CGI lab really outdid themselves.

As a person who is extremely picky about how CGI looks in films, I must say Buckbeak is among the best. He rivals Smeagol. In fact, I'd wager Buckbeak is just a wee bit more realistic.

The Dementors are pretty run of the mill, but they did their job. They were ethereal and frightening.

The Quidditch scene was fabulous and really blows away the Quidditch scenes in the first two movies. Granted, it's harder to make scenes like that look convincing in daylight, but I have to say Quidditch in a thunderstorm is amazing.

The whomping willow looked less like a Ray Harryhausen project in this movie, as well.

[gryffindork]

i loved buckbeak he was sooo good, the dememtors, while not what i imagined were very well done but the werewolf *shudders* it was like a deformed human stuck through transformation! why did the whomping willow get sooo much screen time? i mean when it would be autumn you'd see the tree losing its leaves, when it was winter it shaked off the snow and you saw a bird flying into it twice! if anything all of that could have been cut out to allow more screen time!

[Stumblebear]

I thought Buckbeak was amazing. It looked so real. I want one. :p I also loved the dementors, very creepy. I want one also.

He rivals Smeagol. In fact, I'd wager Buckbeak is just a wee bit more realistic.
What? Blasphemy! None rival Gollum! :p

[LilyEvans]

I think the Whomping Willow was given the screen time to point out that the year is going through (rather quickly, have to say)

Buckbeak was AMAZING. Although the flying scene was waaaay too reminiscent of Titanic ofr m,e to take seriously.

The werewolf was great technically, but werewolves are supposed to look a lot like real wolves, not weird thingamiwotsits. They just have different snout shapes and tufted ears and different eyes and two other things that no one got around to telling us about.

Oh, but I was mad about the Crookshanks-freezing-the-tree being left out.

[hermione_g_004]

i loved buckbeak...his flying scene was absolutely amzaing...the dementers scared me...i thought that they were pretty good...lupin as a werewolve was very weird looking...not how i imagined...though it was a little creepy...

[daniel4hp]

Although the flying scene was waaaay too reminiscent of Titanic ofr m,e to take seriously.
It reminded me of Titanic as well. But I liked Titanic. So I'm not complaining. :)

[Sredni Vashtar]

Re: werewolf appearance...

Nobody agrees on how werewolves look. If you look at the werewolf in cinema and in literature you'll see that the beastie has just as much variation as the vampire legends.

Lycanthropy can be shown as a slightly hairy person with fangs and a bad manicure, it can be shown as the actual animal, or anything in between. It all depends on how one interprets the legend of the werewolf, really.

That said, I wasn't in love with the way Lupin looked as a wolfman, but the creature was well executed.

[RemusLupinFan]

Re: werewolf appearance...

Nobody agrees on how werewolves look. If you look at the werewolf in cinema and in literature you'll see that the beastie has just as much variation as the vampire legends.

Lycanthropy can be shown as a slightly hairy person with fangs and a bad manicure, it can be shown as the actual animal, or anything in between. It all depends on how one interprets the legend of the werewolf, really.

That said, I wasn't in love with the way Lupin looked as a wolfman, but the creature was well executed.


Yes I am with you on that one. I think the effects of him actually transforming were great, but the appearance of the werewolf itself wasn't. I loved Buckbeak as well- it must have been hard to combine the anatomy of a horse and an eagle in one creature. And although I loved the way the dementors moved, the way their robes just sort of flowed (especially the one on the train), I thought they could have been a little more creepy. Lastly I loved the Whomping Willow. :)

[Picko]

Seeing as I made the discussion I should probably state my opinions.

I loved Buckbeak, he looks simply amazing. I couldn't possibly ask for anything better in terms of what I received :D I was however disappointed in the dementors and Lupin as a werewolf, which some of you may have gathered from the thread title. It's strange that you can have something that is so good (Buckbeak) and something so bad (Dementors / Werewolf) in the same movie.

The Quidditch scenes were pretty standard. The game however did look good in the rain, which was a nice change from the previous two films. The Marauder's Map was done nicely and as well as could be expected considering such a thing probably couldn't exist in the way it's portrayed in the book.

[Prof Dippet]

I have to diagree with most people about the werewolf - I thought that he looked fantastic. It really sent chills up my spine because it looked so creepy and un-human, but not quite animal at the same time - a perfect monster. And besides, as Snape & Hermione tried to educate you all, werewolves differ from ordinary wolves & animagi in several ways and the term WEREwolf means Man Wolf suggesting a cross between the two. You didn't expect it to look exactly the same as an ordinary wolf, did you?

The dementors looked fantastic - exactly how I imagined - and I think they can fly in the books (don't ask me where but there is a reference to those 'horrors floating through the sky)

Buckbeak was nothing short of amazing - It only really hit me after I left the cinema when we were talking that he had been entirely CGI (just compare his feathers to those of the CGI Fawkes and you can see the improvement)

The Whomping Willow (thankfully) looked more woody and less plasticy

The Paintings looked like they had been painted and the photos looked like real photos (not just digital images that had been composited onto a page)

The Ghosts looked better as well.

Definitely should be up for an oscar next year.

[dumbleedore]

The Quidditch scenes were pretty standard. The game however did look good in the rain, which was a nice change from the previous two films.

I've never been overly fond of the Qudditch matches- and it was the same for PoA- I'm just being a picky fan, but it breaks too many rules and is just, yeah.

*crossess fingers for no QWC in GoF*

[Picko]

I've never been overly fond of the Qudditch matches- and it was the same for PoA- I'm just being a picky fan, but it breaks too many rules and is just, yeah.

*crossess fingers for no QWC in GoF*

Yeah, it was one of those things I just had to see done once and that was enough. As it was the Quidditch scenes in PS was some of the coolest CG we'd seen at that point in time. I'm really not fussed with Quidditch in GoF.

[dumbleedore]

Yeah, it was one of those things I just had to see done once and that was enough. As it was the Quidditch scenes in PS was some of the coolest CG we'd seen at that point in time. I'm really not fussed with Quidditch in GoF.
Quidditch in PS was rubbish and clunky- CoS was alright- PoA was just pushing the limit. We've seen it on the big screen- cut it and give us some plot!!!

[whizbang121]

All of the above. Buckbeak was amazing. (I want one, too.) And the Knight Bus was one of my favorite sequences. The Monster Book was hilarious, too. It was such a perfectly Hagrid book .... I loved the spidery eyes. The werewolf was disappointing, but I'm not sure it was the cgi I found so. And I wish Padfoot had been more of a Newfie than a cgi, huge but gentle and ..... okay, slobbery. :rolleyes:

[dumbleedore]

The Monster Book was hilarious, too.

How could I forget that book! I loved it :D

[whizbang121]

Is there a film making thread somewhere. A lot of you seem really knowledgeable about the subject and I'd like to be able to keep up. And I have this camera that I don't know how to use.

[Nightswimmer]

At least in GoF we don't have to deal with any Quidditch! But there's one thing that I'm nervous about them doing - the dragon that Harry goes up against in the first task ... for some reason I'm anxious about what they will do with this ...

I have to agree with Prof Dippet on the werewolf. I thought it was creepy as hell, especially the transformation. I remember seeing a still of the werewolf before the movie came out and I thought that couldn't possibly be the werewolf. Once I saw it in the film however, I thought its movements made it more than the silly cartoonish figure it had seemed to be in the still picture. Also, I think when they are viewing slides of the werewolf in class, the creatures are rather thin and lanky, more human-like in the pictures. Then again, I could be remembering things wrong ... In short, the werewolf did its job, it creeped me out!

[Nightswimmer]

Is there a film making thread somewhere. A lot of you seem really knowledgeable about the subject and I'd like to be able to keep up. And I have this camera that I don't know how to use.

what kind of camera is it? (I'm excited!)

[Picko]

Is there a film making thread somewhere. A lot of you seem really knowledgeable about the subject and I'd like to be able to keep up. And I have this camera that I don't know how to use.

We just try to sound impressive but using little acronyms like CGI instead of special effects and what not :D It's all about sounding knowledgable whilst not really having a clue what you are saying :D I'm quite good at it myself :p

Quidditch in PS was rubbish and clunky- CoS was alright- PoA was just pushing the limit. We've seen it on the big screen- cut it and give us some plot!!!

I felt that the Quidditch in PS was one of the more impressive special effects sequences since the pod racing in Star Wars Episode 1. By todays standards it's horribly outdated but at least I thought it was nifty at the time :D

[Nightswimmer]

We just try to sound impressive but using little acronyms like CGI instead of special effects and what not :D It's all about sounding knowledgable whilst not really having a clue what you are saying :D I'm quite good at it myself :p



Hey, whoa whoa, speak for yourself! Hahaha just kidding. :p No, I'm actually a film student so I'd like to hope I know something, but I never let myself be convinced for too long. I have a fear of turning into some of my fellow classmates who think they know absolutely everything. Being a fan of things like Cameron Crowe, and Harry Potter, my favorite subjectts don't come up much in class. It's mostly talk about Tarantino, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, (always the typical film student's first answer as to who their favorite director is.) Now that you mention it, IS there a general filmmaking thread?

[Nightswimmer]

^^Picko's absolutely right by the way. (on the whole trying to sound impressive bit.)

[RemusLupinFan]

I felt that the Quidditch in PS was one of the more impressive special effects sequences since the pod racing in Star Wars Episode 1. By todays standards it's horribly outdated but at least I thought it was nifty at the time :D

The problem with CGI and special effects is that they are outdated rather quickly (kind of like computers). New techniques and processes are discovered/employed all the time. Just look at any old movie that has "special effects"- it will look cheesy to us now because we are used to amazing digital renderings that look very life-like for the most part.

I think, ten years from now, many of the movies we believe have awesome CGI effects will seem outdated, simply because there's always something bigger and better waiting to be discovered.

[glugunkwen]

I think the effects of him actually transforming were great, but the appearance of the werewolf itself wasn't.

I completely agree with you! For some reason I pictured the werewolf as a really large wolf on all fours - not standing upright. I kept think of my little dog standing up on her hind legs reaching for a dog biscuit!

At first, I wasn't too impressed with the dementors - but the shots with their bloody, gaping open mouths freaked me out a bit.

I really loved the whomping willow - I thought the bird bits were hysterical, though I was one of only a few who laughed at it.

Buckbeak, as most agree, was perfect - just as I pictured in my head!

I also really loved the addition of more ghosts roaming everywhere, and loved that most of the pictures were moving. The scene where the fat lady's portrait is attacked was just great!

[UselessCharmMaster]

How can the same production produce a creature as realistically beautiful as Buckbeak and also a Werewolf that looks like a stick-insect? I do not know, but I know one thing, I was so disappointed with Lupin as a Werewolf, I came close to crying.


Stick-insect? :rotfl: Yeah. The thing I really don't understand is this poor beast. It's supposed to be very much like a wolf, right? The Marauders have during their OWLs a question about how to differenciate a werewolf from a wolf, it's taught as a DADA problem! Well, after seeing the Thing from the movie, I know the answer - if you are not blind, it's enough.

[dafyd]

Stick-insect? :rotfl: Yeah. The thing I really don't understand is this poor beast. It's supposed to be very much like a wolf, right? The Marauders have during their OWLs a question about how to differenciate a werewolf from a wolf, it's taught as a DADA problem! Well, after seeing the Thing from the movie, I know the answer - if you are not blind, it's enough.lol yeah!

i may be one of the only people in the world to think this, but when i first saw the movie i didn't think the werewolf was too bad.

the more i see it, though, the less convinced i am. having reread OotP and the scene you talk about, i know really dislike the werewolf!

[Vequihellin]

At the risk of adding another echo to and endless line of them: I WANT A HIPPOGRYFF!!!! Wow, Buckbeak was quality, every little thing about him was so believeable (except the Malfoy scene - that looked a little fake for obvious reasons). The werewolf disappointed me somewhat because, as has been said before, they are described in the books as being more wolf-like, and I think that he could have really benefited from more fur. If they can do individual barbs on the feathers of Buckbeak then they can do fur on a Werewolf. I kinda thought that the half-standing stance of the Werewolf was efficacious in demonstrating the fact that a werewolf is a tortured and transformed human being and so I think that I can live with that aspect but I think that he was far too naked to be realistic in any way and I always imagine that when a werewolf transforms, his robes would stay on and he'd rip them off but somehow or other Lupin seemed to skip that part and go from fully-clothed to naked in seconds. Hermione's fake werewolf howl was a little stupid and un-necessary but it did the job in a rather confused scene. I think, at the end of the day, that you can rationalise its effect on Lupin in that Werewolves respond to the calls of other werewolves and so perhaps it could be considered that Hermione's howl could quite conceivably have come from another wolf half-way through transformation. Speaking of transformation, I think that David Thewlis did an excellent job with the expression of Lupins' pain and suffering (in more ways than one) and it must have been very difficult to translate that all the way through a CGI transformation sequence.

I have one word for the Marauders map: WOW. It went above and beyond my wildest expectations and was completely believeable in every aspect with the moving footprints as an especially nice touch. Just as an aside, I thought David Thewlis did the scene with Harry about the betrayal of his parents sacrifice WAY better than I ever imagined but that is another discussion entirely.

The Fat lady: They kept Dawn French's role fairly quiet didn't they?? I thought she was great but since when has the portrait of the Fat lady been on a staircase? In the first two she was down a corridor and I think that it spoiled the continuity a little (as well as the fact that her dress wasn't even pink!). Speaking of portraits: the Giraffe was an excellent touch.

The Whomping Willow: Someone on page 1 said that the willow was transformed into a character in this film and I agree 100%, you get the feeling from the books that the Whomping Willow almost has a personality (I believe that somewhere or other in one of the books JKR actually writes about the willow shaking snow off, I'm sure of it but cannot remember which one) and that didn't really come across in CoS, although the strange and mysterious translocation of the Willow from near the wall in CoS to down a hill in PoA was interesting. I think someone is going to have to investigate the abnormal tectonic activity in that particular region! LOL Having said that though, its location in PoA was much more in keeping with how I imagine it when I read the book because it looked a lot more natural. Again I am going to echo others by saying that the Crookshanks scene cut was diappointing but as I very well know, owning two myself, it is next to impossible to get a cat to do anything you want it to do when you want it to do it! LOL

Veq.

[Prof Dippet]

I absolutely loved the way that thw whomping willow was given a personality - kinda like the grumpy old man of Hogwarts. The scenes with the willow and the bird were and excellent touch of black humour.

[themaster]

The werewolf in my opinion was alright, but what really was a let down was the Patronus charm. In the book it describes a fantastic stag charging at the dementors, whilst in the movie all it was was a bit of light which sort of grew from the wand, the stag just sat there. I really was expecting something better, more active i suppose, rather than the dull, motionless rays of light.

Anyways thats my 2 cents (or whatever you americans say)

[FreyaCrescent]

Yeah, I was kind of confused about the Patronus Charm. The stag didn't charge down the Dementors like I thought it would, it just formed and then.. the white light swirled around a bit. Ah well, can't have everything I guess.

Werewolf: I wasn't too disappointed with the werewolf. It looked a lot different than how I'd imagined, I was thinking along the lines of a normal wolf myself, since like people have said an OWL question was to differentiate between a normal wolf and a werewolf... I wonder if it was just to illustrate the whole "Man-Wolf" thing. I don't know.

Buckbeak: Amazing, really a fabulous bit of CGI. However, I wondered whether the long sweeping shots of Harry riding him across the lake and such were really necessary. That time could have been devoted to under-developed areas, e.g. The Shrieking Shack scene.

Marauder's Map: Wonderfully done, the footprints were a really lovely little touch. I didn't have a clear idea about what that looked like, but when I re-read PoA/GoF/OotP, I always think of that when Harry looks at the map.

Whomping Willow: A vast improvement. I always thought of it as more distanced from the school, rather than it being pretty close to it. The little scenes with it losing its leaves and the like were another nice idea, giving it a bit of personality.

[whizbang121]

^^Picko's absolutely right by the way. (on the whole trying to sound impressive bit.)

I'm impressed. Too easily, apparently. :rolleyes:
Now about this camera ...... see this button on the bottom?

[Nightswimmer]

I'm impressed. Too easily, apparently. :rolleyes:
Now about this camera ...... see this button on the bottom?

Button on the bottom? hmmm Could you explain ...?
:huh:

[Saol]

I think everything was really good.. but I have to say that after watching all of the LOTR's movies, you set "amazing" at a high standard. One of the only things that disappointed me was Lupin in wolf form. It could have been done much better, more realistically, and less cartoon-ish (unless that's the way werewolves really look like..). I don't know.. I thought it could have been better.. but like I said.. after seeing giant elephants in LOTR.. nothing can compete.

[Flobberworm]

Buckbeak was amazing. He looked exactly as I had imagined he would. The feathers, legs, craw in the water... everything was perfect! I do think the flying scene was a bit dragged out, though.

It reminded me of Titanic as well. But I liked Titanic. So I'm not complaining.That reminded me more of Tarzan. I half expected Dan to start beating his chest and yell :lol:.

Like almost everyone else has said, Lupin as the werewolf could have been a lot better. He stood too upright, and he could have probably used a bit more fur :shrug:. The transformation was nice, though.

The Marauder's Map was brilliant. I had always had trouble picturing how a huge map of the school would look like, but they did an wonderful job. The thousands of tiny footprints and the banner with the names on it were great! I also loved how the ink spread over the map when he went to use it.

The Monster Book of Monsters was hilarious! I loved how they made it seem like a real animal and sleep under the bed :D.

Has Aunt Marge been mentioned in this thread? That was great! One of my favorite parts was the buttons on her shirt popping off and hitting Dudley on the head :lol:.

[aragog]

I think a good indicator of how well special effects & CGI are in a film is by how much you notice them. When I saw PoA I wasn't thinking of Buckbeak, the dementors, Maurader's Map, etc, as anything but real beings and objects. The CGI was that convincing. With the object of good CGI being that you don't think about it, I'd say PoA did a fantastic job with the effects. There were a few moments during the movie where I stopped and thought, "oh, well there's some average looking CG.." -- namely, Hermione's little escapade with the Whomping Willow's branches and Lupin in wolf form. But they weren't as bad as the mountain troll in Movie 1.

One of my favourite bits was the scene by the lake, with all of the dementors swirling around and lifting Sirius' soul out of his body. It reminded me a lot of the Sentinels from The Matrix Revolutions as they are swarming the Dock. I felt that the dementors could have benefitted from a more "sinister" personality, but otherwise I was happy with the way they looked. Their cloaks looked great. One of the major concerns a lot of people had was that the dementors would seem too much like the Nazgûl from Lord of the Rings... so I'm glad the effects team on PoA were able to give them a more distinct look.

[Godrics_Heiress]

Quidditch: I think the whole Quidditch game/the scene was superb! If we go back and compare the Quidditch matches from the first two Harry Potter films, this one in PoA looked real. I don't know if the rain had something to do to enhance whatever special effects they needed to make the game look real, but it just didn't look faked at all, unlike the ones in SS and CoS.

Buckbeak: genuine! I was so worried then that they would brutalize Buckbeak, but the filmmakers did not disappoint. Buckbeak looked so real!

Whomping Willow: a huge improvement over the one in Chambers of Secret. Brilliant use of special effects for the tree. It's nice to see the filmmakers keeping that little tidbit of canon evidence about Lupin having control to command the WW to halt.

Werewolf: a bit of a letdown. I wasn't that impressed but I'm not one to complain.

Patronus: how difficult is it really to have a stag shoot from the wand and make it gallop around and chase away Dementors? Why make it stationary? I would have loved it and appreciated it even more had the effects people put the stag in action!

Dementors: the scene on the lake was amazing! I thought the Dementors would be a spitting image of the Ringwraiths, even when the PoA effects team try to come up with their own version of these dark characters. How wrong was I!

To sum it up: I can only hope that we see further improvements in Goblet of Fire. Wouldn't that be nice?

[Magi]

Button on the bottom? hmmm Could you explain ...?I think she was joking. ;)

As for using jargon to sound impressive...these are better: AO, DOF, HDRI, NURBS, raytracing, radiosity, photo-mapping, boning, IK, OSA, metaballs, hemilight..... on and on. :p (a secret prize to the one who can answer what they are!)

Back on topic:

One of the most impressive scnes I forgot to mention earlier is the Quidditch scene where Harry was trying to out-fly the dementors. They really got that *just right* I thought -- it looked cool, felt fast and thrilling, and the soundtrack was perfect too. Like dogfighting scenes from fighter-jet movies... but better. :tu:

The Monster Book of Monsters was very nice too. Vicious but very cute at the same time. :lol:

[Nightswimmer]

I think she was joking. ;)



Haaha, okay! I just want to know what kind of camera it is! hehe

[whizbang121]

fuji. It's one of those things that makes digital or video cassettes. Like everything around here, the kids know more about it than I do. I think the two year old shot a five minute short with it yesterday. Something about telletubbies attacking Port Royal.

[Rachelle]

I thought the special effects in this film were so much better than in the previous ones. And not just in appearance. I loved how there'd be a scene where something magical was happening, but it wasn't the center of attention, if that makes sense. Like how in the Leaky Cauldron the barstools would set themselves up, and the teapots floating in midair and serving people. In the first two movies, it seemed like every time something magical happened, it became the focus of the shot, and little sparklies popped out of it...well, maybe not really, but it seemed like it. In PoA the magic was more "realistic".

Another thing I loved about PoA was the paintings in Hogwarts. How beautiful! In the first two, it seemed like when they walked by the portraits only the ones they were right next to would move, and others kept stationary. It was so much more true to the books in PoA. Did anyone else notice Sir Cadogan riding Python-style through several pictures in the background when the Gryffindors first arrived at the Fat Lady?

Buckbeak...beautiful, of course. I think that they did a great job of catching the Hippogriff's actions as well. You could tell they studied the movements of birds and horses before animating him.

Ah...the werewolf. I really don't know what to think. At first, I was angry because it didn't look anything like it is described in the books. But then again, the movie isn't supposed to follow the book word-for-word. I thought the werewolf could have been more wolf-like, they could have made it more shaggy and given it a BUSHY FREAKIN' TAIL! (what was that on Lupin's rear end? Looked like a vestigial human-tail!) Although in the book he looked much more wolf-like, the point got across that he was a big, bad monster. So I guess the werewolf was okay.

Quidditch was fine. Although Harry flying halfway to Siberia during the match would have never happened in the real Hogwarts. Hehe. But the crazy dementors made up for it.

[Jillstar03]

Does anyone know, how they made Robbie Coltraine (Hagrid) look giant sized? Sometimes in CoS and PoA, when he is in the hut with Harry, Ron and Hermione, he looks "normal" sized, but most of the time he looks gigantic! :p

[Magi]

Crop, enlarge, composite; then repaint shadows by hand. All of that done frame by frame. Camera lense and angle tweaks can also help the illusion.

Just making educated guesses.

[Jedi Potter]

I know they used a Stand in for him in the first two films, but I think they did some Computer work with it too. About the special effects, overall I think they were excellent, Buckbeak was amazing one of the best CGI creatures ever, I say he rivals the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. The Willow was great and was better than COS. The Dementors were also very well done, I loved how they flew it made them better to me. Now the Werewolf, the CGI is good, maybe he is different that what people thought, I have to say the CGI is 100 times better than the Werewolf in Van Helsing, now that thing looked like a cartoon character.

[RyuKid]

The werewolf was just so dissapointing - I've seen better ones in bad 80s horror movies :(
I know it was bald! And way too skinny!
But I guess thats JK's view of how Lupin (as a werewolf) looks like
So who can really argue about that :(

[UselessCharmMaster]

I know it was bald! And way too skinny!
But I guess thats JK's view of how Lupin (as a werewolf) looks like
So who can really argue about that :(

JKR's view or Cuaron's view? :huh:
Or they just run out of werewolf fur these days. :p

[SnorkackCatcher]

I'm going to be largely unoriginal here - the special effects were generally good, but the werewolf was a disappointment, and its movement wasn't great. I didn't like the way the Dementors or the Patronus were portrayed either, but I suppose these are design criticisms, not special effects weaknesses as such.

One thing It don't think anyone mentioned, but that I remember thinking at the time looked really clunky, was the wolf-dog fight when Sirius takes on Lupin. Very jerky?

As for using jargon to sound impressive...these are better: AO, DOF, HDRI, NURBS, raytracing, radiosity, photo-mapping, boning, IK, OSA, metaballs, hemilight..... on and on. :p (a secret prize to the one who can answer what they are!)Well, I can remember some of the terms from the graphics theory and animation courses from when I was doing computer science at uni, but I can't remember the details. Maybe I should go back and look at my old notes. :)

[Drusilla]

Ok, here's my two Knuts

Werewolf: designed all wrong, why on earth was it practically a biped? The transformation effects were brilliant. though I suspect I wouldn't have thought so if it weren't for some brilliant acting in that scene by David Thewlis.

Buckbeak: bloody beautiful, and brilliant, especially in close-ups

Dementors: the creepiness was captured perfectly, I actually shivered when the hand wrapped around the door of the Trio's compartment to pull it back, and the soul-sucking was pretty well-done, too, and I have nothing but praise for the Dementor-related effects (water freezing, foxgloves withering away)- they were beautifully done.

Padfoot: Amazing again, and just as I pictured him. Huge, scary, threatening.

The Whomping Willow: Possibly my favourite special effect in the movie- it looked and acted lethal, and the whomping of the bluebird was a brilliant piece of black humour. But the most beautiful parts were the ones where they used it to show the changing of the seasons.

The Inflation of Aunt Marge: Brilliantly done, again, right from the part where her forefinger inflated to the end, with her floating away into a darkening evening sky.

The Patronus: The incorporeal Patronus looked fine, but I'm not quite sure how I feel about the final appearance of Prongs: it would've been nice to see it move.

[UselessCharmMaster]

The Whomping Willow: Possibly my favourite special effect in the movie- it looked and acted lethal, and the whomping of the bluebird was a brilliant piece of black humour. But the most beautiful parts were the ones where they used it to show the changing of the seasons.

Like shaking the snow... but I also found the smashing-birdies moments hysterical.

Drusilla, what on Earth happened to yur avatar? Fleas? :D

[Drusilla]

I liked the Boggart effects in the Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson,too, except for Parvati's snake, which looked like a jack-in-the-box gone wrong (though the jack-in-the-box she turned it into was pretty scary when Harry's turn came). Too obviously plastic, though I guess that was something I noticed on my fifth viewing so I shouldn't quibble.

And UselessCharmMaster- my avatar does not have fleas. How can he, I groom him every day! :rotfl:

[rachNZ]

As a person who is extremely picky about how CGI looks in films, I must say Buckbeak is among the best. He rivals Smeagol. In fact, I'd wager Buckbeak is just a wee bit more realistic.


As much of a HP fan i am i am always a LOTR fan first and i dont know how anyone can compare Buckbeat to Smeagol considering that the characters are totally different, sure the CGI of each was brilliant and they both look realistic but you can not compare a creature that looks like buckbeat to a creature that looks like gollum it just doesnt work. If you wanted to compare a HP character with golloum your best bet would be Dobby and the best one there is obvious.

I have to agree with others however that i was dissapointed with Moony, i saw PoA before i read the book and while i was reading i couldnt get the picture of Moony from the movie into my head, it just didnt fit, i just saw a rather large wolf.

I also think that the CGI used to create padfoot was bad also, the dog looked to 'un-dog like', not what i expected, in fact the only part about padfoot i found realistic in the movie was the scene with the footprints along the floor in the shack...... :huh:

[rjade829]

I also think that the CGI used to create padfoot was bad also, the dog looked to 'un-dog like', not what i expected, in fact the only part about padfoot i found realistic in the movie was the scene with the footprints along the floor in the shack...... :huh:

Hmm, I agree. I didn't like computerized-Padfoot at all. I always imagined Padfoot as a pretty normal-looking dog, much like a big black labrador. Maybe they just wanted something *scarier* looking. I dunno.

[rachNZ]

Hmm, I agree. I didn't like computerized-Padfoot at all. I always imagined Padfoot as a pretty normal-looking dog, much like a big black labrador. Maybe they just wanted something *scarier* looking. I dunno.

This makes me wonder what they will do for the next two movies where we see padfoot as a 'happier' dog (ie one not hell bent on revenge). I think they made a mistake in PoA to make padfoot look that 'scary', i dont think it would have been that hard to train a lab to do the part, that way it could be made to look ominous as well as friendly. I think its a bad idea to use technology when the real thing would obviously be a great deal more realistic.