Wand Week Casts a Spell on Warner Bros. Studio Tour London

by · April 7, 2014

By popular demand, Wand Week will return to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter this May, and visitors will be invited to delve into the world of wandmaking and wizarding duels.

From Friday, May 23, to Monday, June 2, visitors will discover firsthand how dueling scenes were developed and the incredible amount of planning that went into each wand movement. They’ll get the chance to duel with a Death Eater after learning wand battle choreography with an interactive experience created by expert Paul Harris. Paul composed the battle scene between Dumbledore and Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and is the world’s only wand combat choreographer.

Those exploring Diagon Alley will be able to see a special effects demonstration created by BAFTA-winning special effects supervisor John Richardson. By pointing a wand, visitors will be able to cast a spell that will make the sign above Potage’s Cauldron Shop bang and flash as if by magic.

Original molds, concept art, and wand designs will be displayed in the attraction, and members of head prop maker Pierre Bohanna’s team will showcase some of the techniques they used to hand-carve wands for the Harry Potter film series.
The iconic dueling table, as seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, will also be on display in the iconic Great Hall set.

Spellbinding secrets:

  • In the first and second films, the wands looked quite plain. This was drastically changed in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when the wands were given distinctive shapes and carvings, reflecting the owners’ personalities. For example, the wand of Professor Slughorn is inlaid with silver slug trails and has a slug-shaped handle.
  • Prop makers designed a series of wand holsters for the Death Eaters that would attach around their waists for easy access. The Death Eater wands were also more showy and aesthetic than the other characters’ – to match their extravagant masks that are made of filigreed silver.
  • More than 3,000 wands were produced for the Harry Potter film series, including the elaborate wand that was created for Professor Dumbledore before the props team discovered its importance as the Elder Wand.

Tickets must be prebooked, and all extra activities are included in the ticket price. To purchase tickets, be sure to head over to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter website.