Behind The Wand: Stories From The Harry Potter Films

This week RJ Mino returns for part 2. We continue our conversion on all things production but in this part, specifically the filming of the first film. He also goes into more details on the secret opening scene, plus many more untold stories.

This week RJ Mino joins me on the podcast to talk about all things production. This is the first part of a two-part episode. In the first part, myself and RJ discuss everything that goes into pre-production, from hiring the crew, making the script a reality and a secret scene that never made it into the books or films.

This week Flick dives into the Casting Department for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with Karen Lindsay-Stewart, Buffy Hall and Carolyn McLeod. They talk about everything casting from the beginning stages of finding the cast members, the challenges they face casting for a child heavy film to how the industry has changed in the past 20 years.

This week Chris Rankin joins me on the podcast. We reminisce about our time working on Harry Potter, from the fond memories of the Great Hall to the casting process.

This week Flick enters the wizarding world hair department with Lisa Tomblin, a Hair Designer who designed some iconic hairstyles for the films such as Narcissa Malfoy. She also dives into the challenges of keeping the hairstyles consistent across the entire film and a single scene.

This week Flick enters the wizarding world wardrobe with Laurent Guinci, a costume illustrator and wardrobe master, who worked on some of the most iconic costumes in the Harry Potter universe. He tells us all about creating the robes for the dementors to the challenges the costume department faced when filming underwater for the triwizard competition.

This week Flick talks with Andrew Williamson, a Concept Artist from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

This week, I spoke with Nick Pelham, a storyboard artist for the first five Harry Potter films. We talk about what it takes to be a storyboard artist, his favorite scene to draw and the most complex scenes.

This week, I spoke with Ellen Lister, who became Emma Watson's body double for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Order of the Pheonix and Deathly Hallow part 1 & 2. We talk about being a body double, her favourite scene to film, fond memories from the set, and more.

This week, I spoke with Gary Tomkins, Art Director for all eight Harry Potter films and the Fantastic Beasts franchise. We talk all about making Hogwarts Castle miniature from the secrets of the Castle you can only see close up to changing it each film. We also talked about his work set dressing and a model that took six months to make but six minutes to burn.

This week, I spoke with Pierre Bohanna, Prop Designer for all eight Harry Potter's and the Fantastic Beasts series. We talk about all his favorite props to make, working with the actors to create the wands and the process of creating the brooms.

Episode 7 - Eddy Joseph - Supervising Sound Editor - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone In this episode Flick talks with Eddy Joseph about all the different sounds he created for the film. Sounds such as the iconic Bludger chatter and Snitch flutter as well as the original cut of the chess game, which included sounds for individual pieces. Follow Flick Miles on Instagram and TikTok to keep u...

Episode 6 - Richard Francis-Bruce - Editor - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone In this episode Flick talks with Richard Francis-Bruce, a celebrated film editor who assembled all the scenes together creating the iconic first film. They talked about why the first time Harry, Ron, and Hermione met on the train took five months to film, and how closely he worked with Christopher Columbus and Jo...

Episode 5 - Sarah McKenna and Vanessa Walker - Chaperone’s for Rupert Grint and Flick Miles In this episode Flick talks with her mother Vanessa Walker and close friend Sarah McKenna about life on set as parent and professional chaperones. They discuss fun memories behind the scenes, what they did when the children were in school, and how to create a homey and ‘normal’ environment both at the studi...

Episode 4 - Martin Bayfield - Hagrid the Giant - all Harry Potter films In this episode Flick talks with Martin Bayfield about playing Robbie Coltrane's body and stunt double. They discuss working with Nick Dudman to create a mechanical head for Hagrid, and the reactions the younger cast members had to seeing Martin dressed as Hagrid for the first time.  Follow Flick Miles on Instagram and TikTok...

Episode 3 - Nick Dudman - Creature Effects Supervisor and Makeup Designer - all Harry Potter films In this episode Flick talks with Nick Dudman about all things creatures and makeup effects  throughout the Potter films. They discuss the whole process of turning Flick into a cat from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and other iconic characters such as the goblins, Hadgrid, and buckbeak.  Fo...

Episode 2 - John Seale - Director of Photography, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone In this episode Flick talks with John Seale, the man who brought the visuals of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to life. Flick and John discuss filming in the Great Hall with multiple cameras and real candles to create the feeling of fantasy through lighting and practical effects. Follow Flick Miles...

Episode 1 - Duncan Henderson - Executive producer, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone In this episode Flick talks with Duncan Henderson about the process of getting Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone greenlit, what an Executive Producer does, and incredible memories from the set. Ducan is also well known for producing Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and Tr...