Special Effects Lend Great Detail to "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"

Over the years we have told you about the special effects used in the Harry Potter movies, and today we have more as there is an excellent new feature online which details at length the many processes and effects used in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This lengthy and very in depth feature spotlights many of the sequences in the fifth Harry Potter film, noting on details such as Grawp ("A team of nine animators worked on the character animation, making continuity and consistency a high priority"), certain effects in the film such as Ginny's Reducto spell in the Ministry ("Dynamite was used to drive the collapse and break-up of the shelves, along with the animation of the spheres and stands that crash to the floor in a myriad of splintered shards"), and even pivotal scenes such as the encounter between Bellatrix and Sirius at the Veil ("Bellatrix’s wand attack on Sirius used fluid dynamics and displacement effects to create a uniquely aggressive version of the Avada Kedavara spell with its characteristic green cast. To emphasise the dreadful effect on Sirius, Gary Oldman’s skin colour was progressively drained over several shots leaving him pale and ashen, clouding was added to his eyes imparting a blank, dead look.")

A fair number of companies were involved in creating the many various special effects seen in "Order of the Phoenix," and while we at TLC have previously posted portions of this article before, such as the feature on Kreacher from Framestore CFC, this fnew article from fxguide details the fine and meticulous work done by other companies such as Double Negative, Rising Sun Pictures, MPC, and Framestore CFC. One company summarizes their involvement with the Harry Potter films, with the following excerpt from the article:

Over a period of 19 months Double Negative fielded a team of well over 250 artists, developers and technicians to deliver approximately 950 finished VFX shots for the film, a record for any one vendor in the history of the Harry Potter film series. "This was a unique opportunity for us to get involved at a very early stage on one of the largest visual effects projects in the world," comments Paul Franklin. "It was a privilege to work so closely with the Harry Potter production team and I believe that the outstanding work produced by our artists will help raise our profile to the highest possible level."

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)