This past week I went on some lovely tours and saw some fantastic works of art! The first exhibit I went to was the Dressed by Angels Costume exhibit, which featured over 175 costumes from TV, film, and stage.
The exhibit was really cool and I thankfully could take pictures of every costume! Some of the costumes I recognized and some I didn’t but they were still very beautiful and detailed up close. Each room had it’s own soundtrack that fit with the time period of the costumes or the TV themes/movie soundtracks that the costumes were from. Some of my favorite costumes included:
The exhibit was really cool and I thankfully could take pictures of every costume! Some of the costumes I recognized and some I didn’t but they were still very beautiful and detailed up close. Each room had it’s own soundtrack that fit with the time period of the costumes or the TV themes/movie soundtracks that the costumes were from. Some of my favorite costumes included:
I made note of most of the films/movies/productions that the costumes were from but I missed a few so sorry that not all of them are labeled. Pictures are in the November Gallery.
The other big tour I went on this week was the Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour! It was a tour of the actual studios that Harry Potter was filmed in and included many of the sets/props/costumes/wigs and movie magic secrets used in the films. I went on the tour with a couple other friends and when we got there, they had decked out the studio in full-fledged Christmas décor! This meant that many of the sets would be dressed for the holidays. We were ushered into a large theatre where we watched a short clip of the stars of Harry Potter welcoming us to the Studio. The clip ended with a shot of the entrance doors to the great Hall of Hogwarts and then the screen rose up to reveal the actual doors into the Great Hall!!! So…magical!
The other big tour I went on this week was the Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour! It was a tour of the actual studios that Harry Potter was filmed in and included many of the sets/props/costumes/wigs and movie magic secrets used in the films. I went on the tour with a couple other friends and when we got there, they had decked out the studio in full-fledged Christmas décor! This meant that many of the sets would be dressed for the holidays. We were ushered into a large theatre where we watched a short clip of the stars of Harry Potter welcoming us to the Studio. The clip ended with a shot of the entrance doors to the great Hall of Hogwarts and then the screen rose up to reveal the actual doors into the Great Hall!!! So…magical!
We began our tour in the Great Hall, which was fully Christmas-ified and complete with costumes of many of the main characters. I won’t be able to describe every detail of the tour because I’m sure the photos will cover enough of it, but I’ll just share some of the highlights.
I loved seeing all the costumes and wigs for the different characters. Some of my favorite sets were the potions room and the Weasley’s home, the Burrow. Both of these sets, like all the others, were so detailed! The potions books contained actual text and recipes for potions and there were jars upon jars of different ingredients lining the walls. The cauldrons were even magically stirring themselves.
I loved seeing all the costumes and wigs for the different characters. Some of my favorite sets were the potions room and the Weasley’s home, the Burrow. Both of these sets, like all the others, were so detailed! The potions books contained actual text and recipes for potions and there were jars upon jars of different ingredients lining the walls. The cauldrons were even magically stirring themselves.
The burrow was everything I think of in my home! So comfy and warm looking with lots of colors and lots of stuff! My favorite part were the self knitting knitting needles, self scrubbing pan, and self chopping knife. Really cool to see the props moving before your eyes and fun to realize that they weren’t computer generated but actually just some good old theatre magic.
Another really cool set was Diagon Alley. I was so impressed by the detail. I see the details in the films and hear about the amount of time and work that goes into it, but I never fully understand grasp those things until I see it up close. Each shop had elaborate window displays with original artwork hand made props. That was the set where I felt most transported.
The tour ended with a very festive treat: seeing the large model of Hogwarts used for Landscape shots all covered in snow for Christmastime. So gorgeous! The Harry Potter theme was swelling through the sound system the whole time I was in the room and it created such a magical atmosphere and an appreciation for all the hard work put into the films. Before entering the gift shop, where I of course got some iconic HP candy including a massive chocolate frog, we entered a room that had hundreds of wand boxes stacked on the shelves. Apparently, all the crew members were presented with a wand of their own at the end of the film and all the boxes were labeled and displayed there to show how many people were involved in the films. Many more pictures, seriously, in the November Gallery.
Top British Oddities/facts this week… (we must be getting to the end of my time here because I’m running out of things!)
Thank you!
- The Northern Line on the Tube (the line I take to my flat) is nicknamed the Misery Line…you can guess why.
- Our yellow mustard in the states is referred to as American Mustard here and British mustard (their normal mustard) is like our spicy Dijon mustard.
- Brits say “X, Y, and Zed” as opposed to “X, Y, and Z”. SO far I have always heard “z” referred to as “Zed”.
Thank you!