Tim Burke talks the 30 Minute Battle of Hogwarts

jonny7003

http://filmonic.com/visual-effects-supervisor-tim-burke-on-the-battle-of-hogwarts

"One of the main challenges for director David Yates on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, other than creating an emotionally satisfying conclusion to the largest franchise in movie history, is to destroy a castle. This won’t be simple demolition job. It will occur during The Battle of Hogwarts which sees the Dark Lord, his Death Eaters, Giants, and Spiders descending upon Hogwarts.

We’ve seen the exterior of Hogwarts in every Harry Potter film to date, usually during scenic transition shots, however for the finale the special effects team have spent 2 years creating Hogwarts digitally in order to destroy it on-screen.

In a new interview with Film & Video (via SnitchSeeker) visual effects supervisor Tim Burke (who was nominated for an Oscar this year for his work on Part I) spoke about his work on the film.

For Part 2, we’ve done away with Hogwarts. It was such a major job to stage the battle of Hogwarts, and we had to do it in different stages of production. We had shots with complex linking camera moves from wide overviews, to flying into windows and interior spaces. So we took the plunge at the end of 2008 and started rebuilding the school digitally with Double Negative.

It’s taken two years – getting renders out, texturing every facet of the building, constructing interiors to see through windows, building a destruction version of the school. We can design shots with the knowledge that we have this brilliant digital miniature that we can do anything with. With a practical Hogwarts, we would have shot it last summer and been so tied down. Instead, as David Yates finds the flow and structure, we are able to handle new concepts and ideas.

(Double Negative is the visual effects company responsible for the ‘bending street’ scene in Inception, as well as other stuff in Iron Man 2, 2012 and Kick-Ass).

Producer David Heyman has said The Battle of Hogwarts will last 30 minutes long and they have beefed up the final Harry vs. Voldemort battle, so we can expect a finale of epic proportions."

Kranen

30 minutes.

No, I dont like it. Not long enough. The movie will only be like an hour!

Lord Stafford

30 minutes.

No, I dont like it. Not long enough. The movie will only be like an hour!

True, it will likely be in any case, the shortest HP film yet, but even shorter than OOTP judging by this... :-S

Lord Stafford.

UniversHarryPotter.c

30min wil be enought refer to SdA 1 hour it will be too much

F&V: Can you tell us anything about Part 2?

It should be pretty cool. I think it’s going to be a roller-coaster ride. There’s an incredible pace to it. The audience won’t be able to take a breath. I hope it will be spectacular, as exciting as everyone expects. That’s all I can say for now.

Lord Stafford

Kranen and i weren't refering to how good it will be (i'm sure i will be great, by the way) we were actually talking about how long it will be, because... now, given that this is the longest part of the book (i mean for Part 2's bit of the story) and only is going to be 30 minutes, this gives us the indication of the film not being much longer than 1 hour 30 minutes!

P.S 2,700TH COMMENT!!

Lord Stafford.

Lord Stafford

Lord Stafford, you're an idiot, lol. Heyman already said neither part would be less then 2 hours. I assure you there will be another hour or so once they return to Hogwarts that takes place in addition to the 30 minute battle. Even if it is only 2 hours though, that'd be fine.

You clearly haven't noticed that my previous comment was posted before your's, have you? Lol, but anyway... i'm not an idiot, i only seem/appear to be, the film itself simply has to be over 120 minutes, it would be a sham and a waste to only have this much, since 2 films does allow for a longer, drawn out spectacle, not just an excuse to make both of them barely over the 2 hour mark, because in that case New Line would have just made 3 1 hour 30 minute LOTR films! (Part 1 was 2 hours and 9 minutes of footage, and stupidly 17 minutes of credits)

Lord Stafford.

Lord Stafford

Well you and Kranen are both dumb for suggesting it'll be any less then 2 hours, let's leave it at that...

So, according to you 1/3 of the book doesn't have any chance of doing that, even though 2/3 of the book barely gets over that mark, anyway?

Lord Stafford.

blackvenom

LC is right. They're not talking about the evacuation/set-up/Fiendfyre/Chamber of Secrets/Snape's death/Prince's Tale/Forest Again/King Cross sequences. They're talking about the pure battling at Hogwarts. They may not even talk about Harry VS Voldemort. From what it seems, probably they don't. They're just talking about the grand battles, destruction of Hogwarts etc. 30 minutes is more than enough if you ask me.
Why would they even consider the Forest and Pensieve scenes parts of the battle? :P

Lord Stafford

Well the forest and pensive scenes will probs be altogether no more than 20 minutes...

Lord Stafford.

Lord Stafford

http://www.cosforums.com/showpost.php?p=5470367&postcount=2036

He said that, but... so did Yates, and yet we still got a 2 hour 9 minute Part 1 of DH film and we probs will again.

Lord Stafford.

Lord Stafford

11 minutes for this, isn't enough.

Lord Stafford.

Lord Stafford

Oh, and that sequence in Children of Men is so intense it FEELS much longer, that's the point...


LCbaseball22

Harry Potter has never had a very good action sequence at all, so if you're saying that they could have a short but good one, then i'd say that you're wrong...

Lord Stafford.

Lord Stafford

It all depends on how it's filmed. Like I didn't care much for the 7 Potters sequence, but that just felt rushed. It could have been done differently in about the same amount of time and had a completely different feel to it...

True, true... but this is no time, now that we're right at the very end for them to fuck it all up (i'm sure they won't, but still) they have the budget, they have the actors, so now it the time for no excuses, just an all out battle will do me fine!

Lord Stafford.

blackvenom

LC I watch a lot of films, as well so I think I know what you're talking about. It's true that the battle scenes in LotR, while impressive and epic visually, were repetitive and slightly boring. I agree that Children of Men is a great example of creating unique action scenes that have a huge impact on the viewer.

I think that DH2 should have longer action sequences and they should be around 30 minutes but the approach should be very artistic, something similar to HBP's beautiful painting-like Hogwarts in the film's climax, with a similar to Lord of the Rings 'grand scale' approach. But not anything overwhelming or too long. I think that the fact that each part of the battle-pure Hogwarts battle, not Fiendfyre etc.-will be 15-20 minutes long, then it'll make both parts of it quite exciting and impressive. Thank god we'll have this rather big middle section with Snape's death, Prince's Tale, Harry's sacrifice and the talk with Dumbledore which will slow things down a bit so that the second half of the battle won't feel boring at all.

blackvenom

About Sky Battle in Pt1: I loved the part with Harry VS Voldemort, but the city chase felt a bit rushed. Still, it is one of the most exciting scenes in the series.

Lord Stafford

About Sky Battle in Pt1: I loved the part with Harry VS Voldemort, but the city chase felt a bit rushed. Still, it is one of the most exciting scenes in the series.

I think you're a little bit confused, it was more the other way round that felt rushed...

Lord Stafford.

Phoenix007

Thirty minutes is just an estimation,+ can't wait to see castle

Richard

woah i got goosebumps.

30 min is ok if its just battling.

GinaC

Yes, 30 minutes is plenty if it's all throwing spells and destruction. I can only take so much of that. Make it about the substantial stuff! And I just don't get the feeling they're going to cheat us.

I absolutely ADORE Lord of the Rings, but PJ loved his battles, and those were the parts that dragged for me. As you can imagine, The Two Towers was my least favorite because Helm's Deep just went too long. I just don't see that Harry Potter needs to go for that; that's not what it's all about. But plenty will be there; we can tell from the pictures and footage we've seen so far.

Bane

The battle being 30 minutes doesn't indicate the overall length of the film.

I swear I read the dumbest shit on this forum.

Carne

Yates is pretty terrible at handling battle scenes(which is probably why you'll miss them if you sneeze), so I'm not quite sure how he will handle this

XDMorsmordreXD

If the movie is going to be between 2 Hours and 20 or 30 minutes then what are we supposed to have 2 hours of!

Richard

If the movie is going to be between 2 Hours and 20 or 30 minutes then what are we supposed to have 2 hours of!

shell cottage + gringotts = 30 min
hogsmeade = ROR convo = 15 min
Battle of Hogwarts = 30 min
ROR = 5 min
Visions = 5 min
Snapes death = 5 min
Princes tale = 10 min
Forest again = 5 min
Dumbeldore convo = 5 min
More Battle = Voldy VS harry = 20 min
Ending + Epilogue = 10 min

Add it all and we have a 2 Hr 30 min film.

SwedishSkinJer

Yates is pretty terrible at handling battle scenes(which is probably why you'll miss them if you sneeze), so I'm not quite sure how he will handle this

I disagree with that. Dumbledore vs Voldemort, while rushed, was beautifully filmed in how it incorporated the four elements and felt very kinetic. If you're talking about large-scale battles, then I agree to an extent, but so far he hasn't directed a large-scale battle beyond the Battle at the Department of Mysteries, which definitely had its moments. The Battle of Hogwarts is not Battle of Helms Deep-esque, so it plays to what IMO are the strengths of Yates: character-driven action.

Wolf_Potter

Guys, the Official Facebook Page of Harry Potter (in Latin America) said the Trailer come out on march!

Lord Stafford

Guys, the Official Facebook Page of Harry Potter (in Latin America) said the Trailer come out next march!

Lol, next march? I sure hope not!

Lord Stafford.

dobby_freak19

Im just wondering, whether it reffers only to the battle itself. the first part i mean, no the princes tale, and the forrest again, and the second part of the battle?? because if these last 3 are also included ten everything will be rushed!! :S

Lord Stafford

Yates is pretty terrible at handling battle scenes(which is probably why you'll miss them if you sneeze), so I'm not quite sure how he will handle this

I disagree with that. Dumbledore vs Voldemort, while rushed, was beautifully filmed in how it incorporated the four elements and felt very kinetic. If you're talking about large-scale battles, then I agree to an extent, but so far he hasn't directed a large-scale battle beyond the Battle at the Department of Mysteries, which definitely had its moments. The Battle of Hogwarts is not Battle of Helms Deep-esque, so it plays to what IMO are the strengths of Yates: character-driven action.

We need both for this one, that is to say... no excuses this time!

Lord Stafford.

Richard

March 9 PLEASE!

dobby_freak19

The battle is 30 minutes without all the running around for Horcruxes and stuff. We will see 30 minutes of battle footage PLUS running around and stuff.

well then thats not so bad at all!! I mean yates 2 minutes or lesss action scenes are breathtaking and suficient to shine in the movies, so think about a complete 30 minutes of yates action scenes!! wooow and thats just the battle!

Bane

Frankly we don't know how well Yates can handle action. The focus has been on the storytelling anyway and despite the battling I imagine the focus will remain on the storytelling. Can't just have mindless action, that's not what Harry Potter is. If Warner Bros. felt that Yates couldn't handle action and battles they would have gotten a different director.

Lord Stafford

As long as this is the truth, then i am very happy... and if not, then i'm mega pissed off again!

Lord Stafford.

Lord Stafford

Frankly we don't know how well Yates can handle action. The focus has been on the storytelling anyway and despite the battling I imagine the focus will remain on the storytelling. Can't just have mindless action, that's not what Harry Potter is. If Warner Bros. felt that Yates couldn't handle action and battles they would have gotten a different director.

To put it simply, he does need to improve from OOTP.

Plus, even though i want as much as possible of the action... i've got to admit that it looks quite stupid waving wands about constantly, particularly considering its usually a duel or just flying through the air, having been hitten, of course!

Lord Stafford.

Bane

And honestly, Yates' chance to shine with action was killed by Warner Bros. when they decided to ax up Order of the Phoenix. After that, there hasn't been much action-- the sky battle in Part 1 was kind of short but it involved tons of stunt work and shooting on a freeway in a tunnel-- I thought it looked great and flowed well. Short, but effective IMO. High octane action that involves flying is always incredibly difficult to pull off and get to looking great, so I think it's impressive that they did what they did with that.

dobby_freak19

Frankly we don't know how well Yates can handle action. The focus has been on the storytelling anyway and despite the battling I imagine the focus will remain on the storytelling. Can't just have mindless action, that's not what Harry Potter is. If Warner Bros. felt that Yates couldn't handle action and battles they would have gotten a different director.

I disagree, well, at least in the action part. I think yates action scenes are so cool. I actullay hate/love his action scenes. Love because they are too daamng good and hate because they are too short And i know yates can handle the action, because those action scenes are so artistic at the same time, im talking about the shots, the camera angles, the cinematography, the FX and the sound effects.
And about the characeters, im not worried at all!
his movies have always been about the characters and in a deee very deep level so that´s awesome for what DH is about.

Lord Stafford

The only problematic thing is that neither Yates or Kloves like action sequence, now, this doesn't really bode well for us and the film itself, does it?!

Lord Stafford.

Bane

I agree, that's what I was trying to say. The Harry Potter books/movies were never really heavy on action. Goblet was due to its nature, Phoenix had a great fight at the end, there was a brief skirmish in Prince, and the battle in Hallows, which we have yet to see.

And like I said, Yates' chance to show us how well he can stage action was destroyed when they cut the 40 minutes out of Phoenix.

Bane

Staff, it's not that they don't like action, it's just that they actually understand that the action shouldn't be the focus. There will be action but the focus is on Harry. And since Harry doesn't really enter the action until after he's resurrected, and since the stories are told largely through Harry's POV, there's not really much reason to just have the camera showing us a bunch of random fighting. The narrative is what's important. The battle is the background.

Bane

The only real important part of the battle is when Harry comes back, Bellatrix is dealt with, and then Harry deals with Voldemort. That's the key part of the action.

Lord Stafford

Staff, it's not that they don't like action, it's just that they actually understand that the action shouldn't be the focus. There will be action but the focus is on Harry. And since Harry doesn't really enter the action until after he's resurrected, and since the stories are told largely through Harry's POV, there's not really much reason to just have the camera showing us a bunch of random fighting. The narrative is what's important. The battle is the background.

That wasn't just me talking the talk, darth... this i heard from a quote from one of themselves, i'm sorry i can't find it for you, though!

Lord Stafford.

dobby_freak19

yeah I only hope he delivers. and im just saying id like good action, but of course thats not the most important part i want, IS THE EMOTIONAL SCALE for all things ending, and in that, like i stated, am confident in yates, thats his strong part definitely. and i think ill cry

Jason

We will still have fight scenes without Harry as the focus in them, like Neville vs. Scabior, and Nagini vs. Ron & Hermione. I'm sure during the 1st part of the battle, we will switch between Harry running around the castle(or the trio), to the student/teachers/order fighting in the battle.

XDMorsmordreXD

As long as we have at least one LOTR-esque charge, I'll be happy. Well..you can't really compare LOTR beacuse in LOTR the battles are medevil. Plus, the books are not as epic at all.

Festax0333

I swear I read the dumbest shit on this forum.

Yes, and you should look in the mirror because the majority of it is coming from YOUR ass!

[-X lol

Nick

ok seriously we all need to calm down from what we have already seen in behind the scenes of the battle of hogwarts in ABC family,s first look i think it will be pretty amazing. 30 minutes is just the perfect amount of time IMO. Its gonna be amazing. the filmmakers have spent 2 years staging the battle so its not like there just throwing things at a wall to see what sticks. its been carefully planned out and it will be very well executed. the battle will be awesome!!! dont worry be happy.

Jason

For once nich has something to say that I agree with, lol. I admit I haven't been too impressed with the action over the course of the series, what with cutting so much out of the MoM Battle in OotP, cutting the skirmish from HBP almost entirely, and rushing most of Part 1's action...so I do hope the Battle of Hogwarts makes up for all of this. However I also don't want it to over-extend it's welcome like Helm's Deep. Like Gina, Two Towers is my least favorite LotR film for that reason. I'm not the biggest fan of action, but when it's done well it can be exhilarating. I question whether 30 minutes is too much but there is a lot more variety to Potter then LotR. The concept of spells (particularly transfiguration, which I'd love to see more of ) alone allows for this. In LotR spells it was just clashing of swords mainly. All the wizards did was wave their staffs around and throw people against walls and shit, lol. Then again, the Potter films have somewhat fallen into this as well with many spells having the same effect- knocking people on their ass. Hopefully we'll see a lot more variety of charms and curses this time...

I'm sure will see variety with the spells. Like in Part 1, when Harry and Hermione attack the Horcrux locket with spells, each one had a different effect.

GodricGryffindor

Everything will be AMAZING.
I'm not worried at all.


G.G.

Nick

For once nich has something to say that I agree with, lol. I admit I haven't been too impressed with the action over the course of the series, what with cutting so much out of the MoM Battle in OotP, cutting the skirmish from HBP almost entirely, and rushing most of Part 1's action...so I do hope the Battle of Hogwarts makes up for all of this. However I also don't want it to over-extend it's welcome like Helm's Deep. Like Gina, Two Towers is my least favorite LotR film for that reason. I'm not the biggest fan of action, but when it's done well it can be exhilarating. I question whether 30 minutes is too much but there is a lot more variety to Potter then LotR. The concept of spells (particularly transfiguration, which I'd love to see more of ) alone allows for this. In LotR spells it was just clashing of swords mainly. All the wizards did was wave their staffs around and throw people against walls and shit, lol. Then again, the Potter films have somewhat fallen into this as well with many spells having the same effect- knocking people on their ass. Hopefully we'll see a lot more variety of charms and curses this time...

thanks LC. im attemting to mend my image on here by actually thinking about the things i say and not just posting ramblings and negativite remarks. i know ive been a real ass in the past but yea im trying to change that. what im wondering is since its been stated there are 2 parts to the battle which part will be the 30 minute one? and will it be intercut with the search for the Horcruxes and the Fiendeye in the Room Of Requirement or will it be just pure battling? Im hoping its the fornmer as just having 30 minutes of people waving wands around wound get tiring very fast.

[Deleted User]

Everything will be AMAZING.
I'm not worried at all.


G.G.

I'm starting to feel that way myself. I think it's going to be fantastic!

Bane

I swear I read the dumbest shit on this forum.

Yes, and you should look in the mirror because the majority of it is coming from YOUR ass!

I'm not the one complaining about the movie being 1.5 hours based on an interview that said that the battle is 30 minutes.

Just sayin'

Festax0333

Itl be amazing
I'm with Maurice
Melyssa and all the other sane people