Working with child actors on HBO's Harry Potter TV series is a "brutal" experience, the show's cinematographer has said, as the young stars have to spend most of their time off set, in school classes.
With only a limited amount of time available for filming each day, child actors such as the new Harry Potter actor Dominic MacLaughlin can only shoot so much material — forcing crew to squeeze in as much as possible when they are around.
It's a situation that veteran director of photography Adriano Goldman has discussed in detail with YouTuber Andre Pilli, where he revealed that McLaughlin and co. could only be on set for about "an hour and a half" each day.
"You have to shoot really fast, and the faster you go, the more you compromise quality," Goldman said of having to rush to make the most of the young actors' limited time. "There's no way around it, right? Obviously, we have a lot of resources, but it's brutal."
"The kids screen time is really brutal," Goldman continued, noting that he was tasked with working up to "six setups" during a daily filming stint.
"So the methodology is very specific," he added. "You practically have to pre-shoot all the scenes while they're in class. It's really hard; you shoot everything out of order, because of that kind of scheduling. So the process is really complicated, but I've done one now."
Last year, it was reported that HBO's enormous Harry Potter production would include the construction of a temporary school within the series' base at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, which could house as many as 600 pupils. Cast members have used the site to attend classes alongside filming duties, with around 150 children attending daily lessons, and space for up to quadruple this amount at peak periods.
The need to juggle filming with school time was also a consideration for the stars of the previous Harry Potter films — but the creation of a temporary school goes further, and speaks to the enormous size of the TV show's production, which is due to feature a cast of hundreds and last for the next decade.
The school is believed to be open from 5.30am each morning until 8.30pm, in order to fit studies around day and night filming. According to planning application documents seen by the BBC, the school will be in place "for the next 8-10 years" but be dismantled afterwards.
Could the series just take longer to shoot each season? Unfortunately, HBO would likely argue it does not have that luxury. Already, fans believe that the series' pace (which won't see a new season every year) will likely mean that the show is on air into the early 2040s, and HBO will almost certainly be wary of allowing its young stars to age too far beyond their on-screen characters. Time, therefore, is of the essence.
Goldman previously served as director of photography on the second season of Disney+ hit Andor, as well as 28 episodes of Netflix drama The Crown. Goldman will next head back on set for Harry Potter's second season of episodes, which begin filming later this year. HBO is set to premiere the first season this Christmas.
Image credit: Warner Bros. / HBO
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
