A comprehensive, full-color compendium of the key characters in all eight of the Harry Potter films, filled with never-before-seen photographs and illustrations, covering the costumes, makeup, weaponry, and behind-the-scenes story that brought each personality memorably to life on the big screen.
Harry Potter: The Character Vault offers fans a deeper look at the creative development of the characters introduced in the books and brought to life in the theatrical series. Jody Revenson brings you closer to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the students and faculty at Hogwarts, the bureaucrats at the Ministry of Magic, the Triwizard Tournament competitors, the wizarding world families, and the dark forces against them.
Each profile in the book includes design sketches and unit photography showcasing the costumes of each character, along with an image of his or her wand, and other iconic props specific to the characters—brooms, Harry’s invisibility cloak, Mad-Eye Moody’s eye and prosthetic leg, and more. Discover how Quidditch gear and Hogwarts’ robes subtly changed as the characters grew up, discover the fashion and artistry behind the Weasley style, the Yule Ball dresses and robes, Slug Club party wear, and Death Eater masks and costumes.
Interweaving interviews with the special effects experts, costume designers, makeup artists and the cast, Jody Revenson shows fans how the magic happens, revealing the unique filming techniques used to change particular characters’ sizes, such as a giant Hagrid and Madame Maxime, as well as special makeup processes that created the look of Harry’s Stinging Hex and Peter Pettigrew’s rat-like visage. Featured throughout are intriguing profiles of the special makeup effects artists who share the most memorable effects they’ve used to transform ordinary actors into their extraordinary fictional counterparts.
Harry Potter: The Character Vault is your exclusive all-access pass into the creative process of the largest film franchise of all time, and comes complete with two exclusive removable features.
Being obsessed with Harry Potter there's almost nothing new you could tell me but (apart from the amazing concept art and behind-the-scenes photos) there was some interesting, new information in this book:
— Emma Watson admitted that she felt the pressure in earlier interviews to deny that she was like Hermione (which I observed watching said interviews) because the interviewers labeled Hermione as a know-it-all and geek. In retrospect Emma totally sees her similarities with Hermione
— Matthew Lewis had to wear a fat suit to play Neville Longbottom
— After getting the role James and Oliver Phelbs weren't told who had to play Fred and who George and they had the feeling that on their first day of testing the characters were just randomly assigned to them (LOL)
— The second actor who played Hagrid (just for size matters) actually played the 50 years younger version of him
— Madam Hooch's referee outfit looks amazing (I have to pay attention to it the next time I watch Philosopher Stone)
— Rita Skeeter's outfits in Goblet of Fire represent each task of the Triwizard Tournament (reptile skin for the first task, blue aqua prints for the second task etc.)
— Fiona Shaw had to stick dead mice to her outfits so that the owls didn't get distracted, and didn't stop to look at her
— The embroideries on Xenophilius' outfit were made by Luna and are actually dirigible plums, her lion hat, the Durmstrang ship etc.
— Narcissa has blonde (white) and black hair to represent the Blacks and the Malfoys
Definitely enjoyed this one, but I didn't feel like it offered too much in the way of new information. I have read quite a few of these behind the scenes HP books now and so I think some of the information from the others has seeped into this one too, but with that said it's still a very informative and interesting read. I think I would have liked to see a bit more of the concept character design artwork, but overall it was a solid read and certainly covered nearly all the important characters at least. 3*s from me.
I loved going through this book, taking my time and enjoying my time with some of the characters I loved and hated, and a few I'd forgotten, who were in the Potter movies and books.
The book is beautifully illustrated with a lot of behind-the-scenes looks at what it took to create the characters who were a part of the magical wizarding world.
It not only tells you how the character was developed in the book and for the movies, it also includes production sketches of costumes from the designers who created them and brought them to life. It's not an easy task as you can imagine, but they are a talented group who succeeded in matching the outer appearance of each character to the person or creature they portrayed.
I highly recommend this book for all Potter fans. I will be going back to it again and again.
finished "Harry Potter: the Character Vault" by Jody Revenson a few days ago and looooved it :) the pics are just eye candy :) but honestly for me it wasn't as informative as "the Creauture Vault" and "Magical Places" :( I'd rather liked some more background information about the characters itself than only about their make up and costumes :) Anyway I highly recommend this beautiful book to every Potterhead :)
De estos libros "especiales" de Harry Potter creo que es el que menos he disfrutado. Me ha gustado, pero siento que se ha centrado demasiado en por qué le ponen cierta ropa a los personajes y la verdad que cuando llevas unos cuantos se hace un poco abrumador. Sin embargo, las ilustraciones y en fin, toda la información extra sobre las películas siempre es bienvenida.
Another excellent book from the Harry Poter vault collection. It arrived in perfect condition. Indispensable for the true fans of the Harry Potter movie saga and to know a little bit more about the fabulous characters created by J.K. Rowling for this eternal magical world
As a total Potterhead I have an ever growing collection of Harry Potter books and other related merchandise. Slap a HP logo on anything and you're pretty much guaranteeing a large number of fans will throw their money at you but we all know some items are worth more than others. The Character Vault is a lovely hardback that is packed full of photos from the movies and fun facts and information about all the main characters. Is the kind of book you can pick up and flick through again and again and will always spot something new on each read.
The book is split into 9 different sections:
Chapter 1: Hogwarts students - Has multipage spreads for Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Fred & George, Ginny, Draco and Luna.
Chapter 2: Hogwarts staff - This is the largest chapter and profiles Dumbledore, Hagrid, Filch, Pomfrey, Hooch, McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, Snape, Quirrell, Lockheart, Lupin, Moody, Umbridge, Slughorn and the Hogwarts Ghosts.
Chapter 3: Student Robes & Quidditch Sportswear - an in depth look at the school uniforms.
Chapter 4: The Triwizard Tournament - Information about the Hogwarts Champions Harry and Cedrick along with sections on Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and reporter Rita Skeeter.
Chapter 5: Celebrations - Looks at costumes created for the Yule Ball and Professor Slughorn's Christmas Party.
Chapter 6: The Order of the Phoenix - Profiles on the Order of the Phoenix members not mentioned elsewhere - James, Lily, Sirius, Nymphadora and Kingsley.
Chapter 7: Dark Forces - Profiles on Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew, Bellatrix and the Death Eaters including a neat little additional booklet with pictures of some of the Death Eater masks.
Chapter 8: Ministry of Magic - General information about Ministry uniforms along with profiles of Cornelius Fudge and Rufus Scrimgeour.
Chapter 9: Families - Sections on the Dursleys, Xenophilius Lovegood, the Malfoys and the Weasleys.
Epilogue: Nineteen Years Later - a quick section about ageing the characters for the final scene as they watch their kids go off to Hogwarts.
Also included in an envelope attached at the back of the book is two posters, one featuring characters from the Order of the Phoenix and the other featuring Death Eaters.
This is a lovely addition to any Potterhead's collection but I'll warn you now, flicking through this book is almost guaranteed to make you want to watch the movies again!
Incredibly beautiful collection of guides to all characters. I adored reading about how the wardrobes were so carefully designed, and which characters had fake teeth, prosthetics, and fat suits! I will cherish these beautiful books along with the novels and they have a gorgeous place on my Harry Potter shelf.
Siskolla on tapana lainailla kirjastosta kaikkia mahdollisia Harry Potter aiheisia kirjoja niin aina välillä tulee itsekkin niitä lueskeltua. Tämä oli ihan kiva, ei mitään uutta ja erikoista tietoa mutta ihan mielenkiintoinen kirja Potter faneille.
This is an incredibly interesting and informative book - it's based around the characters. What they wore, the makeup processes they went through, their wands, and how their actors/actresses interpreted them. It's extremely interesting and full of intriguing, and often hilarious, facts. You read about how everyone got on during the filming, how everyone reacted to makeup, how the costume designers created everything and how certain things played a part in the films.
It's extremely fun, interested and exciting to read - it's so useful to read about everything that went on with the characters and it's incredibly brilliant to have more knowledge from the movie series. I've learned a lot from this book and I'm so happy to have these facts now - it's making me look at the films in an even more brilliant light! Of course, some of the facts are commonly known (but still immensely fun to read about/see), but those hidden gem facts are wonderful to know.
The concept art, designs and photos in this book are absolutely glorious - they're printed beautifully and it's amazing to see the original concept designs for characters, costumes and prosthetics; I love concept art and it's a wonderful thing to see! There is some infinitely phenomenal art amidst these pages. This book is excellently constructed, formatted and made - ah, it's an amazing addition to the Potter series.
I would recommend this to any Potter fan, to be honest, and I can't wait to read the others in this little series of fact files!
Un libro assolutamente da avere e leggere per i fan della saga di Harry Potter. E' interessante vedere come un personaggio da cartonato diventa reale. Vedere come viene creato, come si evolve, quanto ha dell'attore che lo interpreta. Alcune curiosità presenti nel libro le sapevo (erano state menzionate ne "La magia dei film" ma mi ha completamente catturata lo stesso. Insomma, tutti vogliono essere maghi da quando è uscito HP, e questo libro spiega come essi sono nati da un'idea della Row fino ad arrivare al grande schermo. Ci sono curiosità tecniche che comunque non risultano essere incomprensibili, ci sono piccoli segreti mai svelati. Insomma è super divertente leggere le idee che attori e costumisti avevano dei personaggi, dei lorpo vestiti, delle loro attitudini, per poi vederle messe in pratica!
"But even though we are going to finish, anything that you do within film, or literature, or art - it's lasting. It's going to last forever" ~ Bonnie Wright
It took me a while to finish it because I really wanted to focus on every single picture and read every single detail. Those pictures and sketches are just lovely. There are so many details and infos for every single character, not regarding the character itself, but related to costume, makeup etc. I found it very interesting and informative!
I felt like a lot of the information in here had already been mentioned elsewhere and so there wasn't much to learn. I loved all the pictures and costume design drawing though. And I mean, its Harry Potter; what else do you want?
Nečakala som síce, že to bude v podstate ''len'' o tom, ako sa na dané postavy tvorili kostýmy, prútiky a podobne, ale rozhodne to bolo fascinujúce, pretože nikdy predtým som sa nezamýšľala nad tým koľko toho museli vymyslieť ľudia, o ktorých potom ani nikto poriadne nepočuje. A mala som niekoľko fangirl záchvatov, takže yay!
Ihan ok teos Harry Potter- maailman hahmoista. Tuttujahan nämä ovat sarjan lukeneelle ja leffat katselleelle, mutta sai niistä kai vähän enemmän infoa. Tiedon määrä vaihteli, tietysti päähenkilöistä oli kirjoitettu enemmän kuin niistä muista. Kuvia oli jälleen ihan hyvin mukana.
Everyone is included - Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Snape, Dumbledore, Voldemort, etc. The main characters get 4-5 pages each, while minor characters usually get a single 2-page spread.
The book profiles each character, and the text from Jody Revenson (author of many previous Potter books) is insightful and well written. For some characters, there are a few words about the actor as well as his/her casting and process. But most of the text is dedicated to discussing the look of the characters; that is, how they are translated visually from the page to the screen. This means discussion about costumes, makeup, hairstyling, and props.
You'll find a lot of great images in the book, including some fantastic concept art (usually printed full-page) and unit photography. Again, most of the images are related to costumes and props -- school and Quidditch uniforms; Yule Ball gowns; wand designs; the sorting hat; Death Eater masks; and more. In reading through the book, you really gain an appreciation for the intricate work done to create each character's wardrobe.
If you own the Harry Potter Page to Screen Collector's Edition, then you'll notice some similarity between this book and the 'Wizard Wear & Muggle Attire' book from that set. But even if you own that set, there's new content in the Character Vault that would make it a worthy purchase.
Included within the book are two pull-out posters: one featuring the Order of the Phoenix, and the other featuring the Death Eaters.
This is an excellent resource for fans of the Harry Potter film franchise. It will especially be of interest to those who enjoy the art of costume design.
It was so lovely to be back in the world of Harry Potter, even though I finished The Character Vault wanting to re-read and re-watch everything…
For every character in the book we have a mini character profile, original sketches, a portrait, details on their wand and, mostly, the details on constructing and designing the costumes, make-up, hair and extras that go from turning an actor into a character. It was a fascinating process.
The Character Vault is a must-have for every Harry Potter fan. I know it’s one I’ll be going back to.
Really interesting behind-the-scenes information on the costuming concepts for the characters in the films, as well as how certain concepts were filmed (such as Hagrid's height). I would have liked to see the sketches and such for Bill and Fleur's wedding. I thought her gown was so unique and pretty!
I loved this and can't wait to read the other 2. It was interesting to learn the ideas behind the characters and their wardrobes. It was also really cool to read how many clothes and items had to be made for each character.
I'm currently rewatching the Harry Potter movies for the first time in years, and it's so much fun to read these books alongside them because they give a lot of insight into what went into the making of those movies, which is a lot more than you could possibly imagine.
Another look at the transfer of Harry Potter from the books to the screen with this one focusing on the characters themselves.
Lots of pictures of the costumes, publicity shots as well as continuity shots. Some initial drawings for the garb a character would wear - as well as what some of the ideas behind the style assigned to each one. Fabric swatches as well as the tricks of creating the illusion of aged fabric and little insignificant bits and pieces that helps to solidify representation of the characters. Like all the buttons on Snape's frock coat including the sleeves but there was also a short line of buttons at his ankles. How they created the distinctive billowing of Snape's cloak. All the cat jewelry that Dolores Umbridge wore - did you see the ring or the brooch? Bellatrix's bird skull necklace? Then there are descriptions (and some photos) of the wands - what they looked like and how they were manufactured.
For the fan of the movies and even the books, it provides a look into how cinematic magic is created. For those interested in breaking into the industry, it gives several tips.
You don't often realize how much time and effort people will put into movies. This book helps you understand that and it is a fun read. Plus it allows you to hear the actors talk about the characters they play.
Beautiful book. Amazing images and snippets of information! Quotes from the actors and all the people who worked on set really make you feel involved with behind the scenes.
This book is so interesting and well put together, I loved seeing the preliminary sketches for the different outfits and knowing the process for each character.