Visual effects artists explain how Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) managed to look half-giant in Harry Potter films. One of the visual challenges the films had from the start was how to make Hagrid look like an imposing figure, not only alongside Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), but also when he is alongside older characters. While the Harry Potter books are able to rely on readers' descriptions and imagination, the films needed to perform visual tricks that made Hagrid's height look convincing.
While watching clips from Harry Potter films, Runner Crew broke the visual effects used to make Hagrid appear significantly taller than the other characters. Some shots, especially those of Hagrid's back or when he was next to young characters, were made possible through a double. The pair were former rugby player Michael Bayfield, who is almost two meters talland would wear a Hagrid mask. When Bayfield wasn't being used as a stunt double Runner Crew explained the other strategies used to represent Hagrid's height. Check out the comments below:
They did just about every trick you could think of to make Hagrid look taller. They have wide angle lenses, low angle shots, forced perspective shots where they pull out Hagrid's talent and background items to make them appear smaller in the frame, and when all else fails they just use old school composition. - green screen, blue screen footage and put it there.
What does this mean for Harry Potter
Michael Bayfield is the unsung hero of cinema
Making Hagrid's height look convincing is among Hagrid's many impressive feats. Harry Potter films. From him the imposing height feels as genuine when Radcliffe, Grint and Watson were children in the first films as it does when they are young adults in later installments. Although the films changed directors several times, there was also a lot of consistency that helped make the adaptations a success, including consistency in how Hagrid was portrayed visually.
Runner CrewThe analysis also highlights the invaluable and overlooked contributions that Bayfield was able to bring to Hagrid. Between Bayfield's natural height, Hagrid's mask, stilts, and other additions, he was able to get Hagrid to 7 feet tall, which greatly helped portray Hagrid's height in many scenes. Coltrane deserves credit for his performance as the beloved Hagrid, but Bayfield also deserves credit for all the work he did as Hagrid's stunt double in all eight films..
They tie into the lasting legacy of the Harry Potter films
As a longtime fan of the series, it's Fascinating to learn how Hagrid's height became a reality behind the scenes. The visual representation of Hagrid as a strong point across all eight films is among the films' many achievements that are taken for granted but have done much to make them stand the test of time. It will be intriguing to see how the next Harry Potter the television show deals with Hagrid's height, but the way the films approached it still holds up well to this day.
Source: Runner Crew