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22 cgw | e d i t i o n 4 , 2 0 1 8 look from previous Harry Potter films." The filmmakers also shot scenes in La- cock Village, which Potter fans will recognize from the second film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. As for the Ministry of Magic… "It was a large practical set originally, and we found photos and plans of the original drawings used in Potter five [Goblet of Fire] and seven [Deathly Hallows: Part 1]," Manz says. "And, we scanned set pieces on the Harry Potter tour that Rodeo used to build the digital environment." The artists also created a flashback se- quence for Leta Lestrange with a capsizing lifeboat in a fully simulated ocean during a storm. For that, the filmmakers shot people in a water tank and then the artists replaced that real water with simulated water. Another sequence with effects by Rodeo artists begins with Nagini and Credence in an apartment. Credence wants to discover who his mother is and asks his former nurse, Irma Dugard (Danièle Hugues). "We gave this four-foot-tall French ac- tress big house-elf hands with three fingers," Manz says. "Just that. No funny ears." A hidden assassin called Grimmson (Ing- var Eggert Sigurðsson) pulls Nagini into the walls. She turns into a snake and acciden- tally kills Irma. That causes Credence to turn into an Obscuris. "He explodes," Manz says. "We filmed on a complete set, and then when it came to the destruction, removed half the set and all the dressing and had the actors on greenscreen. Rodeo rebuilt the set, all the layers of walls, the tiles, the set dressing. They did an amaz- ing job." Another spectacular environment and explosion, this created at Framestore, takes place in Grindelwald's Alpine castle. "We took a lot of photographs on a two- day helicopter shoot in Switzerland for a shot in which Credence casts a spell and smashes a mountain," Manz says. "We also had Dominic Ridley from Clear Angle, who took between 10,000 and 20,000 photos. By using photogrammetry, we created 12 kilometers of the valley digitally. Framestore used that digital scan from Clear Angle as a basis for creating a full-digital environment." Framestore also created a phoenix that bursts into fire. "You can see glimpses of the old ani- matronic phoenix in the Harry Potter films, but we referenced real birds and built one more anatomically correct," Manz says. "Framestore created the fire burst with fluid simulations. You see a feathered bird born out of the simulated fire. It was quite complicated. That was a tough thing about this film. You have to make effects that look amazing, but you only see them for a few shots. In a way, though, that's what I like. It makes you believe them more than if you focus on them." Moving On To move between environments, Newt is sometimes on the back of Zouwu, which has the ability to bend and warp time and travel great distances quickly. To create this effect, artists at Framestore used a fluid system. "They rebuilt sets digitally so we could unmap all the structures and turn them into a fluid," Burke says. "It's almost like a viscous liquid that encases Newt on the back of Zouwu and they become weightless in the midst of this fluid. We liken it to a mind thing that Zouwu could control. He has an amaz- ing mane with long tendrils around the neck that are like synapses from his brain that warp and distort the environment. That's how he apparates [teleports] through time and space." In one of the most visually dramatic se- quences in the film, Newt travels on Zouwu through a time tunnel into a cemetery where Grindelwald is holding a rally. The setting is beneath, in a huge underground circular amphitheater designed by Craig, of which approximately 20 percent was built on set. Double Negative extended the amphithe- ater and filled it. "They didn't create digital doubles," Burke says. "They created 4,000 extras by using sprites – cards with re-projected filmed A CG NIFFLER SITS ATOP NEWT'S FAMOUS SUITCASE. FRAMESTORE ARTISTS CREATED A DIGITAL VERSION OF HOGWARTS' HALL.