Filming was originally scheduled to begin on March 16, 2020, but due to the continued spread of the new coronavirus since the beginning of the year, the decision was made to postpone it on the day of filming. The situation was serious, but since the previous film was not well received, J.K. Rowling used this time to brush up on the script, and Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves also joined in the work.
Travel restrictions due to the pandemic made it impossible to film on location overseas, forcing major changes to the story. Filming took place at Warner Bros. studios in Leavesden, England, with one day of on-location filming in the woods near Windsor. I was disappointed.
Filming began on September 20th, about six months late, due to the ongoing pandemic. Thorough infection prevention measures were taken in the studio to ensure the safety of the cast and staff, but even with such strict precautions, there were times when a staff member tested positive and filming was suspended. In order to avoid crowds, only 80 people were actually present at the scene of the large crowd at the Ministry of Magic in Berlin. From there, we digitally created a sense of reality for 4,000 people.
Great contribution from the art team
Photo: ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
The story takes place all over the world, including England, America, Germany, and Bhutan in Asia. The art staff, who traveled extensively for research before the pandemic, created a spectacular set in a studio in Leavesden, England. The exterior of the German Ministry of Magic in Berlin strongly reflects the influence of Hamburg’s Chilihaus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built in the early 1920s, and German neoclassical architecture of the 1930s and 1940s.