Their Favourite Film – Rebecca goodeve

Chris : Hi everyone, and welcome to another addition of ‘Their Favourite Film’. For this post, we have Rebbecca Goodeve – talented Colourist and Founder of Saku Productions. This post-production company has worked on various projects across the Globe, working on adverts, music promos and features, making them look and sound their best. Rebecca also has her own post-production office in Leigh-on-sea, which I also have to say is extremely stylish. So, for this month’s blog, since we have just recently passed the 20th anniversary, it almost seems fitting to talk about this film (just a coincidence though, I don’t have the skill to plan that far ahead). So, grab yourself a glass of butterbeer and enjoy reading Rebecca and I rant about one of the most magical films of all time.

Rebecca Goodeve – Harry Potter 

Rebecca : When anyone asks me what my favourite film is I struggle to answer. For me it’s near impossible as there are so many greats out there for so many different reasons! So in this instance, it comes down to the movies or saga, I should say, that made me want to work in the industry… Harry Potter.

I grew up with the actors on screen, I was only 9 when ‘Philosophers Stone’ was released. I adored the magical essence they captured – it was captivating, and I was desperate to be on screen with them until I reached college. It was then that I discovered post-production and realised that the magic was mostly created behind the camera! Now, suppose anyone asks me for the impossible. In that case, I refer to VFX artists as the wizards and Colourists as the Magicians (I don’t have the patience for VFX, so hats off to you all). 

I can’t pick a favourite movie from the series (although we don’t have to talk about ‘Chamber of Secrets’). I loved how the series got darker with ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’. Director Alfonso Curarón brought something unique to the Potter world. I’m a big fan of his work (‘Children of Men’, what a STUNNING movie), plus grading legend Peter Doyle started working his magic at this point onwards and damn, did they look good! I personally think the Goblet of Fire’ is great for the ending – Ralph Fiennes is phenomenal and steals the show. ‘Order of The Phoenix’ introduces us to Director David Yates, who sees us through to the end (typing this up is making me want an HP marathon movie night). Now, ‘Half-Blood Prince’ and the one and only DOP legend Bruno Delbonne, everything this man produces is BE-A-UTIFUL. The movie won an Oscar for Best Cinematography. The film stands out from the others in terms of its look; I’d almost say if it was pushed that bit further in the grade, it would be comparable to another Delbonne and Doyle team-up, ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’, which is again, beautiful! 

And that brings us to ‘Deathly Hallows’ Part 1 & 2, where I will talk about the composer, Alexandre Desplat. What he created was an absolute masterpiece. I quite often just listen to the soundtrack when I’m grading. It’s memorable and makes me relive the movie without watching it. But of course, standing ovation to all the composers, because the music throughout the series is without a doubt incredible. But my go HP favourites are Desplat’s ‘Courtyard Apocalypse’ and ‘Battlefield’. 

So, upon reflection, respecting the filmmakers (and actors) behind the movie magic and their other projects shows why this question is impossible to answer. I love everything about films and aspire to one day be as great as those involved in creating something so magical that it can inspire generations to come.

My Thoughts – Christopher Roberts

Chris : I still remember the first time I ever saw Harry Potter; I was 9 years old and my dad decided to take us to see it at the cinema in Basildon. However, I was more dragged along because I wanted to stay home and finish watching the Jackie Chan Adventures. Before the film, I wasn’t aware of the books or the story and so wasn’t that interested in seeing it but of course that changed as soon as I sat in the cinema, the lights went down, and the film started. It introduced me to a world of wonder and magic, of children my age going on adventures facing literal monsters and those hiding behind masks. It showed me how imagination can lead to endless possibilities and even introduced me to my first celebrity crush (Emma Watson and still going strong). It was also the start of being called Harry Potter by random strangers for over 10 years, so I had ups and downs when the movie came out.

Now I’m not the biggest Harry Potter fan (that title probably goes to my sister). Still, I cannot deny the impact this film had on my generation and pop culture itself. From it, it inspired a new love of reading for the younger audience and the release of similar books, like Hunger Games and Percy Jackson and has been referenced 100s of times in different shows and parodied countlessly. We have people debating which house they would be put in (always thought Hufflepuff, but it turns out I’m Gryffindor); Quidditch has been turned into a real game. Even universities have made courses based on the books like Durham and their course Harry Potter and The Age of Illusion. More importantly, though, in the case of this blog, it inspired a new generation of people into filmmaking.

Like Rebecca, who was inspired to get into post-production, it pushed others into writing, directing, acting, animatronics, composing, and so much more. Seeing these films made us want to go out there and try to make films that capture audiences just like Harry Potter did. To work on stories that move us, thrill us and have messages about standing up to fascism and tyranny, the importance of friendship, and never knowing what you were capable of until you try. Harry Potter was a film that many filmmakers dream of doing and made us work to try and do that again, to capture the essence of it.

Now 10 years after the last film came out, it’s still going strong, with new spin-off films, plays, video games, and more and more people are being introduced into the wizardry world of magic. All these years, and we still talk about the messages behind the books, fan fiction is being written that expands on the wizardry world, debates on which film is the best and whose is everyone’s favourite character (though I think we can all agree Professor Umbridge is the worst). 10 years and no sign of stopping anytime soon. There are many reasons why that is and why people are still obsessed with it, for the stories, the characters, the epic battles between good and evil. However, I honestly think the reason is that in today’s current world, it’s nice to escape for even a few brief hours into a world where magic is real, and anything is possible.

My favourite Trivia

For this one I decided to go for two, one from the book and another from the films.

1. The Hogwarts Motto is “Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus” which means “never tickle a sleeping Dragon”.
2. All the Owls in the film were actually trained to deliver the mail to the students