The new Harry Potter TV series is already making headlines, but not because of magic. The biggest challenge was filming with child actors who can only spend a short time on set each day because of school.
The HBO reboot stars Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger.
While fans are excited to see the new cast, the crew says that making the series has been much harder than they expected.
Cinematographer Adriano Goldman shared that filming has been “brutal” because the young stars can only work for about an hour and a half before they have to return to class. That means the crew has to get ready while the children are studying and then rush to film as much as possible once they arrive.
Goldman added that they often have to shoot scenes out of order because there simply is not enough time. He, however, also admitted that moving so fast can sometimes affect the final result, but the team has no other option. To help the young cast keep up with school, Warner Bros Studios Leavesden built a temporary school on the studio lot. Reports say it can teach up to 600 students during busy filming days, although around 150 children usually attend.