Investigative Study

Week 1

Deepfakes

  • This week we looked at deepfakes in class.

What is a deepfake?

A deepfake is artificial media created to resemble a person. Often used for satire in social media where they will take a celebrity and create a deep fake of that person doing or saying something out of character.

Through artificial intelligence and visual effect techniques they are able to create a realistic product. Some deepfakes are not believable because they are crossing a line in terms of content. However, slightly altered video’s with high quality can easily be very believable.

Example

This is not Morgan Freeman – A Deepfake Singularity – YouTube

Spider-man: No Way Home but it’s Tobey Maguire [Deepfake] – YouTube

Captain America – The First Avenger

Keywords

  • AI
  • Ethics
  • Realism
  • Dangers
  • Satire
  • Computer
  • Techniques

Ethics

When creating a deep fake video there are a lot of questions about ethics that needs to be considered before posting online. You could argue that using celebrities for deep fakes would be okay considering that they chose to be a public profile. Exposing yourself to the media makes you a target for parody and satire, and with the development of technology you could argue it’s just a new form of humor content. However, there is the question if it is ethically right to use someone’s identity without their permission. Most social media platforms have strict guidelines regarding copyright, and some might say that your face and identity should be under the same guidelines as music. In my personal opinion I believe that context is important. I condone any content that is created in order to harm the person, such as incriminating statements or porn. In addition, I believe that any content made for the purpose of marketing or making money needs a license from the person they want to use. This correlates to the copyright guidelines as mentioned earlier. No one should profit of someone’s identity without their permission. On the other hand, I don’t see the harm in comedy sketches that are clearly marked as deepfakes either in comments or in the clip.

 

Potential interests for research essay

Uncanny Valley – When is real too real?Exploring what uncanny valley is and what it takes for something to fit into that term. Where do we draw the line in how real animation and 3D models should be? When does it start to feel uncomfortable?

Virtual Production – How does it affect the role of VFX?Exploring the topics surrounding VP (Virtual Production) such as the impact it has on the VFX industry, the changes in pipeline and workflow. How does the production aspect change, and how will it continue to affect the VFX industry moving forward?

RealismIn VFX we often talk about making realistic CGI and FX, but what does that entail? How do we make something that doesn’t excist look real? What is realism? How do we go about creating realism in the fantasy and sci-fi genre? Why was something perceived as realistic 20 years ago, but not today?

“The camera never lies”As the AI technology develops further and becomes more accessible to the public we see a increase in issues regarding deepfakes. Is it okay to use someones face without their permission? What are the issues regarding this? Are there situations where it would be okay to create deepfakes, and when does it cross the line? In addition, it is becoming easier to manipulate images and videos to fool the viewers. What are some of the problems with this? Can we trust social media?

Week 2

Artificial Intelligence

  • This week we looked at artificial intelligence, specifically related to the VFX industry.

What are my thoughts on AI development in VFX at the moment?

I think AI can never fully replace the work of an VFX artist. In every creative industry AI has been shown to do great work, but VFX is so complex and intricate that I believe that it needs the human touch for it to be ‘perfect’. However, I do believe it can be used as a tool. There are already a few great AI tools out there for VFX artists such as Beeble.ai which is an AI relighting software. It can be used to help compositors relight images to fit a scene, and as it develops even relight videos as well.

AI challenges in a VFX production

The biggest challenge AI faces in a visual effects production is the human touch. In other words, the artistic and creative aspects of visual effects. It is hard for a computer to create a certain feeling in projects. As a VFX artist we aspire to making the viewers believe and feel what they are seeing on screen. AI would struggle to replicate this since it is not something that can be taught or researched.

In my opinion the main challenges lie with creativity and replicating the nuances of our artistic decisions. When we work we constantly make decisions about lighting, composition and textures based on knowledge but mostly based on experience from the real world. Often we use references from real life experiences in order to inspire our creations and the look we go for. In most of my productions I use photos and videos I’ve captured myself as references in my work. An AI would struggle to have their own sense of style since their products are based on research and other creations.

 

Narrowing down the field of interest for the research essay

  • Realism
  • Realism in the fantasy genre
  • Creating realistic magical FX
    • Theoretical research
  • How did Harry Potter achieve a realistic look while having fantasy FXs?
    • Theoretical research
  • How does magical realism affect the VFX industry?
    • Theoretical research, maybe interviews or polls
  • How does magical realism affect how an FX artist work?
    • Interviews, practical methods
  • How do we make something that doesn’t exist look real?
    • Theoretical research and practical testing
  • How does Harry Potter use magical realism to create believable FXs?
    • Theoretical research
  • How has Avatar: The way of water achieved a high level of realism in their FX?
    • Theoretical research

The definition of magical realism according to Wikipedia is “Magic realism or magical realism is a style of literary fiction and art. It paints a realistic view of the world while also adding magical elements, often blurring the lines between fantasy and reality.”(Magical Realism, 2023) This might sound familiar to the fantasy genre but the main difference between magical realism and fantasy is the world. Magical realism is set in a realistic world with unrealistic elements. On the other hand, fantasy is set in an unrealistic world with unrealistic elements. Harry Potter is a great example of magical realism since the action is set in the “real” world that contains magic. 

Possible research sources:

Realistic? Why or why not?

Realistic? Why or why not?

Bibliography

Magical Realism. (2023, October 4th). Retrieved from Wikipedia on October 15th 2023: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_realism

 

Week 3

  • We presented our ideas for the investigative study and continued to narrow down and work towards the proposal due next week.

“Magical Realism: How Harry Potter inspired the development of Magic FX”

  • Brief history of magic FX
  • Touch base on partical magicians
  • What is the origin of magic FX?
  • Has harry potter sat a standard for how we view magical FXs?
  • Softwares such as Houdini, the impact they had on the FX industry.
  • Asking FX artists in the industry how they feel about harry potter and if they look up to them for inspiration
  • 2D to 3D magic
  • Fairytale to realism

 

  • This week we also looked at WGA strike that recently ended. It’s an example of possible research areas for our essays.

The WGA strike

The Writers Guild of America started striking in may of 2023. They are striking for better work conditions in terms of compensation and contract lengths. In addition, the strike is also about the development of AI and how it could possibly affect their jobs. The strike has had a major impact on the VFX industry in the UK and other parts of the world. Studios that work with Hollywood movies have had a significant decrease in new productions because the strike has caused a stop to a lot of them. The decrease causes studios to make less money which results in issues with employment. We have seen issues such as people not being able to get jobs and layoffs. The strike ended in the end of September of 2023 and a deal has been agreed on. There has been made agreements on things such as how AI can and can’t be used in the writers industry, increase in minimum wage and compensation, and increase in employment length.

 

Proposal for my investigative study

PDF: Investigative Study Research Proposal (V1)

PDF: Investigative Study Research Proposal (V2)

Magical Realism: How Harry Potter inspired and contributed to Magic FX (This is version 2)

Magical Realism is originally a literary style that has over the years evolved into the film industry. It refers to stories that has unrealistic elements that are set in a realistic world. (Craven, 2019) An example of magical realism is the harry potter books and movies. The story blurs the lines between reality and fantasy with the combination of magic and wizards into a contemporary England. The movies have had a significant impact on the film and entertainment industry over the past decades. Not only did the movies gross over 7 billion dollars, but they have also been praised for their stunning visuals, casting, and direction.

For this investigative study I aim to look into how the Harry Potter movies have inspired FX artists and their work. I want to assess the impact the movies have had on the development of magical effects in the industry. Through research I will attempt to find out if Harry Potter has established a standard for how we view magical FX in movies. In addition, I will briefly explore the history behind magic FX where I will look into the development from the early practical effects to the advanced digital effects. Lastly, I will focus on the topic of magical realism and the significance it has had in integrating magic into real worlds.

The objectives for this essay are to investigate and gather information about Harry Potter and the influence it has had on FX artists in the industry. I will look at articles, books, and academic resources to see how magical FXs has developed over time. In addition, I will be studying how to combine fantasy and realism to create magical realism.

Methodology

For this research essay the main methodology will be theoretical. I will conduct secondary research through articles and books that are related to the topic. Through research I will acquire knowledge about different aspects of magical realism, magic FX, and the Harry Potter movies. The fundamental knowledge surrounding these topics will enable me to explore them further in my research paper.

The secondary method for the investigate study will be a more practical approach. This will be done through a quick survey that I will have a few FX artists in the industry answer. Through conducting the practical research, I aim to find information about how Harry Potter has affected the way FXs artists work with magic, and the impact it has had on the industry. With the results I hope do gain some clarification whether Harry Potter indeed has established a standard for how we view magical FX in movies.

Sources

My main sources are going to be articles in the journal Computer Graphics World, which is a journal that focuses on CG and VFX, books written by the author Dan North such as ‘Special Effects: New Histories, Theories, Contexts’(2015), the book ‘The Complete Guide to Photorealism for Visual Effects, Visualization and Games: For Visual Effects, Visualization and Games’(2021) written by Eran Dinur, and a book written by Ian Failes ‘Masters of FX: Behind the Scenes with Geniuses of Visual and Special Effects’(2016).

Keywords

  • Realism
  • Fantasy
  • Magical Realism
  • Harry Potter
  • SFX
  • Houdini
  • Animation
  • Magic
  • FX
  • Simulations
  • Development

Figure 1: Fantasia (1940) compared to Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix(2007)

Bibliography

Burke, T. (2011). A final fantasy: VFX supervisor Tim Burke leads the visual effects efforts for the eighth and last Harry Potter film. (B. Robertson, & C. G. World, Interviewers)

Craven, J. (2019, August 10). Introduction to Magical Realism. Retrieved from ThoughtCo.: https://www.thoughtco.com/magical-realism-definition-and-examples-4153362

Dinur, E. (2021). The complete guide to photorealism for visual effects, visualization and games. London: Routledge.

Failes, I. (2016). Masters of FX Behind the Scenes with Geniuses of Visual and Special Effects. Taylor and Francis.

North, D. (2008). Performing illusions : cinema, special effects and the virtual actor. London: Wallflower.

North, D., Rehak, B., & Duffy, M. (2015). Special effects : new histories/theories/contexts. London: BFI.

Robertson, B. (2005, September). HIGH-FLYING FX. Computer Graphics World, pp. Vol. 28 Issue 9, p22-26.

Robertson, B. (2009, August). Trickery and tweaks: for the sixth Harry Potter film, visual effects studios practice new forms of CG magic. Computer Graphics World, pp. Vol. 32 Issue 8, p10.

Robertson, B. (2011, January/February). On the Road Again. Computer Graphics World, pp. Vol. 34 Issue 1/2, p32-35.

 

Literature Review

Outline

This was my first outline of what I initially wanted to include in my literature review and how to structure it. While writing I did make changes both to content and structure of the literature review. 

  • Magical Realism (250 words) 
    • The origin of the term (83 words) 
      • Can be dated all the way back to 1925 (foundations source) 
      • Used for paintings. 
    • The definition (83 words) 
      • The five characteristics described by Faris, W.B. 
    • From literature to film (83 words) 
      • The Cosmopolitics of Magical Realism in Cinema (source) 
  • Harry Potter (250 words) 
    • How magical realism can be found in the movies (62 words) 
    • Basic info about how major the movies were (62 words)

 

Literature Review – First Draft

Magical Realism is not a new term but can be dated all the way back to the early 1900s. In the book Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community, authors Faris and Zamora states that the term was first invented in 1925 by Franz Roh. It was originally a way to characterize realism paintings after the expressionisms abstract style. (1995, p. 26). However, in an article by Gail Finney he argues that the meaning of the term back in 1925 is quite different to current definition. (2022, p.41) 

Wendy B. Faris suggests that there are five primary characteristics for defining magical realism. The first is an element in contrast to the laws of nature that is assimilated to the environment for which it exists and is rarely questioned by either narrator or characters. However, for the reader the element would stick out. She refers to it as ‘irreducible element.’ (2004, p.20-21) Faris’s second characteristic is described as a phenomenal world. She states that this characteristic is the realism aspect in the term ‘magical realism. A phenomenal world is a highly detailed description of a fictional world that bears a resemblance to the real world. (2004, p. 27) A third characteristic for magical realism is the readers experience of unsettling doubt about their perception of contradicting events in the narrative. The doubts are often based on whether the events are possible as well as the readers belief system. Faris writes that events can be interpreted as marvellous which would require adjustments to the laws of the natural universe. Therefore, this quality of magical realism will vary based on the interpretation. (2004, p. 30-33) The fourth characteristic is merging realms. Faris describes it as two worlds co existing, which could be a magical world and a contemporary realistic world. (2004, p. 34). The last characteristic is disruption of time, space and identity. What Faris means by this is that in magical realism authors can disrupt the readers sense of time. An example she gives is the feeling of always March and always Monday. (2004, p.35-36)

One of the more contemporary examples of magical realism is the Harry Potter franchise. In Smitha Santhosh article she explains that the author J.K. Rowling created a fantasy world filled with magic and wizards that exists alongside a contemporary England. There are elements of the real world to be found in the fantasy world as well such as technology, government, banks, newspapers, and hospitals. (Santosh, 2019) 

Bibliography 

Faris, W.B. (2004) Ordinary Enchantments: Magical Realism and the Remystification of Narrative. p. 20-21, 27, 30-36. Available at: https://perlego.com/book/1976918/ordinary-enchantments-magical-realism-and-the-remystification-of-narrative-pdf/?utm_medium=share&utm_source=perlego&utm_campaign=share-book (Accessed: 13.11.2023)  

Faris, W.B. and Zamora, L.P. (1995) Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. P. 26 Available at: https://perlego.com/book/1467290/magical-realism-theory-history-community-pdf/?utm_medium=share&utm_source=perlego&utm_campaign=share-book (Accessed: 13.11.2023) 

Finney, G. (2022) ‘Amphibious Magical Realism? The Shape of Water as Cinematic Trauma Narrative.’, Journal of Film & Video, Volume 74, Issue ½, Spring/Summer, p. 42. Available at: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=a8569f79-dad6-371a-b2bc-83d7c0789f9b (Accessed: 13.11.2023) 

Santhosh, S. (2019) ‘Locating Magical Realism in Harry Potter Series’, Sparkling International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Studies, Volume 2, Issue 2, April – June, p. 23 – 28. Available at: https://www.johnfoundation.com/journals/sparkling/sijmrsv2i2-2019/s-14/ (Accessed: 13.11.2023) 

 

Literature Review – Second Draft

PDF: Literature Review – Draft 2

Literature Review – Draft 3 

  • Draft 3 is only in the PDF link. The changes made are based on feedback from teacher during lesson. 
  • The text below is draft 2.

Magic can be dated 100s of years back in time. Authors Britland, Copperfield, and Wiseman in their book ‘David Copperfield’s History of Magic’ writes that the first book in the English language about magic was “The discovery of Witchcraft” written by Reginald Scot in 1584. At the time witches were viewed as supernatural and that they were able to summon spirits. Scot’s book aimed to rationalize the supernatural that were witches. Copperfield, Wiseman, and Britland explain that some of the principles in Scot’s book are still being used by modern-day magicians. (2021, p. 8)

Georges Méliès was a magician and is viewed as one of the key persons in the development of visual effects. In the book ‘David Copperfield’s History of Magic’ the authors explains that Méliès created short films inspired by practical magic and illusions. (2021, p. 18) In the book ‘Special effects: new histories, theories, contexts’ Dan North describes Méliès as the father of special effects. North describes how Méliès used the camera to create magic in his film. His most famous work was ‘A trip to the moon’, it was spectacular for the viewers at the time of its release. The idea of traveling to the moon seemed like magic. (2015, p. 128-131) In a TED talk Don Levy talks about how movies are just illusions, and Visual Effects is all about tricking the viewers perception of reality. (TED, 2012) Don Levy said, “Now movies proved to be the ultimate medium for magic”. (TED, 2012, 00:16) Stephen Prince states in his book ‘Digital visual effects in cinema: the seduction of reality’ that the magic you see in movies today such as lord of the rings, stems from the nineteenth century magician performances. (2012, p.188)

Some of the earliest movies that depicts visible magic are Walt Disney animation movies. In the article ‘Disney Does Disney: Re-Realising, Remaking, and Retelling Animated Films for a New Generation’ Rebecca Rowe states that Disney as a brand is strongly associated with magic, and that magic is a key element of “Classic Disney”. Rowe goes on to explain that Disney’s use of animation allowed them to create magic effects and looks long before technology allowed for magic effects in live action films. She states that this is one of the reasons Disney has been able to strongly associate themselves with magic. (2022, p. 98-111)

The first company to include a particle system to their software were Side Effects in 1992. In an article published in FXGuide, Mike Seymour covers some of the history of the company Side Effects, which is responsible for the software Houdini. Seymour states that Houdini is today the go-to tool for procedural and effects animation. Since Houdini was released back in 1996 it has received numerous awards for its technology and creation of stunning FXs. (Seymour, 2012)

Magical Realism is not a new term but can be dated all the way back to the early 1900s. In the book Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community, authors Faris and Zamora states that the term was first invented in 1925 by Franz Roh. It was originally a way to characterize realism paintings after the expressionisms abstract style. (1995, p. 26). However, in an article by Gail Finney he argues that the meaning of the term back in 1925 is quite different to current definition. Roh used the term to describe an abstract form of realism such as the paintings by artist Pablo Picasso. (2022, p.41)

Wendy B. Faris suggests that there are five primary characteristics for defining magical realism. The first is an element in contrast to the laws of nature that is assimilated to the environment for which it exists and is rarely questioned by either narrator or characters. However, for the reader the element would stick out. She refers to it as ‘irreducible element.’ (2004, p.20-21) Faris’s second characteristic is described as a phenomenal world. She states that this characteristic is the realism aspect in the term ‘magical realism. A phenomenal world is a highly detailed description of a fictional world that bears a resemblance to the real world. (2004, p. 27) A third characteristic for magical realism is the readers experience of unsettling doubt about their perception of contradicting events in the narrative. The doubts are often based on whether the events are possible as well as the readers belief system. Faris writes that events can be interpreted as marvellous which would require adjustments to the laws of the natural universe. Therefore, this quality of magical realism will vary based on the interpretation. (2004, p. 30-33) The fourth characteristic is merging realms. Faris describes it as two worlds co existing, which could be a magical world and a contemporary realistic world. (2004, p. 34). The last characteristic is disruption of time, space, and identity. What Faris means by this is that in magical realism authors can disrupt the readers sense of time. An example she gives is the feeling of always March and always Monday. (2004, p.35-36)

In the book Magic(al) Realism, author Maggie A. Bowers states that magical realism often is not recognized as a category of film. However, she goes on to say that it is indeed possible to find characteristics of magical realism in films. Bowers argues that film conventions that includes magical realism is accepted and familiarized by viewers in a variety of age ranges. She explores children’s stories in comparison to magical realism and concludes that even though they don’t necessarily follow every defining element of the genre, they still provide insight to the relationship of magic in the everyday world. (2004, p.16)

One of the more contemporary examples of magical realism is the Harry Potter franchise. In Smitha Santhosh article she explains that the author J.K. Rowling created a fantasy world filled with magic and wizards that exists alongside a contemporary England. There are elements of the real world to be found in the fantasy world as well such as technology, government, banks, newspapers, and hospitals. (Santosh, 2019) However, in the book Magic(al) Realism Maggie A. Bowers argues that the fantasy world of Hogwarts diminishes the stories likeness to magical realism, but she believes that the element of an empowered child that uses their magical powers to change the adult world argues in favour of magical realism. (2004, p.16)

 

Bibliography

Bowers, M. A. (2004) Magic(al) Realism. p.16 Available at: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=029694ec-0693-3034-90ee-e08a161f88d0 (Accessed: 19.11.2023)

Britland, D., Copperfield, D. and Wiseman, R. (2021) David Copperfield’s History of Magic. p.8. Available at: https://perlego.com/book/2503245/david-copperfields-history-of-magic-pdf/?utm_medium=share&utm_source=perlego&utm_campaign=share-book (Accessed: 19.11.2023)

Faris, W.B. (2004) Ordinary Enchantments: Magical Realism and the Remystification of Narrative. p. 20-21, 27, 30-36. Available at: https://perlego.com/book/1976918/ordinary-enchantments-magical-realism-and-the-remystification-of-narrative-pdf/?utm_medium=share&utm_source=perlego&utm_campaign=share-book (Accessed: 13.11.2023)

Faris, W.B. and Zamora, L.P. (1995) Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. p. 26 Available at: https://perlego.com/book/1467290/magical-realism-theory-history-community-pdf/?utm_medium=share&utm_source=perlego&utm_campaign=share-book (Accessed: 13.11.2023)

Finney, G. (2022) ‘Amphibious Magical Realism? The Shape of Water as Cinematic Trauma Narrative.’, Journal of Film & Video, Volume 74, Issue ½, Spring/Summer, p. 42. Available at: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=a8569f79-dad6-371a-b2bc-83d7c0789f9b (Accessed: 13.11.2023)

North, D. (2015) Special effects: new histories, theories, contexts. Available at: https://www.vlebooks.com/Product/Index/921513?page=0&startBookmarkId=-1 (Accessed: 19.11.2023)

Rowe, R. (2022) ‘Disney Does Disney: Re-Realising, Remaking, and Retelling Animated Films for a New Generation’, Journal of Popular Film & Television, 50(3), pp. 98-111. DOI: 10.1080/01956051.2022.2094868 (Accessed: 19.11.2023)

Santhosh, S. (2019) ‘Locating Magical Realism in Harry Potter Series’, Sparkling International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Studies, Volume 2, Issue 2, April – June, p. 23 – 28. Available at: https://www.johnfoundation.com/journals/sparkling/sijmrsv2i2-2019/s-14/ (Accessed: 13.11.2023)

Seymour, M. (2012) Side Effects Software – 25 years on. FX Guide. Available at: https://www.fxguide.com/fxfeatured/side-effects-software-25-years-on/ (Accessed: 19.11.2023)

TED (2012) Don Levy: A cinematic journey through visual effects. February 12th. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/don_levy_a_cinematic_journey_through_visual_effects?language=en (Accessed: 19.11.2023)

 

Writing my methodology

Outline

  • secondary research (100 – 200 words)
    • The lit review (33 – 66 words)
      • Qualitative data – expressed in words
      • Secondary research – other data
      • What knowledge that gave me
        • Gain more in depth understanding of a topic.
      • How it helps me going forward in the essay (33 – 66 words)
        • Gives me knowledge for the discussion.
      • Why I used this method for my research (33 – 66 words)
        • The best way to learn more around the topic.
        • Topic, I did not know too much about beforehand.
      • USE PAST TENSE
  • survey research (150 – 300 words)
    • Introduction (30 – 60 words)
    • How I designed the survey (30 – 60 words)
      • What questions I used
      • I had to think about what I wanted to gain from the survey
      • The sampling method or criteria used to select participant/sources
    • Potential faults of the survey (30 – 60 words)
      • I am biased in terms of phrasing the questions
      • I could have included something about magical realism
      • I did ask for feedback on my survey before sending it out to try preventing bias questions.
    • Why I chose this method (30 – 60 words)
      • It was the best approach to see the impact the movies had on the industry
      • I wanted opinions from industry professionals
      • I wanted to find out the impact directly from industry people
    • How I collected the data from the survey (30 – 60 words)
      • How I categorized responses to identify themes and patterns
      • The graphs I created
      • Paraphrasing and quotes

 

Methodology

PDF: Methodology_Draft_V1

This methodology outline will discuss the different research methods used for this investigative study. We will look at the reasons to why the research was conducted in the way it was. In addition, we will also discuss the plan for retrieving the necessary data for this essay. The methodology for this essay will be primarily qualitative.

The main method used for this essay is secondary research as used in the literature review above. This type of research allowed for gaining more knowledge surrounding subjects relevant to the study. The literature review helped to further develop a more in depth understanding of these topics, which will be of importance for setting up the discussion chapter later in the essay. The reason behind the choice of this method was because of its suitability for the focus area. It proved to be the most efficient method to gain insight into the subjects, where there was limited knowledge beforehand. Therefore, it was decided to use articles and data from other sources to achieve the necessary knowledge.

The other method in this essay will be primary research conducted through a survey. The focus of the survey will be to collect data on the impact the Harry Potter movies have had on the industry, and specifically magic FX. Since the survey aims to find out the impact it had on the industry, the participants for this survey will be a range industry professional. In order to spread the survey, it will be posted in a Facebook group for industry people in Norway, and it will be sent to a few FX artists at Ghost VFX studio in Copenhagen. The reason behind selecting this method of research is to gather opinions and data directly from the people who the movie would have potentially impacted. A survey would be the preferred method to do this as it allows for multiple people to answer, as opposed to interviewing a few industry professionals.

When setting up the survey it is important to start with gathering some background information about the participants. This will give insight into the diversity of the participants. These questions will be multiple choice questions to easily set up graphs later when discussing the findings. Further in the survey there will be questions where they must write answers. This will be the questions surrounding the movies and the impact. At the end of the survey there will be a few open questions where the participant is free to add anything if they wanted to. The survey will be done anonymously to get as many participants as possible, but there will be an option to put their name down if they are okay with being quoted or paraphrased in the essay.

A possible fault in the data from the survey could stem from how the questions were phrased. The questions may be constructed in a way that guides the answers in favour of the research statements.  In order to prevent this there will be a professor reading through the survey before publishing. After the survey is completed, the results will be analysed and set up in two different ways. Firstly, the multiple-choice answers will be converted into easily readable graphs. Then the long answers will be categorized by similarities and patterns. It will be important to include all answers to get a more nuanced result.

 

Writing the discussion

Outline:

Start with magic and illusionism and why that might be the beginning of magic FX. (166 – 266 words)

  • Witches used herbs and spells, that was considered magic. (33 – 53 words)
  • Illusionism was and is still considered magic. (33 – 53 words)
  • Meleis took the magic from stage to the camera. (33 – 53 words)
  • Meleis to the moon was considered magic because it was impossible at the time to travel to the moon. (33 – 53 words)
  • Disney was one of the first to create visual magic. (33 – 53 words)

Talk about disney and tie that into Magic FX and HP. (166 – 266 words)

  • Disney first depicted magic in the snow white. (33 – 53 words)
    • Dark smokey
  • Later on in movies such as fantasia you see magic depicted as something bright and sparkly, pixie dust. (33 – 53 words)
  • How that could be the beginning of spectacular magic in movies. (33 – 53 words)
  • How do you approach creating magic FX. (33 – 53 words)
  • Similarities between old animation magic and Harry Potter. (33 – 53 words)

Develop that into talking about the survey. (66 – 166 words)

  • How Disney might now be looking to Harry Potter for inspiration. (22 – 55 words)
  • Information about how major the movies were. (22 – 55 words)
  • State something about how that potentially could have affected the industry. (22 – 55 words)

Discuss the answers of the survey and the impact of HP. (216 – 316 words)

  • Some information about the results of the survey (54 – 79 words)
    • Amount of answers and graphs
  • Some positive answers (54 – 79 words)
  • Some negative answers (54 – 79 words)
  • Find other articles stating for or against (54 – 79 words)

Tie that into magical realism. (66 – 166 words)

  • Intriguing shift. (33 – 83 words)
  • We explored the magic FX, but can we find examples from the movies that categorizes the movies as magical realism (33 – 83 words)

Discuss HP as magical realism. (316 – 416 words)

  • When trying to define I will be using the characteristics from the lit review and find examples. (39 – 52 words)
  • Chracteristic 1: An element in contrast to the laws of nature that is assimilated into the environment. (39 – 52 words)
    • Wizards, accepted by muggles that know such as the Dudley’s or granger’s parents.
    • Broomstick, accepted by all the wizards as normal but defys the laws of gravity.
  • Characteristic 2: Phenomenal world. Highly detailed description of a fictional world that bears resemblance to the real world. (39 – 52 words)
    • Wizarding world and Hogwarts
    • Hogwarts is a boarding school that is similar to human boarding school except they learn magic.
      • They have classes
      • They have houses
      • They have teachers and a principal/headmaster
      • They have detention
      • They have exams
    • They celebrate Christmas and have Christmas holiday just like humans.
    • They have technology such as trains, cars
  • Characteristic 3: Doubt about perception of contradicting events. We barely hesitate, and the event could possibly be true, or it could be interpreted as an allegory. (39 – 52 words)
    • They celebrate Christmas, which is a Christian holiday, does that mean that wizards go to church and believe in god?
    • In the first movie Voldemort is attached to the back of somebodys head, but when that guy disinigrates, Voldemort just flies away in smoke.
    • That people can grow as old as dumbledore.
    • When they go back in time and change the outcome of the narrative in movie 3.
  • Characteristic 4: Merging realms. (39 – 52 words)
    • The wizarding world lies parallel to the human world.
      • Scenes where they open a door “portal” of sorts and it transforms into the magic world that is hidden in plains sight.
    • Characteristic 5: disruption of time, space and identity. (39 – 52 words)
      • When Harry learns that he is a holcrox and parts of Voldemort lives inside him.
      • When we discover that Harry speaks parseltounge which is associated with evil wizards and the bad side.
      • In the third movie we go back in time and experience half of the movie again, but the characters have a different POV, it disrupts the time.
    • Discuss what the difference is between fantasy and magical realism (39 – 52 words)
    • Some arguments against it being magical realism (39 – 52 words)

 

PDF: Discussion – Draft 01

Discussion – Draft 02

First Draft of Discussion

The development of magic FX

The discussion section of this paper will look further explore how illusionism and witchcraft could be the beginning of magic FX as we know it today. How did Méliès bring magic from the stage into the film format? In addition, we will also explore how Disney potentially was the first company to create visible magic and if the Harry Potter movies could have been inspired by them. Then we will tie that into if and how the Harry Potter has affected the Visual Effects (VFX) industry, as well as trying to see if we could categorize Harry Potter as magical realism.

In the literature review it was stated that the first book in the English language written about magic and witchcraft was written in the 15th century. However, evidence suggests that witchcraft predates the Common Era (BCE). In the article “A Journey into Witchcraft Beliefs” from the charity English Heritage’s website professor and historian Diane Purkins states in an interview that there are writings referring to witches and magic dating all the way back to year 800 BCE. She gives an example from the addressed text about ‘witches’ turning men into animals. (Diane Purkins, no date). This is a concept we see often in more contemporary stories. An example of this is in the second Harry Potter movie “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” were the character Hermione turns herself into a cat with a potion she brewed. There are similarities between the modern-day example and the old writings which could lead us to say that witchcraft could be the start of magic as we know it.

Although, witchcraft could be the start of magic, there are arguments to be made that it is not necessarily the beginning of magic effects in films. Some could say that illusions and tricks performed by stage magicians such as Georges Méliès was the beginning. Georges Méliès is for many known as the father of special effects. In a video about Georges Méliès for the YouTube channel CrashCourse, Craig Benzine says “Méliès had found a way to perform actual magic with editing, to fool an audience and pull off illusions he’d never been able to do on stage.” (CrashCourse, 2017, 3:55). Often you hear Méliès work in film referred to as magic because he was able to create visuals that were unimaginable at the time. An argument could be made that this was what started the evolution of creating magic in films.

We know that Méliès introduced ‘invisible magic’ into films, but the start of visible magic in films happened later. As stated in the literature review, Disney was one of the first companies to depict visible magic. The first animation movie Disney released was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. Already in the first movie Disney started slowly depicting magic. We see the villain talking to the magic mirror, and the face in the mirror is surrounded by smoke creating a darker mysterious ambience. This could potentially be the inspiration for how we depict darker or evil magic in movies today. In Harry Potter we see ‘Death Eaters’, which are the villain’s disciples, represented as dark smoke when they travel through air.

In later movies such as Fantasia released in 1940, we see magic depicted as something bright and sparkly, which in modern day is often referred to as pixie dust. The way Disney used concepts of light in the real world as inspiration to create an image of what magic could look like is similar to how artists do it today. In a more recent article on Disney’s official websites effects supervisor Vincent Serritella explains how they created magic for the animated movie Onward by using light and volumes. The article mentioned that they looked to older Disney movies for inspiration when trying to create a new look for the magic effects. (The Walt Disney Company, 2020). Based on this we could say that Disney potentially have had a crucial role in the development of magic effects.

Even though Disney may have played an important role in early day magic effects, there are other films who has pioneered magic in live action movies. Harry Potter is one of the movies that many associate with spectacular magic effects in present time. The franchise has become a staple for many when it comes to fantasy and magic, and the movies has been impactful on pop culture. According to an article published by Annalyssa Fincher in the newsletter CNR the first Harry Potter movie ‘The Philosopher’s Stone’ was the highest grossing film when it was released in 2001. (Fincher, 2022). The rest of the franchise were also major hits. When a franchise is that successful, we can only assume that the films must have had a major impact on the film industry. In the next section we will look at how the Harry Potter franchise has impacted the VFX industry.

The impact of the Harry Potter movies

As a part of the research for this essay there was a survey conducted as explained in the methodology. The survey generated answers from six industry professionals. In figure # we can see that the survey was answered by generalists, compositors, and a supervisor. Further we can see that in figure # they have different jobs, as well as a variety of experience as shown in figure #. The participants all answered that they had seen the Harry Potter movies. This variety of backgrounds sets a good foundation for diversity in the answers.

“Diagrams Here”

The results of the survey are mixed.  of the participants said that they have not been personally affected by the movies, and when asked if they had been inspired by the movies all but one disagreed. On the other hand, when the participants answered whether they believe the movies have impacted the VFX industry all but one agreed. When they were further questioned about the effect the movies have had on magic FX the opinions were split in half with one half being positive, and the other half negative. At last, when they were asked if they believe the movies had set a standard for magic FX the answers were divided as shown in figure #.

“Diagram Here”

On the question whether they have been inspired or impacted when creating magic FX one of the participants, Emil W. Larsen, compositor at Storm Studios, said the following “Absolutely! The high level of quality, impact, design, integration has really set my expectations when it comes to other movies/series, and especially what I would expect from my own work if I were to make anything like it.” (Larsen, 2023). The answers from the survey could imply that the Harry Potter movies have potentially sat a standard for how we create magic effects today.

On the other hand, there were participants that thought the movies weren’t as impactful. One of them was Oddne Madsen, teacher in 3D at Kristiania University in Oslo. He thinks that some of the effects from the movie has been recreated. However, he is unsure whether he thinks that it was impactful enough to set a standard for the industry. (Madsen, 2023). It could indicate that even though the movies have impacted the industry, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they sat a standard.

In an article in the newsletter ‘CBR’, Joshua M. Patton argues that the Harry Potter franchise is at fault for more contemporary magic battles being boring. He claims that the movies set a standard for how magical battles are created in films today. One of the examples he brings up in the article is the 2022 Disney series ‘Willow’, which is a sequel to Ron Howard’s movie ‘Willow’ made in 1988. The example he brings up is a massive battle in the season finale. Patton writes “Despite sharing no creative DNA with the Harry Potter films, the sequence felt only like a slight upgrade from the combat scenes in those films.” (Patton, 2023). This could indicate that the movies might have set a standard. In the next section we will do an intriguing shift and start exploring whether we can define Harry Potter as magical realism or not.

“Picture Here”

Magical Realism in Harry Potter

In the literature review we looked at Faris’s definition of Magical Realism. The characteristics from Faris’s definition will be the starting point for analysing the Harry Potter films. Looking at the first aspect ‘irreducible element’ we can find a few examples of this in the movies. One of them are broomsticks which is used for flying. This goes against the laws of gravity; however, the concept is never questioned by the characters.

For the second characteristic we are looking at whether the films contain a phenomenal world. This could be Hogwarts as it is a school that bears resemblance to schools in the real world. There are similarities such as teachers, exams, detention, and school activities. For the third trait there should be something that sows doubt in the viewer about their perception of contradicting events. We find that in the concept that people can grow as old as Dumbledore, or the fact that they celebrate a Christian holiday, Christmas.

The fourth characteristic is about the merging of realms. This is depicted through the wizarding world being parallel with the human world. We can see examples of this in scenes where they go through portals hidden in plain sight in the real world that takes them into the magical world. One of the most known examples of this could be the platform 9 ¾ at the train station. To get to it they must run through a brick wall at a train station in London. For the last trait we look at the disturbance of space, time, and identity. The viewers experience this when Harry learns in the fifth movie “Order of the Phoenix” that parts of the villain Voldemort live inside him. We also experience this disruption in the second film “Chamber of Secrets” where we learn that Harry speaks parseltounge. This is known as a trait for bad wizards, which is contradicting the fact that Harry Potter is supposed to be the hero.

Based on these characteristics we could perhaps say that Harry Potter is indeed magical realism, however where does the line between magical realism and fantasy go? In a blog post written by Lale Davidson she states that she believes that fantasy involves spectacular magic that the characters are amazed by and react to. While magical realism is when a character looks at something magical as ordinary. (Davidson, 2018). Based on this we could say that it supports the fact that it belongs in the category of magical realism because the wizards look at magical elements as ordinary. However, we could also say that it argues against that. In the real world the humans react to magic events and does not consider it normal, as we can see with the Dudley family.

 

Bibliography

CrashCourse (2017) Georges Melies – Master of Illusion: Crash Course Film History #4. May 5th. Available at: https://youtu.be/L8is28gAOTc?si=7hg3t9ZKiy5CyO3N (Accessed: 03.12.2023)

Davidson, L. (2018) ‘The Difference Between Magic Realism and Fantasy’, Luna Station Quarterly, May 16th. Available at: https://lunastationquarterly.com/the-difference-between-magic-realism-and-fantasy/ (Accessed: 04.12.2023)

Fincher, A. (2022) ‘9 Ways Harry Potter Has Influenced Other Movies’, CBR, August 30th. Available: https://www.cbr.com/ways-harry-potter-influenced-other-movies/#harry-potter-paved-the-way-for-young-adult-fantasy (Accessed: 03.12.2023)

Larsen, E. W. Madsen, O. (2023) ‘Survey: Harry Potter and Magic FX’, Conducted by Johanne S. Nilsen. Unpublished. (Accessed: 03.12.2023)

Patton, J.M. (2023) ‘It’s Harry Potter’s Fault Magical Battles Are Boring’, CBR, January 22nd. Available at: https://www.cbr.com/harry-potter-magic-battles-boring-on-screen/ (Accessed: 12.11.2023)

Purkis, D. (No date) ‘A Journey into Witchcraft Beliefs’, Interviewed by unknown for English Heritage. Available at: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/journey-into-witchcraft-beliefs/ (Accessed: 03.12.2023)

The Walt Disney Company (2020) How Pixar Used VFX to Make Its Own Magic in ‘Onward’. March 6th. Available at: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/how-pixar-used-vfx-to-make-its-own-magic-in-onward/ (Accessed: 03.12.2023)

 

Writing the conclusion

Outline

500 words

Illusionism and witchcraft are the start of magic FX (100 words)

  • We can see examples of olden magic in newer stories. (50 words)
  • Illusionism is the beginning of magic. (50 words)

Disney pioneered the depiction of magic (100 words)

  • Disney inspired magic today, father of magic in movies. (50 words)
  • The early animation movies are the base for what we see in live-action. (50 words)

Impact of Harry Potter (100 words)

  • On the industry (50 words)
  • On magic FX (50 words)

Is Harry Potter magical realism (100 words)

  • The characteristics point towards magical realism. (33 words)
  • The lines between fantasy and magical realism are blurry. (33 words)
  • Hard to definitively define as magical realism. (33 words)

Ending (100 words)

  • How my study could inspire future scholars. (25 words)
    • The surge for more knowledge
    • Further research and exploration
    • Fill the gaps in knowledge around the topics
  • Future directions for this research. (25 words)
    • Taking the primary research further with conducting bigger more elaborate surveys and interviews
    • Talk to people who worked on the movie to gain more knowledge about the process of creating the magic
  • Where do I see this work going. (25 words)
    • Widen the scope of the research with more impactful movies such as lord of the rings
    • Expand the research area to include cultural or social factors to how we view and create/depict magic.
  • End on a positive note. (25 words)
    • To conclude… has contributed to… and I wish that …

 

PDF: Conclusion – V1

Conclusion

Based on the findings in the essay we could say that practical magic and illusions are the root of magical effects as we know them today. We have found examples of how magic written about hundreds of years ago could be found in contemporary stories. Georges Méliès has been mentioned as the father of special effects, and there are arguments to be made that he was the one to introduce magic into film. However, research indicates that Disney pioneered creating spectacular magic on screen. Based on examples of early Disney animation movies we can see relations between how they depicted magic then, and how it is depicted now.

The research makes it clear that the Harry Potter movies have influenced the VFX industry. Through primary and secondary research, we have collected data that gives us indications about the impact of the movies. In the survey, we can see that the answers lean more in a positive direction regarding whether the movies affected magic FX. However, in spite of this, it’s hard to say for a fact that the movies have set a standard for how we create magic FX. The data collected through this essay is not extensive enough to give us a definitive answer. There are limitations to the research such as the survey could have leading questions and the lack of literature on this topic. Even though we can’t say anything for sure, based on examples such as the TV show Willow (2020) there are signs that the movies have inspired how artists create magic in films.

Faris’s (2004, pp. 20-36) characteristics indicate that Harry Potter could be categorized as magical realism since we can find examples of each aspect in the movies. However, in Davidson’s (2018) article we see that the lines between fantasy and magical realism are blurry making it hard to differentiate between the two genres. There are arguments to be made both for and against, based on how we interpret the story and definitions. Therefore, is it hard to say with certainty that the Harry Potter movies belong in the magical realism genre, but we could say that there are traits of the genre to be found in the movies.

Moving forward the hope is that this study will inspire future scholars to further research and explore the topics to fill the gaps in literature around magic effects. The future directions for this research could be expanding the primary research with bigger surveys and interviews with the people who created the VFX for the Harry Potter movies. This study could be taken further by widening the scope of research with other major movies and expanding the research area to include potential cultural or social factors to how we view and create magic. To conclude, this study has contributed to widening the knowledge about the history and development of magic effects in film, the impact of the Harry Potter movies, and whether Harry Potter is categorized as magical realism.

 

Presentation 11.12.2023

  • Investigative Study Findings

Writing the introduction

Outline

500 words

Background (166 words)

  • Why is it important (83 words)
    • Identify lack of literature within the topics (41 words)
      • Lack of literature on history and development of magic FX (14 words)
      • Lack of data on the impact of the Harry Potter movies on magic FX (14 words)
      • General disagreement on whether Harry Potter could be defined as magical realism (14 words)
    • Could be the base for further research on the topic (41 words)
  • why I am doing this research (83 words)
    • The movies sparked my passion for fantasy and magic (41 words)
    • The research aligns with my career goals and ambitions (41 words)

Aims and objectives (166 words)

  • Aims (83 words)
    • Look into how the Harry Potter movies have inspired FX artists and their work. (16 words)
    • Assess the impact the movies have had on the development of magical effects in the industry. (16 words)
    • Attempt to find out if Harry Potter has established a standard for how we view magical FX in movies. (16 words)
    • Briefly explore the history behind magic FX where I will look into the development from the early practical effects to the advanced digital effects. (16 words)
    • Whether Harry Potter fits into the genre of magical realism (16 words)
  • Objectives (83 words)
    • Investigate and gather information about Harry Potter and the influence it has had on FX artists in the industry. (41 words)
    • Look at articles, books, and academic resources to see how magical FXs has developed over time. (41 words)

Research statement (166 words)

  • A clear wording of the hypothesis/research statement
    • Has the Harry Potter movies influenced Magic FX and the VFX industry, and could we categorize the movies as magical realism?
      • Briefly explore the history and development of Magic FX (33 words)
      • Briefly learn about magical realism (33 words)
      • Analyze the Harry Potter movies to categorize it as magical realism (33 words)
      • Research to find out about the impact the Harry Potter movies have had on Magic FX (33 words)
      • Has the movies set a standard for creating magic FX? (33 words)

 

PDF: Introduction_V1

Introduction

Don Levy, who helped Sony Pictures Imageworks win multiple academy awards and grow from 40 employees to the huge company it is today, once said, “Now movies proved to be the ultimate medium for magic” (TED, 2012, 00:16), but what does that entail? Magic has been a part of our history for thousands of years. From watching magicians on stage perform illusions, to seeing spectacular magic on the screen. Most people have some sort of relationship with magic, whether that be through belief and superstition, performances, or stories. Some of the biggest magic movies from the past decades are the Harry Potter films. The movies are often talked about and remembered for their spectacular magic effects (FX) and fantastical worlds.

Even though magic and fantasy are widely loved in today’s pop culture, while researching it became apparent that there isn’t enough written material about the history and development of magic and magic FX in movies. In addition, there is less research into the impact of the Harry Potter movies on the development of magic FX. There has also been a general disagreement between scholars on whether the movies could be defined as magical realism or just fantasy. The hope is that this study will try to fill some gaps in knowledge, and potentially be a base for further research on the topics.

This investigative study aims to investigate how the Harry Potter movies have inspired FX artists and their work. We will be assessing the impact the movies have had on the development of magical effects in the industry. Through research, the study will attempt to find out if Harry Potter has established a standard for how we view magical FX in movies. In addition, we will briefly explore the history behind magic FX to get a better understanding of how magic visibly depicted in movies has developed into what we see today. We will do this by looking at how early magic, such as witchcraft and sorcery, developed into stage-based magic illusions, and connecting this with magic FX we see in a more contemporary cinema context. Lastly, the study aims to explore whether magical realism can be found in the Harry Potter movies.

The objectives of this essay are to investigate and gather information about Harry Potter and the influence it has had on FX and VFX artists and other industry professionals. In the essay, we will look at articles, books, and journals to find out how magic FX has developed over time.

The purpose of this essay is to explore the history and development of magic FX in movies, focusing on researching the impact of magic FX in Harry Potter movies on the VFX industry. We will try to figure out if the movies have set a standard for how we create magic in movies today. In addition, we will explore what magical realism is, how to define it, and analyse the Harry Potter movies to see if it fits the genre.

 

The finished essay

 

PDF:InvestigativeStudy_V2

  • The text below is draft 2.

Magical Realism: The impact of the Harry Potter movies on magic effects

Investigative Study

By Johanne S. Nilsen

 

Introduction

Don Levy, who helped Sony Pictures Imageworks win multiple academy awards and grow from 40 employees to the huge company it is today, once said, “Now movies proved to be the ultimate medium for magic” (TED, 2012, 00:16), but what does that entail? Magic has been a part of our history for thousands of years. From watching magicians on stage perform illusions, to seeing spectacular magic on the screen. Most people have some sort of relationship with magic, whether that be through belief and superstition, performances, or stories. Some of the biggest magic movies from the past decades are the Harry Potter films. The movies are often talked about and remembered for their spectacular magic effects (FX) and fantastical worlds.

Even though magic and fantasy are widely loved in today’s pop culture, while researching it became apparent that there isn’t enough written material about the history and development of magic and magic FX in movies. In addition, there is less research into the impact of the Harry Potter movies on the development of magic FX. There has also been a general disagreement between scholars on whether the movies could be defined as magical realism or just fantasy. The hope is that this study will try to fill some gaps in knowledge, and potentially be a base for further research on the topics.

This investigative study aims to investigate how the Harry Potter movies have inspired FX artists and their work. We will be assessing the impact the movies have had on the development of magical effects in the industry. Through research, the study will attempt to find out if Harry Potter has established a standard for how we view magical FX in movies. In addition, we will briefly explore the history behind magic FX to get a better understanding of how magic visibly depicted in movies has developed into what we see today. We will do this by looking at how early magic, such as witchcraft and sorcery, developed into stage-based magic illusions, and connecting this with magic FX we see in a more contemporary cinema context. Lastly, the study aims to explore whether magical realism can be found in the Harry Potter movies.

The objectives of this essay are to investigate and gather information about Harry Potter and the influence it has had on FX and VFX artists and other industry professionals. In the essay, we will look at articles, books, and journals to find out how magic FX has developed over time.

The purpose of this essay is to explore the history and development of magic FX in movies, focusing on researching the impact of magic FX in Harry Potter movies on the VFX industry. We will try to figure out if the movies have set a standard for how we create magic in movies today. In addition, we will explore what magical realism is, how to define it, and analyse the Harry Potter movies to see if it fits the genre.

 

Methodology

This methodology outlines different research methods used for this investigative study. This type of research led to a better understanding of relevant subjects. In addition, we will also discuss the plan for retrieving the necessary data for this essay. The methodology for this essay will be primarily qualitative, with some quantitative work as well.

The primary approach utilized in this essay will be secondary research for the literature review. This type of research allows for gaining more knowledge surrounding subjects relevant to the study. This text will aid in understanding the topics for the essay’s discussion chapter. This method has been chosen because it is well-suited for our focus area. In order to acquire the required knowledge, it was determined that articles, books, and journals would be utilized.

The other method in this essay will be primary research conducted through a survey. The survey aims to gather data from VFX artists regarding the impact of Harry Potter movies on their work, the industry, and magic FX. It will be conducted among industry professionals to determine the movie’s influence on the industry. To spread the survey, it will be posted in an active Facebook group for industry people in Norway, and it will be sent to a few FX artists at Ghost VFX studio in Copenhagen. This method of research was chosen to gather opinions and data directly from the people whom the movie may have potentially impacted. The survey allowed for multiple answers, while interviews would not. Interviews are also harder to conduct as they are more time consuming and harder to find participants for.

The survey is collecting some background information about the participants. This provides an understanding of the variety of individuals involved. These questions will be multiple choice questions which allows for setting up graphs. Further in the survey, there will be questions that allow for individualized responses. These questions will be regarding the movies and their impact. The survey’s end has open questions for additional feedback. The survey is anonymous, but participants can choose to share their personal information for quoting or paraphrasing.

A possible fault in the data from the survey could stem from how the questions were phrased. The survey questions may be biased toward the research statements. To prevent this, an objective third party will review the survey before publishing. Open questions allow for any response, countering the leading nature of multiple-choice questions. After the survey is completed, the results will be analysed and set up in two separate ways. Firstly, the multiple-choice answers will be converted into easily readable graphs. The long answers will be scrutinized for any themes and patterns. It will be important to include all answers to get a more nuanced result.

Literature Review

Magic, Illusions and Disney

In this first section of the literature review, we will explore a brief history of magic and illusions through the work of people such as Reginald Scot and Georges Méliès. Then tie that into how magic has been depicted in Disney animation movies, and the development of technology allowing for magic in live-action productions.

Magic can be dated 100s of years back in time. Britland, Copperfield, and Wiseman (2021, p. 8) writes that the first book in the English language about magic was The discovery of Witchcraft written by Reginald Scot in 1584. Scot (1584, cited in Britland, Copperfield, and Wiseman, 2021, p. 8) highlights that at the time the book was written witches were viewed as supernatural and that they were able to summon spirits. Copperfield explains that Scot’s book aimed to debunk and rationalize the supernatural and magic behind witches. He presents the idea that magic is just an illusion, and that some of the principles found in Scot’s book are still being used by modern-day magicians.

Georges Méliès was a magician and is viewed as one of the key persons in the development of visual effects. Britland, Copperfield, and Wiseman (2021, p. 18) explain that Méliès created short films inspired by practical magic and illusions. North (2015, pp. 128-131) describes Méliès as the father of special effects. He describes how Méliès used the camera to create magic in his film. His most famous work was A Trip to the Moon, it was spectacular for the viewers at the time of its release. The idea of traveling to the moon seemed like magic.

In a TED talk, Don Levy (TED, 2012) talks about how movies are just illusions, and Visual Effects are all about tricking the viewer’s perception of reality. Don Levy said, “Now movies proved to be the ultimate medium for magic”. (TED, 2012, 00:16) Stephen Prince (2012, p.188) states in his book that the magic you see in movies today such as lord of the rings, stems from nineteenth-century magician performances.

Some of the earliest movies that depict visible magic are Walt Disney animation movies. In an article by Rowe (2022, pp. 98-111), she states that Disney as a brand is strongly associated with magic, and that magic is a key element of “Classic Disney”. Rowe goes on to explain that Disney’s use of animation allowed them to create magic effects and looks long before technology allowed for magic effects in live-action films. She states that this is one of the reasons Disney has been able to strongly associate themselves with magic.

Magical Realism

In this section, we will look at the origin of the term magical realism and how we define it. In addition, we will examine how it is presented in films, and specifically in the Harry Potter movies.

Magical Realism is not a new term but can be dated back to the early 1900s. Faris and Zamora (1995, p. 26) state that the term was first invented in 1925 by Franz Roh. It was originally a way to characterize realism paintings after the expressionism’s abstract style. However, in an article by Gail Finney (2022, p.41) he argues that the meaning of the term back in 1925 is quite different to the current definition. Roh used the term to describe an abstract form of realism such as the paintings by artist Pablo Picasso.

Faris (2004) suggests that there are five primary characteristics for defining magical realism. The first is an element in contrast to the laws of nature that is assimilated to the environment for which it exists and is rarely questioned by either the narrator or the characters. However, for the reader, the element would stick out. She refers to it as an ‘irreducible element.’ (pp.20-21) Faris’s second characteristic is described as a phenomenal world. She states that this characteristic is the realism aspect of the term ‘magical realism. A phenomenal world is a highly detailed description of a fictional world that bears a resemblance to the real world. (p. 27) A third characteristic of magical realism is the readers’ experience of unsettling doubt about their perception of contradicting events in the narrative. The doubts are often based on whether the events are possible as well as the readers’ belief system. Faris writes that events can be interpreted as marvellous which would require adjustments to the laws of the natural universe. Therefore, this quality of magical realism will vary based on the interpretation. (pp. 30-33) The fourth characteristic is merging realms. Faris describes it as two worlds coexisting, which could be a magical world and a contemporary realistic world. (p. 34). The last characteristic is the disruption of time, space, and identity. What Faris means by this is that in magical realism authors can disrupt the readers’ sense of time. An example she gives is the feeling of always March and always Monday. (pp.35-36)

In her book, Bowers (2004, p.16) states that magical realism often is not recognized as a category of film. However, she goes on to say that it is indeed possible to find characteristics of magical realism in films. Bowers argues that film conventions that include magical realism are accepted and familiarized by viewers in a variety of age ranges. She explores children’s stories in comparison to magical realism and concludes that even though they do not necessarily follow every defining element of the genre, they still provide insight into the relationship of magic in the everyday world.

One of the focus points for this investigative study is finding examples of magical realism in the Harry Potter movies. In Smitha Santhosh’s article (Santosh, 2019) she explains that the author J.K. Rowling created a fantasy world filled with magic and wizards that exists alongside a contemporary England. There are elements of the real world to be found in the fantasy world as well such as technology, government, banks, newspapers, and hospitals. However, Bowers (2004, p.16) argues that the fantasy world of Hogwarts diminishes the story’s likeness to magical realism, but she believes that the element of an empowered child that uses their magical powers to change the adult world argues in favour of magical realism.

 

Discussion

The discussion section of this paper will further explore how illusionism and witchcraft could be the beginning of magic FX as we know it today. How did Méliès bring magic from the stage into film? In addition, we will explore how Disney potentially was the first company to create visible magic, and if the Harry Potter movies could be inspired by them. Then we will tie that into if and how Harry Potter has affected the Visual Effects (VFX) industry and try to categorize Harry Potter as magical realism.

The development of magic FX

In the literature review, Britland, Copperfield, and Wiseman (2021, p. 8) stated that the first book in the English language written about magic and witchcraft was written in the 15th century. However, evidence suggests that witchcraft predates the Common Era (BCE). In an article on the website for the charity organization English Heritage, professor, and historian Diane Purkins (Purkiss, no date) states in an interview that there are writings that refer to witches and magic dating back to the year 800 BC. She gives an example from the addressed text about witches turning men into animals. This is a concept we can find in contemporary stories. We can find an example of this in the second Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 2002) when the character Hermione turns herself into a cat with a potion she brewed. There are similarities between the modern-day example and the old writings which could lead us to say that witchcraft could be the start of magic as we know it.

Although witchcraft could be the start of magic, there are arguments to be made that it is not necessarily the beginning of magic effects in films. Some could say that illusions and tricks performed by stage magicians such as Georges Méliès were the beginning. Georges Méliès is for many known as the father of special effects. In a video on YouTube Craig Benzine says “Méliès had found a way to perform actual magic with editing, to fool an audience and pull off illusions he’d never been able to do on stage.” (CrashCourse, 2017, 3:55). Often you hear Méliès work in film referred to as magic because he was able to create visuals that were unimaginable at the time. An argument could be made that this was what started the evolution of creating magic in films.

We know that Méliès introduced invisible magic into films, but the start of visible magic in films happened later. As stated by Rowe (2022, pp. 98-111) in the literature review, Disney was one of the first companies to depict visible magic. The first animated movie Disney released was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Already in the first movie Disney started slowly depicting magic. At the beginning of the movie the villain is talking to a magic mirror, and the face in the mirror is surrounded by smoke creating a darker mysterious ambience. This could potentially be the inspiration for how we depict darker or evil magic in movies today. In the Harry Potter movies, we see Death Eaters (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 1, 2010), which are the villain’s disciples, represented as dark smoke when they travel through the air. As shown in figure 1 there are similarities to be drawn between modern-day magic and old Disney magic.

Figure 1: Left side is a picture from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Right side is a picture from Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 1 (2010).

In later movies such as Fantasia (1940), we see magic depicted as something bright and sparkly, which in modern day is often referred to as pixie dust. The way Disney used concepts of lights and volumes is similar to how artists approached it when companies started making live-action movies. We can see that in the movie Willow (1988) where they used light to create a glow around the wand as shown in figure 2. In a more recent article on Disney’s official website effects supervisor Vincent Serritella (The Walt Disney Company, 2020) explains how they created magic for the animated movie Onward by using light and volumes. The article mentioned that they looked to older Disney movies for inspiration when trying to create a new look for the magic effects. Based on this we could say that Disney potentially has had a crucial role in the development of magic effects.

Figure 2: Main character uses a magic wand from the movie Willow (1988)

Figure 3: Left side is a picture from Fantasia (1940). Right side is a picture from Onward (2020)

Even though Disney may have played an important role in early-day magic effects, other films have pioneered magic in live-action movies. One of the more well-known ones is the Harry Potter franchise which many associate with spectacular magic effects. The franchise has become a staple for many when it comes to fantasy and magic, and the movies have been impactful on pop culture. According to an article by A. Fincher (Fincher, 2022) in the newsletter CNR, the first Harry Potter movie The Philosopher’s Stone was the highest-grossing film when it was released in 2001. The rest of the franchise were also major hits. When a franchise is that successful, we can only assume that the films must have had an impact on the film industry. In the next section, we will look at how the Harry Potter franchise has impacted the VFX industry.

The impact of the Harry Potter movies

As a part of the research for this essay, there was a survey conducted as explained in the methodology. The survey generated answers from six industry professionals. In figure 4 we can see that the survey was answered by generalists, compositors, and a supervisor. Further, we can see that in figure 5 they have different jobs, as well as a variety of experience as shown in figure 6. The participants all answered that they had seen the Harry Potter movies. This variety of backgrounds sets a good foundation for diversity in the answers.

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

The results of the survey are mixed.  of the participants said that they had not been personally affected by the movies, and when asked if they had been inspired by the movies all but one disagreed. On the other hand, when the participants answered whether they believe the movies have impacted the VFX industry all but one agreed. When they were questioned about the effect the movies have had on magic FX the opinions were split in half with one half being positive, and the other half negative. At last, when they were asked if they believed the movies had set a standard for magic FX the answers were divided as shown in figure 7.

Figure 7

On the question of whether they had been inspired or impacted when creating magic FX one of the participants, Emil W. Larsen, a compositor at Storm Studios, said the following “Absolutely! The high level of quality, impact, design, integration has really set my expectations when it comes to other movies/series, and especially what I would expect from my own work if I were to make anything like it.” (Larsen, 2023). The answers from the survey could imply that the Harry Potter movies have potentially set a standard for how we create magic effects today.

On the other hand, some participants thought the movies weren’t as impactful. One of them was Oddne Madsen (Madsen, 2023), a teacher in 3D at Kristiania University in Oslo. He thinks that some of the effects from the movie have been recreated. However, he is unsure whether he thinks that it was impactful enough to set a standard for the industry. It could indicate that even though the movies have impacted the industry, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they set a standard.

However, in an article by J.M. Patton (Patton, 2023) he claims that the movies have set a standard for how magical battles are created in films today. One of the examples he brings up in the article is the Disney series Willow (2022), which is a sequel to the movie Willow made in 1988. The example he brings up is a massive battle in the season finale as shown in figure 8. Patton writes “Despite sharing no creative DNA with the Harry Potter films, the sequence felt only like a slight upgrade from the combat scenes in those films.” (Patton, 2023). This could indicate that the movies might have set a standard. In the next section, we will do an intriguing shift and start exploring whether we can define Harry Potter as magical realism or not.

Figure 8: Left side is pictures from Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 2 (2011). Right side is pictures from Willow (2022).

Magical Realism in Harry Potter

In the literature review, we looked at Faris’s definition of Magical Realism (Faris, 2004). The characteristics from Faris’s definition will be the starting point for analysing the Harry Potter films. Looking at the first aspect ‘irreducible element’ we can find a few examples of this in the movies. One of them are broomsticks which are used for flying. This goes against the laws of gravity; however, the concept is never questioned by the characters.

For the second characteristic, we are looking at whether the films contain a phenomenal world. This could be Hogwarts as it is a school that bears resemblance to schools in the real world. There are similarities such as teachers, exams, detention, and school activities. For the third trait, there should be something that sows doubt in the viewer about their perception of contradicting events. We find that in the concept that people can grow as old as Dumbledore, or the fact that they celebrate a Christian holiday, Christmas.

The fourth characteristic is about the merging of realms. This is depicted through the wizarding world being parallel with the human world. We can see examples of this in scenes where they go through portals hidden in plain sight in the real world that take them into the magical world. One of the most known examples of this could be the platform 9 ¾ at the train station. To get to it they must run through a brick wall at a train station in London. For the last trait, we look at the disturbance of space, time, and identity. The viewers experience this when Harry learns in the fifth movie Order of the Phoenix (2007) that parts of the villain Voldemort live inside him. We also experience this disruption in the second film Chamber of Secrets (2002) where we learn that Harry speaks parseltounge. This is known as a trait for bad wizards, which contradicts the fact that Harry Potter is supposed to be the hero causing a disruption of identity.

Based on these characteristics we could perhaps say that Harry Potter is indeed magical realism, however, where does the line between magical realism and fantasy go? In a blog post, Lale Davidson (Davidson, 2018) states that she believes that fantasy involves spectacular magic that the characters are amazed by and react to. While magical realism is when a character looks at something magical as ordinary.  Based on this we could say that it supports the fact that it belongs in the category of magical realism because the wizards look at magical elements as ordinary. However, we could also say that it argues against that. In the real world, humans react to magic events and do not consider it normal, as we can see with the Dudley family.

Conclusion

Based on the findings in the essay we could say that practical magic and illusions are the root of magical effects as we know them today. We have found examples of how magic written about hundreds of years ago could be found in contemporary stories. Georges Méliès has been mentioned as the father of special effects, and there are arguments to be made that he was the one to introduce magic into film. However, research indicates that Disney pioneered creating spectacular magic on screen. Based on examples of early Disney animation movies we can see relations between how they depicted magic then, and how it is depicted now.

The research makes it clear that the Harry Potter movies have influenced the VFX industry. Through primary and secondary research, we have collected data that gives us indications about the impact of the movies. In the survey, we can see that the answers lean more in a positive direction regarding whether the movies affected magic FX. However, in spite of this, it’s hard to say for a fact that the movies have set a standard for how we create magic FX. The data collected through this essay is not extensive enough to give us a definitive answer. There are limitations to the research such as the survey could have leading questions and the lack of literature on this topic. Even though we can’t say anything for sure, based on examples such as the TV show Willow (2020) there are signs that the movies have inspired how artists create magic in films.

Faris’s (2004, pp. 20-36) characteristics indicate that Harry Potter could be categorized as magical realism since we can find examples of each aspect in the movies. However, in Davidson’s (2018) article we see that the lines between fantasy and magical realism are blurry making it hard to differentiate between the two genres. There are arguments to be made both for and against, based on how we interpret the story and definitions. Therefore, is it hard to say with certainty that the Harry Potter movies belong in the magical realism genre, but we could say that there are traits of the genre to be found in the movies.

Moving forward the hope is that this study will inspire future scholars to further research and explore the topics to fill the gaps in literature around magic effects. The future directions for this research could be expanding the primary research with bigger surveys and interviews with the people who created the VFX for the Harry Potter movies. This study could be taken further by widening the scope of research with other major movies and expanding the research area to include potential cultural or social factors to how we view and create magic. To conclude, this study has contributed to widening the knowledge about the history and development of magic effects in film, the impact of the Harry Potter movies, and whether Harry Potter is categorized as magical realism.

 

Bibliography

Bowers, M. A. (2004) Magic(al) Realism. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1619667/magical-realism-pdf (Accessed: 19 November 2023)

Britland, D., Copperfield, D. and Wiseman, R. (2021) David Copperfield’s History of Magic. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/2503245/david-copperfields-history-of-magic-pdf (Accessed: 19 November 2023)

CrashCourse (2017) Georges Melies – Master of Illusion: Crash Course Film History #4. May 5th. Available at: https://youtu.be/L8is28gAOTc?si=7hg3t9ZKiy5CyO3N (Accessed: 3 December 2023)

Davidson, L. (2018) ‘The Difference Between Magic Realism and Fantasy’, Luna Station Quarterly, May 16th. Available at: https://lunastationquarterly.com/the-difference-between-magic-realism-and-fantasy/ (Accessed: 4 December 2023)

Fantasia (1940) Directed by Beebe Jr., J. Algar, and S. Armstrong. Available at: Disney Plus. (Accessed: 4 December 2023)

Faris, W.B. and Zamora, L.P (1995) Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1467290/magical-realism-theory-history-community-pdf (Accessed: 13 November 2023)

Faris, W.B. (2004) Ordinary Enchantments: Magical Realism and the Remystification of Narrative. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1976918/ordinary-enchantments-magical-realism-and-the-remystification-of-narrative-pdf (Accessed: 13 November 2023)

Fincher, A. (2022) ‘9 Ways Harry Potter Has Influenced Other Movies’, CBR, August 30th. Available: https://www.cbr.com/ways-harry-potter-influenced-other-movies/#harry-potter-paved-the-way-for-young-adult-fantasy (Accessed: 3 December 2023)

Finney, G. (2022) ‘Amphibious Magical Realism? The Shape of Water as Cinematic Trauma Narrative’, Journal of Film & Video, Volume 74, Issue ½, Spring/Summer, p. 42. Available at: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=a8569f79-dad6-371a-b2bc-83d7c0789f9b (Accessed: 13 November 2023)

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets (2002) Directed by C. Columbus. Available at: Netflix (Accessed: 4 December 2023)

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix (2007) Directed by D. Yates. Available at: Netflix. (Accessed: 4 December 2023)

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Hastings, E., Guha, R., and Stanley, K. O. (2007) ‘NEAT Particles: Design, Representation, and Animation of Particle Systems Effects’, IEEE Symposium on Computational Intelligence and Games, pp. 154 – 160. DOI: 10.1109/CIG.2007.368092 (Accessed: 20 November 2023)

Larsen, E. W. Madsen, O. (2023) ‘Survey: Harry Potter and Magic FX’, Conducted by Johanne S. Nilsen. Unpublished. (Accessed: 3 December 2023) Appendix 1.

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Willow (2022) Directed by J. Kasdan. Full movie not available. Sequence available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exxFmq1CiLM (Accessed: 12 November 2023)

 

List of Figures

Figure 1:

Left Side: Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937) Directed by D. Hand, W. Cottrell, and W. Jackson. Available at: Disney Plus. (Accessed: 4 December 2023) 00:02:49.

Right Side: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010) Directed by D. Yates. Available at: Netflix. (Accessed: 4 December 2023) 01:57:14

Figure 2:

Willow (1988) Directed by R. Howard. Available at: Disney Plus. (Accessed: 5 December 2023) 01:40:17

Figure 3:

Left Side: Fantasia (1940) Directed by Beebe Jr., J. Algar, and S. Armstrong. Available at: Disney Plus. (Accessed: 4 December 2023) 00:33:48

Right Side: Onward (2020) Directed by D. Scanlon. Available at: Disney Plus. (Accessed: 4 December 2023) 00:20:06

Figure 4:

(2023) ‘Survey: Harry Potter and Magic FX’, Conducted by Johanne S. Nilsen. Unpublished. (Accessed: 3 December 2023) Appendix 1.

Figure 5:

(2023) ‘Survey: Harry Potter and Magic FX’, Conducted by Johanne S. Nilsen. Unpublished. (Accessed: 3 December 2023) Appendix 1.

Figure 6:

(2023) ‘Survey: Harry Potter and Magic FX’, Conducted by Johanne S. Nilsen. Unpublished. (Accessed: 3 December 2023) Appendix 1.

Figure 7:

(2023) ‘Survey: Harry Potter and Magic FX’, Conducted by Johanne S. Nilsen. Unpublished. (Accessed: 3 December 2023) Appendix 1.

Figure 8:

Left Side: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011) Directed by D. Yates. Available at: Netflix. (Accessed: 4 December 2023) Top: 01:49:08 Bottom: 01:48:07.

Right Side: Willow (2022) Directed by J. Kasdan. Full movie not available. Sequence available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exxFmq1CiLM (Accessed: 12 November 2023) Top: 00:18 Bottom: 00:14

 

Appendix 1.