Harry Potter: the Artifact Vault by Jody Revenson

Harry Potter: the Artifact Vault Reviews

• 
  Miriam

  This is an amazing gift for every Harry Potter-fan!
  
  It is filled with interesting information about important artifacts from the films and illustrated with beautiful pictures and drawings. Some of them didn't even make it into the movies.
  My favourite chapters were the one about the Weasleys Wizard Wheezes and the one called "At Hogwarts" featuring the Great Hall, school documents and much more.
  
  But still I have to admit that I missed some information about wands...
• 
  Patricia Bejarano

  Este libro ha sido increíble, creo que de los 4 libros especiales, este es el que más me ha gustado y me ha resultado más interesante. Y es que muchas veces no somos conscientes del trabajo que hay detrás de una película y que se cuida hasta el más mínimo detalle, y aquí nos lo demuestran sin duda alguna. Me ha encantado. Si eres fan de Harry Potter es un libro imprescindible.
• 
  Erik Fazekas

  Táto kniha spôsobila jediné--mám brutálnu chuť na kompletný rereading a rewatching celej filmovej aj knižnej série!!! Give me books, movies and at least one week of vacation!!!
• 
  Kitty G Books

  This was a birthday gift to me and I really, really loved it. I have to say that after having read Page to Screen which is another HP companion book I own, I thought I already knew a lot about the behind the scenes, but this goes way more in depth about the actual graphics department and the various props they had to make. I think one of the most interesting elements is seeing the truly ingenious and inventive ways the team had to devise props so that they could be interacted with, scaled up or down, and replicated many times over.
  
  The book is a simple work which is made up largely of quotes from the prop departments heads, Mina and Lima. The quotes are blended with some information regarding the pieces and how they were used within the film, but often the images take the centre-stage on the pages. We get to see close-ups of the interiors for the Daily Prophet, packaging for sweets and Weasley jokes, and even the Horcruxes and Hallows themselves. All of the items, however small or big, play a vital part in fleshing out the plot and world and making it all appear convincing and magical on screen.
  
  I would hugely recommend this book as a companion if you have any interest in how films are made or in Harry Potter as it's definitely an eye-catching and intriguing read. I found that I read though all of this super fast and really enjoyed learning more about the sets and the teams and how all the departments worked together. I ended up giving it a 4.5*s overall :)
• 
  Ivka

  Moja prvá z tejto série ilustrovaných filmových sprievodcov. Ako prvé ma milo prekvapilo to, že je v celej knihe dokopy možno tak 5 dobre známych fotiek z filmov, a zvyšok naozaj tvoria výtvarné návrhy, technické kresby, pohľady na nakrúcanie bez špeciálnych efektov a tak podobne. Klobúk dole - a dvojnásobne, lebo mínus rekapitulačnú omáčku na takmer každej stránke sa pri samotných faktoch dočítate veci, o ktorých doteraz snáď nevyšla jediná zmienka.
  
  Plus cool knižka Rozprávok barda Beedla zviazaná v strede, ktorú si môžete chytiť a prelistovať, a priložený plagát s rodokmeňom Blackovcov.
  8/10
• 
  leynes

  J.K. Rowling has consistently spread misinformation about trans people and trans activism. I do not stand for any of her ignorant and hurtful statements and stand in solidarity with all trans people. Trans women are women. End of the discussion! I will no longer support her financially by picking up her books or give her my platform by talking about them on my channel. I would encourage other people to stop supporting her financially and/or giving her a platform as well.
  
  Here are some ways in which you can support trans people: 1)
  More protection for Black Trans Women UK, 2)
  Donate to These Orgs to Support Black Trans People and 3)
  Homeless Black Trans women fund.
  
  //
  
  WOW! Jody Revenson's best work so far. I started loosing faith in her after her horrible work of putting "Magical Places from the films together" (I mean those pages were done with no love and the picture she chose were nothing new and horrendous actually...) BUT "The Artifact Vault" is literally perfection. Every page was done in an intelligent and insightful way. The prints are amazing and actually large enough so you can read the subjects on Hermione's time table or which objects Luna lost at the end of the fifth year.
  
  I really liked the insights into the Arts Department and that Mina and Lima literally wrote themselves or their families into every newspaper article or book title possible... It's amazing! :D
  
  The little poster in the back (a print of the Black Family Tree) is soooo beautiful. The best poster in this series so far.
  
  The only thing that I really despise is the cover. It is the worst cover (compared to the other three books)... That shade of blue and silver and the objects she chose... NOT GOOD! But the content is so amazing that this is getting 5 stars nonetheless!
• 
  Jen

  This was another beautiful Harry Potter companion book. I loved finding out the details behind how some of the most iconic and also some of my favourite Harry Potter items were brought to life for the movies. Definitely one to add to the collection!
• 
  Ady Weasley

  Algo imperdonable pero estuve tentada a colocarle 4.5⭐️ de los libros especiales que sacan este libro es el que menos material fisico extra tiene. Sin embargo el contenido es increíble, todo lo que está detrás de las películas es un mundo inmenso y nosotros lo llegamos a percibir solo un par de segundo y no alcanzamos a ver su magnitud.
  
  En este libro vemos a detalle los artefactos que están dentro del mundo de Harry Potter. Se compone de nueve capítulos cada uno con mucha información desde documentos, publicaciones mágicas, escobas, copas, comida banquetes, Sortilegios Weasley, Horrocruxes y Reliquias.
  
  Al igual que los libros de esta línea, un imperdible para cualquier Potterhead
• 
  Eliška **

  Netřeba slov. 👌🏼
• 
  Maarit

  I've read too many of these as they're starting to repeat themselves unfortunately. This one is about them things made for Harry Potter films, how and why they were designed and how they appeared on screen. Most of these have already appeared on some other books similar to this one (all written by Jody Revenson of course), so there's actually almost nothing new information in this book except for some things that were cut off from the final screen version. Pretty pictures as always, but still, when you know most of the things shown in the book already the text part offers almost nothing new. So because of this reason only 3 stars for this one, and a hard thought about reading any more of these, since they are already repeating themselves quite much.
• 
  Sara

  Don't know why I was surprised to find out that a lot of the things I thought were CGI were actual practical effects (a fancy term I learned while reading the book). Honestly they just surpassed everything it was expected of them for this movies. My favorite part about the props was always the amount of detail that went into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Shop because it was a very short scene where you can barely see anything in full detail, but still they went all the way and just made the store absolutely perfection!!
• 
  Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile

  Gorgeous and fascinating look into all the many, many different types of props made for the movies. Worth a read for any Harry Potter fan!
• 
  Becky

  This is another brilliant addition to the series - it gives a brilliant overview of all of the artifacts that are used within the films and tells the reader briefly about the various processes that went into creating the artifacts, where they were seen, and it offers a great insight into the creative process and into the people who made the objects that we see throughout the beloved films - I found this one a really helpful and interesting book to flip through and, as always, the illustrations are beautiful and the whole book is gorgeous to flick through. It's interesting, insightful, and you'll learn so many new facts from the series and get a unique insight into the creators of the props and you'll be able to watch the films with a new angle - knowing little bits and pieces to look for in the props (such as prop-makers names hidden on the front cover of the Daily Prophet) really makes this book worth the read. It's funny, insightful, interesting and pouring with info that I think every Harry Potter fan could benefit from knowing.
  
  Something I rarely discuss whilst reviewing the book is the quality of the book in its physical form, but I feel it's necessary for this one (and the other books in this particular series): the pages are beautiful, glossy, thick pages which make the stunning illustrations and photos stand out amazingly; and it adds to the high quality feel of the book which is weighty, sturdy and nicely put together - just like the content buried inside the lengthy pages.
  
  This book is a brilliant addition to any Potter fans' shelves and I think this one is definitely worth a read: it offered me information that was new to me and I think that's extremely valuable in a book such as this.
• 
  Elise Bradley

  This behind the scenes book on the artifacts used throughout the Harry Potter series was an absolute winner read for me.
  
  It touches on the various amounts of research that underwent before each prop was made, the details that were crafted but hardly seen on-screen enough to satisfy their beauty and overall the magical realness that surrounded each and every artifact in the film series.
  
  I found out a truckload of information that I would not have guessed before reading this book such as the creation of wizard brand BREAKFAST CEREALS like "Cheeri Owls" and "Pixie Puffs".
  
  All the graphic designs, concept arts, model creations and visual effects are all imaginative and beautiful!! Now I'm going to rewatch the entire film series with an open mind to the hard efforts put into them. DEFINITELY READ IF YOU LOVE HARRY POTTER 😉
• 
  anolinde

  More like 2.5.
  
  The pictures were cool, but the text had very little substance (e.g. "Harry got his Firebolt from Sirius and uses it for Quidditch practice" like... no shit, we know). Also, the captions were organized poorly - it would have been a lot less of a headache if they had paired them with the photos instead of clustering them all together in a block paragraph with things like "ABOVE RIGHT" and "OPPOSITE RIGHT" to clarify which was which.
  
  I'll be donating this or selling it.
• 
  Charisa Flaherty

  My kid is super into Harry Potter right now. We have read one book and two chapters of the second one. We got interrupted reading to read this. He’s never seen any of the movies and there was lots of interruptions to explain things. That is part of why this only got three stars. It was a little frustrating to read with him. found parts of this really interesting. I hope that when I do watch the movies I notice some if the things that I read about
• 
  Denisa Lesniaková

  Oproti Tvorom & netvorom a Magickym miestam bolo toto jednoznacne najslabsie. Miestami som mala pocit, ze tie informacie uz boli spomenute v tamtych dvoch knihach, ale inak bolo zaujimave citat, kolko tych veci vlastne museli vyrobit, a akym procesom to preslo. Uplne obdivujem aku predstavivosť maju ti ludia.
• 
  Daramegan

  Naprosto skvělé. Recenze:
  https://darameganknihy.blogspot.cz/20...
• 
  Samantha Nowatzke

  Fun for Potter fans - lots of pictures or props/artifacts & anecdotes from crafting scenes in the movies.
• 
  Ashley Marsh

  I really enjoyed this. There was a lot of information to take in. The book was definitely more interesting than I originally expected it to be.
• 
  Onka

  Na túto som sa tešila najviac a nesklamala! Pre mňa asi najlepšia časť "série".
• 
  Jenna

  Very fun to flip through!
• 
  ♏ Gina Baratono☽

  I loved this book.
  
  If you loved or simply enjoyed the Harry Potter movies and are interested in how they made what J K Rowling envisioned (and hopefully made your imagination soar also), this is the book for you.
  
  The book covers all 8 Potter movies and includes the original artwork and drawings or sketches of what the film makers were thinking about as they made the entire Potter world come to life on the big screen. It was not an easy thing to do.
  
  The book includes a few surprises that I won't divulge here.
  
  This is a book to linger over and enjoy. Go to the chapters that cover your favorite parts of Potterworld, grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate (or whatever tickles your fancy) and just enjoy.
• 
  Lauren

  Amazing. Great photos and loads of information,
• 
  jenn

  Zatím jsem četla jen jednu doplňkovou knihu k Harry Potterovské sérii (a to Cestu dějinami čar a kouzel), takže nemám moc s čím srovnávat, ale tahle mě nezklamala. Dozvěděla jsem se v ní nové, mnohdy překvapivé, informace (filmová bezová hůlka není z bezu, ale anglického dubu :(), mohla si podrobně prohlédnou například Hermionin rozvrh ze 3. dílu nebo obaly zboží z Kratochvilných kouzelnických kejklí a celkově blíže nahlédnout do zákulisí produkce filmů. S doplňkovými knihami podobného rázu určitě nekončím, svět Rowlingové mi toho jistě ještě mnoho skrývá.
• 
  Chema

  Me ha encantado saber todo el proceso de concepción de muchos de los artefactos de los libros de Harry Potter y como estos fueron llevados a la gran pantalla con sus dificultades o las exigencias del guión.
  
  Detrás de una gran superproducción se esconde un trabajo bastante intenso por parte de los departamentos de utilería.
• 
  Lesincele

  Mi segundo libro favorito de los que son de este estilo. Muy interesante como se hicieron todos los artefactos. y es realmente impresionante ver todo el trabajo que hay detrás para cuidar hasta el más pequeño detalle. Muy recomendable para los fans de la saga.
• 
  Faizan

  Damn Damn Damn
  
  no word to describe it....
  
  
• 
  Aphelia

  A fun collectible for fans of the Harry Potter movies! It places every major prop in context, and assumes familiarity with all the books and movies, and so inevitably contains series spoilers.
  
  "The number of artifacts required for the Harry Potter films is astounding - and not simply the result of being spread over eight films, but rather that some locations needed to be filled up wall to wall! There were twenty thousand goods and products in the windows of Diagon Alley alone; add to that a relatively similar number in Hogsmeade. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was stocked with forty thousand items. Twelve thousand handmade books filled up classrooms, offices and libraries." (12)
  
  "Many of the shelved books in Dumbledore's office were London phone books rebound in faux covers and sprinkled with dust." (128)
  
  I just finished reading the Harry Potter books for the first time, and I've yet to see the movies (although I have seen Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and very much enjoyed it). It wasn't until I read this book though that I realized there was an actual production and design industry that necessarily sprang up around the back-to-back movies, as most of the props were designed and manufactured "in house", that is, by the people involved.
  
  The sheer numbers involved are staggering, especially as there appear to be many stages between concept design, demos, and actual finished models. Most things had to be made in multiple versions, or multiple sizes. And objects had to change over the course of the movies, many in unexpected ways since the series was not yet finished when the movie productions began.
  
  I got the feeling repeatedly while reading this book that it only touches the very top of the iceberg of what was involved in prop making and manufacture, and I wish that there were more photos and behind-the-scenes information on how things actually were made, as many items seem to be a result of trial and error and required innovating special crafting techniques to get the desired result. There are a lot of item blueprints used as background, but they are so faint and overlain with text that it's hard to make them out.
  
  This is a beautiful, oversize, full-colour book printed on glossy paper. It's grouped into nine chapters by the type of prop or place:
  
  1. Hogwarts
  2. The Sorcerer's Stone
  3. The Triwizard Tournament
  4. Brooms
  5. Food and Drink
  6. Publications
  7. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
  8. Wizard Inventions
  9. Horcruxes and Hallows
  
  My favourite was the chapter on food - most of which, after disastrous experiences in the first two films where real foodstuffs were used for the Great Hall feasts - were treated to prevent decay or cast in resin. The Beauxbatons welcome feast in particular, which was all chocolate and featured no-melt ice cream, was amazing, as is the Yule Ball seafood feast.
  
  The detail that went into stocking the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes store is mind-blowingly incredible! All the colourful joke packaging and innovative displays were created by the graphic designers and specially made, "and all for less than two minutes of screen-time." (155)!
  
  I was also amazed at the sheer number of bureaucratic Ministry of Magic forms, memos and badges and the meticulously designed book covers, posters and other paper ephemera that actually are unreadable, with faked text! The way the graphic designers frequently incorporated their names and running jokes (like the Ginger Witch) was also fun to read - some of the enchanted portraits are even based on designers and production staff!
  
  There are two inserts. The first is a small, attached flip book of a runic version of
  The Tales of Beedle the Bard (as mentioned in
  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) on page 142. The second is very puzzling - a silver pocket on the back inside cover, with no notation, reveals a slide out, fold out version of the Black family tree. It is too small to be a display poster, difficult to read as the names are elaborately stylized and not really of much interest as a collectible item, at least to my mind. What do you do with it? Leave it in the book, I guess.
  
  Although this is a beautiful book, and a perfect gift for a fervent fan, it doesn't have much repeat reading value, and I found the two inserts to be very unimpressive (especially given the high level of graphic design put into everything on set), which is reflected in my rating. A fun book to borrow and flip through, but a little expensive for anyone not especially interested in the set design of the movies.
• 
  Claudia

  If you ever wondered about what was in the Room of Lost Things in the Harry Potter movie franchise, well, a lot of it was props from the earlier movies. That's right, it's a prop storeroom. And this book goes into the process of creating many of the props from initial concept through various ideas into the actual construction and, in many cases, close-up photographs of many of them.
  
  The storm of Hogwarts letters from the first movie - that was not CGI, it was mechanically done. Various ideas for different brooms. Thousands of Weasley Wizarding Wheezes which would likely never even be seen but just in case. . . The thousands of books - Dumbledore's office bookshelves were filled with London phone books with "new" covers and some dust - as well as the textbooks especially as editions changed. A quidditch set from the snitch to the beaters bats to the quaffle and bludgers. The food. Potion supplies in their vials along with the delicate vials of memories in Dumbledore's office. The goblet of fire. Creating the figures that were placed in the mer-village during the second task. The family clock at the Burrow. The horcuxes. The fighting suits of armor. The Daily Prophet and the Quibbler and the fun some of the crew had making up ads. The Deathly Hallows especially the Resurrection Stone and Invisibility Cloak.
  
  It's a delightful insight into the franchise itself but also the talent and creativity so needed as well. Computer generated images can do incredible things but sometimes simple old-fashioned props are required and seeing all the details that goes into creating something that may be seen for a couple of seconds (if it doesn't end up on the proverbial cutting room floor) is just fascinating.
  
  2021-187