Harry Potter prop maker reveals how they brought the magic of JK Rowling to life

Let’s get the Hippogriff in the room out of the way: 2016 marks the 15th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone arriving in cinemas. Yes, fifteen years. If that makes you feel older than the Elder Wand itself – you’re not the only one. While that fact might be enough to make you want your own time-turner, it does mean there’s no better time to revisit the magical 2001 Christopher Columbus film that kicked off the whole big-screen franchise. One of the wizards who brought Rowling’s creations to life was Pierre Bohanna. As Head Proper Designer on the franchise, he had to take the contents of Rowling’s imagination and fashion them into something not only filmic and tangible, but that lived up to the expectations of her scores of readers.