The first picture on the left is of
the outside of the Hogwarts castle at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in
Universal Studios and the one on the right is a picture of the inside of the
castle. I found the lighting in the castle interesting because it was very
similar to the picture I have here, throughout the entire castle. Thinking
about atmosphere, the low lighting made the castle seem ominous and almost
dingy. It was difficult to see, especially with so many people. It made it seem
like we were about to walk into something very dangerous. Coming from outside
in the daytime, it felt like a completely different atmosphere from the sunny
Los Angeles day, which you can see by looking at the two pictures next to each
other.
The lights that created this darker
mood are seen on either side of the picture on the right. They are medium sized
sconces mounted to the wall that give off a very deep yellow shade of light.
The sconces are old fashioned and fit the architecture of the castle very well.
As far as functionality, I’m not sure this was the best choice of light. I
found it very difficult to see, especially with the masses of people in the
area. I think the lights could have been better placed in the space that I was
in.
Although there was a clear
atmosphere created in the space, I didn’t really understand the choice. Even
going through the entire castle, these sconces were placed throughout the
exhibit and it made the castle seem monotonous and spooky. I would have liked
to have seen different dimensions of color and mood/ atmosphere throughout the castle
because the dark, spooky yellow tones became mundane after awhile and lost the
effect I think the lighting designer was going for. In addition, the yellow light was very harsh. I think the idea behind the
dim, harsh lighting was to make the experience more exciting because it made you feel
like you were in danger, but Harry Potter isn’t just about danger and Hogwarts
isn’t always a scary place to be. The story they were trying to tell could have
been more effective if other forms of light and color would have been used,
possibly some softer tones to lighten the mood at some points.
oooooh excellent commentary!! And really great criticism! I have yet to go into the castle at Universal, but am dying to see what they've done. I have some opinions on the exterior lighting of the castle (there are some interesting choices) but overall I feel like the outside lighting tells the story. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Walking Dead attraction if you ever make it on that ride...the lighting is themed throughout. I think part of the iconic harry potter castle is definitely that warm light, but I agree with you in adding more levels and layers to the mood lighting might have given a better end result. What about floating candles? Different types of sconces...those big giant windows that are so iconic from the outside? I think they could've done more! But also, what's nice about these two photos side by side is it shows how COOL sunlight can be...sunlight isn't actually as warm or golden as we sometimes theatricalize it to be. It's quite blue in reality! Nice!!
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