Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone didn't just mark the inaugural installment in a major film franchise. It was also the first movie a lot of the younger Potter cast members ever worked on. So many of the young performers playing Hogwarts students were quite green when working with director Chris Columbus all those years ago. As Columbus put it, though, he really knew he was in for “a very long shoot” when he started filming the flying lesson scene.
At first glance, someone may be tempted to assume the flying lesson scene wouldn’t be too hard to film for Sorcerer’s Stone, as the young wizards only had to catch their flying broomsticks after shouting, “Up!” They didn't do much flying except for maybe Matthew Lewis' Neville and his rogue broomstick. However, in a throwback interview for Harry Potter’s 25th anniversary (shared on Instagram), Columbus explained why filming that moment made him uneasy about the months of filming that were to come:
