HBO's Harry Potter cinematographer, Adriano Goldman, has described filming with the series' child actors as "brutal," explaining that young stars such as Dominic MacLaughlin can only be on set for around an hour and a half each day due to schooling requirements. This severely limits filming time, forcing the crew to work at speed and shoot scenes out of sequence to make the most of the children's availability, a compromise Goldman says inevitably affects quality despite the production's substantial resources.

To manage this, HBO has built a temporary school at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden capable of holding up to 600 pupils, with around 150 children currently attending daily lessons and space for up to four times that number at busier periods. The school reportedly operates from 5.30am to 8.30pm to accommodate both day and night shoots, and planning documents suggest it will remain in place for eight to ten years before being dismantled, reflecting the scale and long planned run of the series, which fans expect could continue into the early 2040s. Goldman, previously director of photography on Andor and The Crown, is set to begin filming the show's second season later this year, ahead of the first season's Christmas premiere on HBO.