Analysing Opening Sequences - Harry Potter

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

The film starts off with a dark and spooky entry, showing the Warner Brothers logo. The screen then cuts to an extreme close up of a man’s eyes. During this clip, the man is talking with no background noise, which makes you feel suspicious. The camera then cuts to a close up of the man, so we can see who it is and what he looks like as well his expression as he talks louder and more aggressively. This then moves to a shot behind him, where he is made into a silhouette by bright flashes of light, then an aerial shot behind the man, revealing that they are in a dark, dull green hall like room and the bright flashes of light were from the numerous cameramen who were listening to him talk. The use of dark colours gives the audience a sense of fear as everything is dark, gloomy and depressing so they are suspicious as, they don’t know what is going to happen as the story progresses.

The next scene shown is one of a newspaper with depressing headlines about murder, alongside words such as ‘panic’ and ‘death,’  which add to the dark, spooky and mysterious atmosphere created in the last scene getting. The cameraman then cuts so that you can see that the newspaper, this is a graphic match as it moved on from a scene with journalists to one of a newspaper, which was being read by a girl in a dark and gloomy room, painted and decorated with bland colours.  We then hear an older woman calling her to come downstairs before a close up of the girl who replies to the call and calls her mum. From the close up we can see that she is nervous so, the audience is left wondering why she is nervous. The next scene shows two people that sort of contrast her as, they look like they are in a more deprived area, they are dressed more commonly and one of them is carrying a garden trimmer, which suggests that they of a lower social status. We then hear the older man say that it’s too dangerous for them to be staying where they are, again adding to the suspicious atmosphere. It then reveals that the camera angle was a point of view shot of a boy who is looking out at them from their house window, who also has a nervous/scared look on his face, making it look as though there is something bad which is about to happen.

The following scene begins with an establishing shot of a small hut in a large field at night, signifying that time has passed between the scenes. It then moves over to a shot of a teenager, wearing a dull baggy outfit and scruffy hair, again making the audience feel like they are in a more deprived area. This boy also has a nervous look upon his face, adding to the suspense and making the audience again question what is going to happen as, the shots from all the three children show nervous looks upon their faces, as well as parents talking, although we never see their faces.

Sound

The movie begins with a collection of strange noises which build up and a slow, creepy song played in the background as the title Warner Brothers logo appears. This creates a feeling of tension and anxiety among the audience. The music and noises suddenly just collapse and disappear in an instant as the scene changes to the opening one with the extreme close up of the man in the dark green hall. The only sound you can hear during this clip is that of his voice, which draws all of the audience’s attention towards what he is saying and in the next shot of his face, we hear him talk with more passion and aggression than he had done previously. The following sounds are of the cameras, which lets the audience know that his speech is complete. The next scene of the girl just has diegetic sound of her folding a newspaper and the short question and answer with her mum. When she replies to her mum, you can tell that she is nervous about something, due to her tone of voice, this adds to the suspense. Music is then added in and increases slowly as we change to the scene with the two people packing stuff into their car. These two people have a completely different accent and tone of voice, making it obvious that the last scene and this one are taken from different areas but in a similar way to the last one, the voices sound nervous and scared.  The non-diegetic music then changes to a slightly more upbeat and louder tune, however, it still remains slightly dark and mysterious. We can hear someone in the background cutting something before telling the teenager that his dinner is ready. The boy doesn’t answer so once again, it adds to the mystery and suspense of the storyline.

Screen Shots

The movie starts with a haunting rendition of the Warner Brothers logo moving towards the camera, to create a spooky atmosphere.

The scene then changes to an extreme close up of a man’s eye, who is talking. This shot makes the audience suspicious of who he is and what his relevance might be.

The camera angle then changes to a close up so the audience can see who he is and his emotions more closely.

The next shot is an aerial shot, revealing the location of the man and also his audience, the numerous photographers in front of him.

The scene then changes to a point of view shot of someone reading a newspaper with disturbing stories about ‘murder and ‘panic,’ this  adds to the audience wondering what has happened and what is going to happen.

The next shot, is a mid-shot revealing who the point of view was as well as establishing the location.

The next scene begins with another point of view of someone peering out of the window, looking at two men packing belongings into a trailer attached to the back of the car.

The camera angle changes so that we can see the boy that was looking out the window. His facial expression makes it out that he is nervous so this along with the tension and suspense built up over the last couple of scenes, it puts the audience on edge.

 

The final scene also shows a shallow focus of a nervous looking teenager so once again, it makes the audience feel tense/scared.

 

Things we can use:-

• facial expressions in close up to show fear
• non-diegetic music to create sense of eeriness
• starting in the middle of a scene and only gradually realising what is happening
• cross-cutting between different characters but keeping the same atmosphere
• point of view shots so we feel part of the action