Thursday, 12 January 2012

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 - opening sequence analysis (till 1.46)



This opening sequence starts with diegetic sound that as it fades out turns into non-diegetic sound which is hardly noticeable as the tone of both sounds is quite deep and low. The films starts with being introduced to a character almost instantly which is clearly not human. This suggests the film is some sort of action or thriller which can also be seen by the extreme low lighting and the darkness and loneliness of the character we see. The character then uses his wand and shoots a light at the sky which enables us to see the details on the characters face much clearer. Then an extreme long shot is shown to show the effect and how large the light was that came out of the wand. The colour from the light is the first bright colour we see in the opening sequence which then fades into clouds and the producer logo appears. The Warner.Bros sign is also dark and eerie fitting in with the theme portrayed in the film so far and as it is introduced the non-deigetic sound begins which is orchestral but very solemn and quiet. The Warner.Bros sign is within the clouds and it gets bigger and bigger until the camera looks like it is going through the middle of it which is when we are introduced to the next scene, through clouds again. It is still dark and more characters are being introduced as we see some sort of creatures hovering around a building. There is very little light and the whole scene is very silhouetted with just the block of the objects being clear and no detail revealed. This helps to keep the viewers intrigued as little information is being given. The scene sharply changes into another silhouette  of a man standing in what seems to be a big window or doorway as the music carries on. A low angle shot is then used so we see the face and identity of the figure in the hallway. As a low angle shot is used it gives the impression he is an important character who has authority. Then a high angle shot is used straight after to show what seems to be a large number of students walking in an orderly manner in a big courtyard and then a close up of the character seen just before showing an expressionless face which suggests the character before is in control of all the people. At this point in the opening sequence there is only negative connotations with nothing happy or bright. The close up fades to black for a few seconds and the non-diegetic orchestral music becomes louder and heavier but still eerie and reasonably slow. The title of the film then fades into focus through clouds which have been used frequently in the opening sequence possible connoting something to do with the sky for later on in the film. The title of the film slowly starts to fill up the frame as it gets bigger and bigger creating emphasis and making sure it has been seen. The same thing then happens again as the camera moves through the title as it did with the Warner.Bros sign and this time fades into a lighter lit scene showing a gravestone in sand and at the same time the music changes to a higher tone slightly. We then see another character holding a piece of broken glass which shows danger and the face seen in the glass changes from one to another. This creates a sense of suspicion for the audience as it is quite unclear as to what is going on. We then get shown an establishing long shot to show the scene where there is a beach and a just one house on it which shows the lonely theme again as it is a single house and we can only see one character within the whole frame. The lighting in this scene is very different to everything seen before and the title etc. I think this opening sequence shows the main genre and theme of the film at the very beginning to make it clear for the audience and then moves onto the actual story after the title is introduced which creates the audience to be intrigued as they have an idea of what sort of things could happen but then the mood shown changes completely.

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