The opening sequence that I have
decided to analyse is 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2'.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a drama-fanstasy movie directed by
David Yates who also directed the previous three Harry Potter movies which were
all major successes around the world. I have decided to analyse the following
film as the opening sequence has a very bold and distinctive opening compared
to other films in the industry. This opening sequence unlike many other film
openings does not have the lengthy credits naming actors and producers in the
beginning as the only credits which are shown within the first two minutes of
the film is the institution that the film title itself. This allows the viewers
to immediently focus on the filming and not draw larger amounts of attention to
the credits itself.
Screen Shot 1
Screen Shot 1
This screenshot is the very first
image we get when the film starts. The shot shows the viewers the current
setting of the movie and quickly zooms into the centre of the location onto the
small island. The extreme long shot of the location gives the viewers the
chance to realise that location is very isolated with nobody else around which
makes the viewers unsettled as the lighting in this shot is also very dim so
they cannot see much. In the background of this shot the image of mountains can
be seen which will make the viewers think about why such a desrted and unlikley
location may be shown right at the beginning of the film building tension from
the very start. The dark lighting immedienly connotes that dark movie that the
film is, so this could imply to the viewers that the film could potentially be
a thriller and based on dark events.
Screen Shot 2
Screen Shot 2
This is the second screenshot that I believe to be the most significant within
the opening sequence. The significant object in this shot is a wand and can
underline to the viewers that the wand is a very important object throughout
the whole film. Also the genre could include the concepts of magic and
fantasy due to wands being a key convention of magicians and identifies itself as a fantasy genre convention. The mid view shot
shows a person holding a wand with a dead person in the background which
highlights that somebody has been killed previously and that the wand belongs
to him which can suggest to the viewers that the wand is being stolen. The
character that is holding the wand is dressed in a black as we can see the
lower arm. By wearing the colour black could associate them with being dark and
evil, dressed in a stereotypical villian colour.
Screen Shot 3
Screen Shot 3
This screenshot shows the first main character in the film holding the wand.
This immediently shows the viewers that this character is the villian type
character due to his abnormal presence and again the colours that he is
wearing which are black and connotes the unsettling atmosphere around him. This shot shows the villian lord voldermort, located in a deserted
island next to a dead body emphasising the theme of mystrey and hatred. Lord
Voldermorts appearance is very inhuman, with unusual coloured skin, disfigured
face and long nails expressing similarities to witches who are known for their
unusually long nails and abnormal body shapes. This introduces the idea to the
viewers that he is similar to a witch, with evil plans and dominance shaping
the stereotypical villian.
Screen Shot 4
Screen Shot 4
This is a
screen shot of the production companies trademark showing the viewers that the
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a Warner Bros production. Due to this
being the institution, viewers would expect to see a large budgeted blockbuster
movie as a result of the high reputation that Warner Bros has. Warner Bros are
known worldwide for producing some of the very best blockbusters in the
twentieth century including anothet thriller Batman: The Dark Knight. The
clouds that are surrounding the production logo signifies that the films genre
is potentially a thriller and the use of clouds is unsettling as the viewers
are not able to see past them buliding tension into what the shot is zooming
into. The dark lighting also helps build chilling shot as it blocks the
oncoming shot after the production logo so viewers are left in suspense.
Screen
Shot 5
This
screenshot show abnormal and inhuman characters in the air. This foreshadows
the genre of fanstasy as unknown forms of life are being used which makes this
film a different genre from others. The colour of these creatures are also a
black which symbolizes that they are evil and a potential sign of death similar
to the first villian, Lord Voldermort who is also wearing the colour black. In
the background we see the first bright lighting which could highlight that the
castle type building will be a ray of hope and strength within the film and
that it is a setting that will be used at some point during the film. The
creatures called 'dementors' are facing towards the castle undermines that they
are invading the castle which implies to the viewers that the castle is an
unsafe territory.
Screen
Shot 6
This long shot
shows a character facing away from the camera shot. This can therefore build
tension into who the character is and what they look like as this shot only
shows the back of the character. This long shot allows the viewers to see the
whole figure standing in an archway in a building. The posture of the charatcer
is very upright looking out of the castle drawing attetion to his all
black apearance which symbolises evilness. The character is looking out of a
building where there is lighting which echos that the character is looking out
of the castle which was in the previous shot where a bright light was shone
amungst it. This raises the possiblilty that the character is facing good vs
evil due to the lighting in the previous shot symbolising hope.
Screen Shot 7
The
layout for the film title is a duplicate of the production institition shot as
it is amungst the clouds again. The font of the title is a pointy and the 'P' in
potter resembles the shape of lightning which underlines that the character
names Harry Potter is a ray of lightining, signifying that he is hope and power
within the film. The dark and dim lighting again brings the viewers back into a
unsettling atmosphere as they do not know what shot is going to appear after
the clouds which block the forecoming shot out. The use of clouds can also be
classed as pathetic fallacy- the weather (i.e. clouds/rain) or a signifier prompting that
something bad is going to happen as the plot or main event of the
film.
Screen Shot 8
This
first icon that the viewers will see in this shot will be the grave within
the sand. The grave stone underlines to the viewers that another character is
dead, but this is a contrast to the second screen shot where a dead person is
just layed out without a grave. This suggests the character beside the grave
stone is a good friend or family of the dead person. The first shot of Harry Potter
that we see is from the reflection of the mirror where we see a normal human
being with glasses highlighting that he is also one of the main
charcaters who is not a creature raising the possibility that he is the good
guy amongst the creatures. The piece of mirror could also be a potentially
important object throughout the film. The sandy setting shows that the
character is in an exotic place with fairly bright lighting, a large contrast
to the first shot of the opening sequence.
Screen Shot 9
This
screen shot shows a deserted and isolated location, similar to the first shot,
yet there is one charcter in this shot. This extreme long shot shows the
character kneeling infront of a grave suggesting to the viewers that he is
showing his respects to a friend of his. The clothing of Harry is very
distinctive as this is a large contrast compared to the all black that we have
seen in the previous shots highlighting that this is the good character within
the film whereas the other characters have been wearing all black. The lighting
in this shot is also bright again contrasting the dark and dim lighting that
viewers have been seeing throughout the majority of the opening sequence
allowing the viewers to have a clear view of the setting and have a sense of
ease instead of being in suspense when the setting is normally dark as they can see the surrondings.
