Analysis of Opening Film Sequence

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 

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

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

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

 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.