Film opening research - Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010)

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) is the 7^th installment in the movie franchise that’s been adapted by the books written by j. k. Rowling. The Movie was produced by Warner Bros and Hayday Films, and was directed by David Yates. In its opening weekend, the film had a box office of £18,319,721 in the uk alone. The film also won a total of twelve awards from award shoes such as the mtv movie awards, teen choice awards, empire awards and more.

The film appears to be a mixture of multiple genres, with these being Adventure, Family, Fantasy and Mystery. The target audience will be mainly 12 – 20 as the film has mature films. However a secondary target audience will be harry potter fans. This would be because the first film from the series was released in 2001, so over the ten years of the series, the fans of the series would have been growing, and this wouldn’t just be a certain age as the film appears to be suitable for anyone over the age limit on the film.

For the first 12 seconds of the opening, were presented with an extreme close up of someone’s eyes who is talking into the camera. The lighting in the shot is very low key, which fits the codes and conventions of a mystery film; this also is helping to give a preferred reading to the audience for the rest of the film being dark and mysterious. The sound at this point is completely diegetic, with the only sound being what the character we’re presented with is saying. At the 12-second mark, we’re presented with a mid shot of the same character from the same angle, however this time we can begin to see what’s happening in the location. By having the background dark and blurred, this helps with the setting of the mise en scene of the film being dark and mysterious. The lighting in the background is also still low key. Another thing that is notable from the shot is the fact that we can see part of the costume, this gives the mise en scene of the opening a more serious/ dramatic feel due to the fact the character appears to be wearing a dark coloured suit.

 The opening of the film is somewhat unconventional as there is nothing establishing the story line which leaves the viewer intrigues, as were presented with a mysterious character, talking about an unknown scenario to us. There is also the lack of typography to help set the narrative of the film, which is also unconventional of a films opening sequence.

The next notable part of the opening would be at 0:39. At this point in the opening, we’re presented with a different shot which is an extreme long shot. Not only has the shot changed, but the angle also and we are now presented with a high angle shot from behind the character we have just been watching. This shot is helping to establish the location to the audience, which in this case appeared to be some very large underground tunnel. Once the camera shot changed, we were also present with the sound of cameras flashing at a fast rate; this is an abrupt change from the silent sound of the room while the character was speaking, to the echoing sound of flashing cameras. By having an abrupt change in shot like this, it helps to create an atmosphere for the film being tense and continuing with the mysterious feel.

The film doesn’t seen to introduce and establish the characters or the narrative of the movie very fast, as it isn’t until 1:00 that we even get our first glimpse of the main character, harry potter. This is unconventional of film openings, however it does successfully help to create the mysterious undertone for the audience, as at this point, they will not have any idea what is going on.

Unlike the first minute of the trailer, the second minute is a lot better at establishing the set and characters, as in quick succession; we’re introduced to the main characters in the film, as well as a quick look into their background. The atmosphere of mystery and suspense is successfully carried out for the duration of the opening with the high contrasting low-key lighting, as well as the slightly eerie non-diegetic soundtrack being added.

The narrative of the film never really gets fully established due to the lack of typography in the opening, as well as the seemingly quiet opening, with the exception of the beginning speech from a unknown character, non much dialogue is carried out though the rest of the opening. However we do et a fairly good insight into where the film is being set through the use of the extreme long shots of the characters houses, as well as their apparently British accents, showing the film itself s going to be set in the UK