Film Opening Continuity Analysis: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

The first shot from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone is a shot focusing on a street sign with the name of the location on it and an owl perched on top, which gives information about the setting of the scene immediately. The shot then pans to the right and the owl flies from the direction of the street light on which it was sitting, which is an example of matching the action.

The audience then see a figure of a wizard walking in the distance in a long shot, which then goes into a mid long shot of him walking with trees surrounding him, showing that he is in the same place as he was before with regards to the objects surrounding him.

We then see a cat multiple times. The cat does not move, staying on the corner of the street as the wizard, again in the same position for a number of shots as he takes out a lighter-like object, clicks out the street lights, despite the camera moving around him as he does it. When he turns to his right, in the next shot, he is facing the same direction as he just turned.

In order to emphasise the fact that Professor McGonagall turned from a cat into a human, there is the use of shadows. We only see the figure's shadow as she makes the transition and we also see that she has walked forwards. This is then established by the fact that she walks into the shot from the same place as she was before.

Professor McGonagall then walks over the the wizard - Professor Dumbledore - and stands to his left. Throughout the next shots, she is continually on the left side of him and the objects in the background pass, showing that they are moving. The 180 degree rule is followed as, although during their conversation, the camera goes from one side of them to the other, it is continually showing their faces instead of going behind them, which would be confusing for the audience during their conversation.

Only when a light appears in front of the two does the camera show them from behind in a mid shot. Both characters turn around, which is shown in this shot by the fact that McGonagall is now on the right side of Dumbledore, as opposed to the right as she was in the shots before.

There is then a low angle mid close up, which shows either McGonagall's or Dumbledore's point of view and enables the audience to take in the new character, Hagrid, as well as showing that he is taller than the other two. The action is again matched when he swings his leg off the bike and, in the next shot, his leg is in the same position in the air as it was at the end of the shot before.

Accident Sequence Analysis

In media, my group and I were given the task of creating a short film in which an accident takes place. In order to do this, we chose two members of our group to be actors and came up with a story for our accident sequence. During this activity we were not allowed to re-take shots, the purpose being to get us to plan our shots beforehand.

In order to make our sequence believable, we used techniques such as the use of a long shot in order to establish the distance between the two characters and set the scene. We then moved onto mid shots and followed by a close-up of the character who gets punched as he slides down the wall. This helped as it meant that we did not confuse the audience by switching from a long shot to a close-up immediately whilst also avoiding the jump cuts that would occur if we were to keep the camera in a similar position.

We used a point of view shot as the victim slides down the wall, which shows how the scene looks from the attacker's point of view, so this shot ended high angle. This juxtaposed with the next shot, which was in the point of view of the victim as he was on the floor, meaning it was low angle.

In addition, we matched the action from the shot in which the victim gets punched to the shot where he slides down the wall, which means he hit the same point of the wall at the end of the first shot as he was at the beginning of the second. It is also shown by the fact that the two actors are in the same place in relation to their surroundings unless they physically step elsewhere to change their position. This helps to improve the continuity and makes the scene continuous.

However, we did not stick to the 180 degree rule when we filmed the shot of the attacker saying "what are you doing?" This meant that he came in from the right side, but was on the left side. This may be disorientating for the audience and spoils the illusion of the two facing each other as the audience is then unsure of the position of the attacker.

If we were to re-shoot this sequence, I would focus on the 180 degree rule, meaning I would not shoot from the other side of the actors after I have chosen the side in the establishing shot in the beginning, which would improve the continuity and make the cuts seem "invisible".

Art of the Title Grid Activity Analysis

Our film, "The List", is a psychological horror in which the protagonist has a list of people who he would like to kill. In the opening of "The List", a dead body is dragged into a workshop and lifted up on the workbench. The killer then chooses a saw and cuts off the limbs of his victim before crossing off her name on the list he has on his board.

This was a significant film opening as it sets the atmosphere with the dark tone of the images and the close up shots of the objects around the room. The audience is introduced to the violence that will continue in the film immediately and information about the location of the opening is given subtly as more of the room is revealed as the opening goes on. It is not until the fourth still in the grid does the audience see the whole room, yet the background is blurry and the camera is focused on the murder weapon. The close ups on the objects such as the vice and the saw give indication of the genre and the location of the opening and information about the name of the title is given at the end of the sequence.

The name "The List" has been kept true to the horror genre as it is simple yet mysterious, which gives the audience a sense of unease. It will stay in their mind and links directly to the themes in the film. If we had given the film a longer name, it would have ruined the illusion of a horror film and created a more light-hearted tone for the film.The font itself, while simple, is also eerie and the dark against the light also help to indicate the genre.

By the end of my opening, the audience should be feeling uneasy and tense and be aware that many people will die. They should be horrified by the events which occurred during the opening sequence and, hopefully, on edge, ready to be frightened later on in the film.

It was important that our film opening was in chronological order to enable the audience to gain an understanding as to why the protagonist commits the murder, as well as to reveal information gradually. As we were limited in our choice of location, the green tone of the lighting was also important to create the tension needed for a horror film whilst also being in a room with many windows during daylight. If we did not use this particular effect, we would have had to darken the room. However, we soon found that we could use the lighting to our advantage, as shown in the second still on the grid. A third vital part of the opening was our use of close ups. The audience never fully sees the protagonist's face, which creates tension, yet using close ups enabled the audience to gain information about the character using the objects around him.

I feel that our film opening was extremely successful, as the use of close ups, lighting and eerie title font helped to create the tense atmosphere needed for a film in the psychological horror genre and also reveal information in a quick, efficient way.

Analysis of film opening: Romeo and Juliet

In the 1996 version of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the first image the audience is given is of a television screen which turns on and the titles appear, as if someone is changing the channels, followed by a news reporter, who delivers the chorus line from the play. The television screen is surrounded by darkness, which is a way of foreshadowing the events that are to come.

The use of the news reporter provides the audience with a large amount of information in a short time, which is provided from a, usually, well-informed, objective report of the events that have happened as well as giving the audience a sense of setting. The use of the news reporter also establishes the fact that the affairs of the "two households" concerns everyone in the city, showing that they are well-known figures.

The audience is then taken through the city of Verona and the soundtrack is of opera music, which also helps to set the scene as the film is set in Italy. The words "In fair Verona" flash, which is fast-paced and reiterates the place that the film is set.

Then, there is a quick shot of the two buildings from the families next two each other and both standing out above the other buildings in Verona, which shows in one quick shot that they are, as the news reporter said, "both alike in dignity" and also shows the division between the two.

The quick shots of police cars, helicopters and arrests emphasise the fact that there will be action scenes within the film. This is then followed by the chorus line being repeated and a family tree and shots of fire, showing that there will be some tragic scenes within the film. There are many newspaper clippings of the Capulet and the Montague families which flash in shot, showing that the feud between the two families has already been established before the film starts.

There are then two shot medium close ups from the head of each family and their wives with determined, hostile looks on their faces, reiterating the fact that the two families have had large disputes for a long time.

This is then followed by medium close ups from all the main characters from the main characters in the film, and, as well as the actor's names, it is also providing the audience with information about who the characters are before the film properly begins.

After this, there are shots from the rest of the film, which create a sense of anticipation for the audience as well as making them assume the events of the film before they happen and, again, establishing that this film has action elements within it, as many of the shots show guns and other action shots.

Finally, the title of the film comes up and there is a song change, signifying the end of the opening sequence.

Reflections on shots

For my first media task we had to split up into groups in order to produce a number of film stills. One of the main factors we had to control  was the atmosphere in order to make sure we created one appropriate for the chosen genre.

In my group we chose to do horror film stills. This involved a member of my team dressing up in all black, wearing a mask and holding a baseball bat in order to stimulate a supernatural character from a horror film.

My film still was from a medium long shot with the red light from the dark room on and the door slightly open with the paranormal being looking out from it straight towards the camera. I also turned the night vision mode on the camera in order to create the eerie, tense atmosphere needed for a horror film still.

In hindsight, if I were to repeat this task, I would attempt to create a similar shot, but find some way of hiding the body of my teammate omitting the other objects in the shot, which prove to be quite distracting and spoil the illusion of my horror film. I would like to create the idea that this shot is in a house, and so the poster on the left side of the wall would not be there if I were able to recreate this shot.