The film Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone is a fantasy adventure; this is represented well through the mise en scène of the opening reflects this genre well. Such as, as the scene opens with a mid shot of an owl amongst a very foggy dull-lit scene; sitting on the road sign listing where the main character lives and is set at night whilst it is very foggy and dark. An owl can be related to the fantasy style of wizardry, along with the weather conditions of at night time; this first opening scene is effective and relates well to the rest of the film.
The camera then pans out as it follows the owl flying off into a long shot off the dark misty road. A character then approaches closer from the distance; it then cuts to a mid shot of character as he walks behind something and the camera then focuses a mid shot onto a cat sitting; this shot is showing an important feature to the audience.
After this the camera cuts back to the first character, who is still walking up the quiet road whilst taking out an object from his pocket and then lifts the object up. A close up angle is used on the object as the character flicks it on, using a close up angle means the audience can see clearly what the character is doing and gets a better understanding of what is happening. At that moment it cuts to a long shot from over the shoulder of the character, showing from his perspective what is happening as he seems to take the light from the street lights and seemingly sucking it into his gadget. This unusual happening shows that the film is definitely a fantasy and through this duration the background music picks up-tempo emphasizing to the audience. As the character turns to the last street lamp, this would be the end of the opening as the scene carries on in the same setting.
Dear John- Film opening
The film Dear John’s genre is romance. At the beginning of the film the opening credits include the film’s production company screen gems, relativity media and temple hill. It opens on to an over the shoulder shot of the main character lying on the floor with a typical army uniform on, this shows the audience already where he is by recognising how he is dressed, this also includes a voice over of the main character the audience knows this as he speaks in first person. It then cuts to a mid shot showing more of the scene and his colleague picking up his limp body up as he appears injured. Then coins begin to rush across the scene as it cuts to a memory of the characters childhood, with a head shot of the characters facial expression portraying happiness. It then cuts to a series of extreme close ups that include the making of coins, this is detail that the director wanted the audience’s attention to be drawn to as may mean importance later on in the film. It then cuts back to the main character and a voice over of him saying a metaphor about the characters life in the army, and then finally a close up of the character as it fades to the credits.
Here is a link to a clip of the opening scene of the film- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaC3-8iyUsI
Review of Melodrama genre film opening
The flood: who will save our children- Film opening
The flood is a Melodramatic film directed by Chris Thomson in 1993 based on true events. The opening scene to this film is very effective as a typical Melodramatic film it shows the characters at the happiest positive stage. The first clip is a long shot of the outside of the church as it shows lots of people standing around a bus, this allows the audience to see the setting and have a better understanding. It then cuts to shots of a parent hugging and talking to their child with the film title text across the screen. It also includes a short clip of a character filming with a camcorder, which helps the audience distinguish that the next shots are recorded from this characters point of view. It then cuts to another character whom is sitting and waving towards the camera as well as the shot including effects on the screen to look like it is recorded by the hand held camera, giving the audience a better understanding. The next couple of shots also include this effect as it records families laughing together hugging and kissing emphasising the feeling of close relatives and portrays to the audience the sense of happiness of love. The children then aboard the bus as they call through the windows goodbye to their families; this gives a clear message that a class of children are going on a type of trip and that they all have close loving families and this portrayed clearly to the audience.
Here is a link to a clip of the opening scene of the film- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMe4LYPvR2w
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