Harry Potter Opening sequence

The sequence starts with an establishing shot of Dumbledore to introduce the scene as it shows where he is, by having the road sign post in the shot and the time of day as it is in the night. Within the opening sequence there is lots of non diegetic sound, including mystical music and the iconic Harry Potter score. This is done to create mystery and show what the genre of the film is going to be. The lighting in this shot is very dark with only lighting from the street lights. This is also done to create mystery about the film and introduce the genre. Dumbledore is walking down the street flicking all the lights off with his wand shows that it is a magical film. The scene involves lots of magical things, for example Hagrid comes flying into the shot on a motorbike and Professor McGonnagol turns from a cat into a human. The bit where she turns into a human is done by filming the cat, then panning onto a wall where her shadow is shown truning into a cat. This is done to create mystery and it is also easier to film. At the end of the opening sequence there is a extreme close up of Harry Potters face which zooms in on the scar on his face. The scar then glows and shines light onto the screen cross dissolving into the Title of the Film. The scar is in the middle of the shot to draw the audiences attention to it as it is significant to his life and to the film. By Colin Chadwick