How micro elements are used in the film opening of…

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M27FwMENSMM

Victoria Rooney

Extreme Close up

This is a extreme close up, it is showing only one object on screen in this case Harrys wand, it is showing its significance in the film/scene also as it is the first opening scene and you have seen a wand shows the audience it is going to be A horror/fantasy genre.The purpose of a extreme close up is that the shot is so tight and small only a object or small detail is shown to the audience. Extreme close ups are exciting, mysterious and detailed.

Close Up

This is a close up shot, you can see the fear and worry in the characters face which will worry the audience and keep them on the edge of their seats, also in the background you can see a small majority of the rest of the mise en scene as another dementor is behind you can see the small fight isn't over yet. Close up shots are good for showing emotions. The purpose of having a close up shot is that is magnifies something but not as tight as a extreme close up so some mise en scene or something else is showing however it is blurred out with a shallow focus. If the close up is of a characters face you can see their emotions and see into their mind.

Medium Shot

This is a medium shot as it is showing only half of the characters body.It is showing the audience the characters emotion and what is going on in the scene. This shot is good as you can see Harrys emotion is fierce and strong also the beam coming from the wand, it shows costume and the location. Usually medium shots are there to show detail of action, get the characters emotion and show mise en scene medium shots can make the audience feel how the director wants them to feel in this case happy as he looks strong and powerful.

Long Shot

The point of a Long Shot is it shows the audience the mise en scene, the characters costume, the characters facial expression etc.

In this shot, we can see it is night/dark, gloomy, there is little light and the characters look scared and worried gripping the audience because they know a thrilling exciting and scary event is going to occur, as this is the opening scene it Is good because it shows the audience that there will be a lot of events in the film.

Extreme Long Shot

Extreme longs/establishing shot are shots that can be taken from far away quarter and is used as a scene-setting. In this case we cant see much, there is a lot of open space and it looks like a park, the day is sunny.

Tracking Shot

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Tracking shots are used to make the audience feel like they are going along and are with the character they are mainly used when a character is running from something or walking away. Tracking shots are usually filmed with hand held cameras as it makes it more realistic.

Pan

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Pan shots are used to show speed or to show more of the scenery in this scene is is used to look around the scene, how its dark and gloomy informing something is going to happen and then show how the lights are fusing then it pans to a view of both boys facial expressions, Dursley looking worried, confused and scared as he doesn’t know what's coming and Harrys looking scared, worried and debating what to do next as he's experienced it before.

TiltIn the clip I didn’t pick up on a tilt shot however below is an explanation of what a tilt shot is.

A tilt shot is where the camera goes for instance from a characters face to his feet it is quite like the pan shot however it moves vertically instead of horizontally. To get a tilt shot the camera can be used by being on a tripod or just plain hand held.

The effect of a tilt shot is that it is used to observe action over a large area, or to make some one look inferior by the camera looking down onto them.

Zoom

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The effect of a zoom is that it will zoom into an object showing its significance or zoom in showing a characters emotion making the audience feel how they feel. The zoom can also zoom out from a object showing the rest of the scene or zoom out of a characters face showing the rest of the set/ mise en scene this is good after a battle scene and the zoom goes from a characters face showing the shock and scars then zooms out to the destroyed setting usually in this case the pace goes slowly. In the clip I chose the zoom goes from a mid shot of Harry and then whilst Dursley continues harassing him it zooms into Harrys face showing sadness and frustration letting us feel sorry for him and then noticing he is going to lash out.

Cut

The cut is used for editing, is it used to go from one scene to another this wasn't used in the opening to Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix because the camera is used to stay and follow the characters there isn't a scene where the scene changes from one to another scene it just focuses on one scene for the beginning. The effect of a cut is that it is there to enable a new setting a new scene etc e.g. someone having a conversation and then cutting to change the scene to another character. Even though this isn't used in the beginning of Harry Potter it is used quite a lot during the rest of the films.

Pace

The pace of the scene is good in films as it builds up suspense or calms down or relaxes the audience in the beginning of Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix the pace is slow, it just focuses on Harry and then a argument with Dursely however when the dementor start to come the pace picks up, keeping the audience focused and excited on what is about to happen it also builds up suspense as it the audience worries what horror is about to come.

PerformancePerformance is the way the character moves, their physical expression, the way they talk and interaction between with the other characters can tell the audience a lot about the character, their past and sometimes future and their relationship with other characters.

In the first scene of Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix the first characters you see are Dursley, his group of friends and Harry. Harry shows himself in the first scene watching a young boy with his mother at the park, the look on his face shows the audience that he looks quite unhappy and solemn obviously missing his mother, showing the audience if they haven't seen the previous films that something must have gone on or happened in the past, then Dursely comes onto set, he is dressed in quite ‘chavy’ clothes and they all look intimidating, like a group of bullies, when Harry talks to him he says ‘Hey big D beat up another 10 year old’ this immediately shows the audience that he beats up people smaller than him and is a bully. As the scene continues Dursley is continuously annoying Harry, mentioning his mother and how he talks in his sleep about previous shocking things he's seen he continues picking at Harry until Harry whips out his wand and points it at Dursley, at first they all laugh except Dursley who knows the harm that can be done but however when the weather changes and it goes all dark they all become scared of Harry as he is more powerful than all of them.

By this point a few seconds into the film the audience know that Harry has been through a lot and is a nice guy and that Dursely is a mean chavy bully.However when the Dementor come and one gets hold of Harry, Harry tells Dursley to run protecting him and then when he saves himself he also saves Dursley this informs the audience that harry would still save Dursley even though the relationship between the two is bad and Dursely is a manipulative guy.

Diagetic SoundDiagetic sounds are sounds the characters and the audience are meant to hear e.g. Cups clinking, coughing, music a character is playing, tills opening, barking, pens clicking, people talking outisde, gun shots, swords clinking together etc. the sounds like gun shots make the scene realistic as the guns and things are props the sound effects are added on afterwards to make the scene realistic.

In this scene many Diagetic sounds are used in the first few minuets, things such as;•Background talking,•Wind•Dementor noises,•Wand noises.etc without these the scene would be boring and loose the characters attention, it also would make it seem un realistic.

Non Diagetic SoundNon Diagetic sound Is sounds/music that only the audience are meant to hear/ the characters aren't supposed to hear it things such as;•Music/soundtrack•A narratorThe purpose of a non Diagetic sound is it can make the audience feel a certain emotion or give them more information on something e.g. the narrator gives you a story line as you go along and keeps the audience informed on things.Another example music the music can set the audience a certain mood if you play thrilling music then the audience will get scared and be on the edge of their seat, happy music makes the audience happy and in a good mood, sad music makes the audience feel what the character is feeling and makes them feel sorry for the character etc.In this clip there are thrilling music pieces and it keeps the audience on the edge of their seats and gets them scared showing them something scary is about to happen.

Mise En SceneMise En Scene is things such as;•Costume•Setting/ set design•Props•Diagetic sounds•Non Diagetic sounds•Lighting• actors•Composition•Dialogue•Space•Time •Make up and hair styles •Film stock ( black and white/sepia/ normal)

Mise en scene is used to make everything on scene look realistic it can be used to create tension or suspense everything that it is on the list above is there to make everything look good and set the scene in the clip I have chosen the setting is in a park and then to a subway, the costumes are normal what some teens would where, their make up and hair looks realistic and so on…..

How this analysis of micro elements will help me in my own productions

The analysis will help me in my own production as I can look back and note down all the generic conventions, how certain things effects the audience so that I can choose how I want to make my audience feel and adapt it to my own genre and setting. I can also see what I will need to include in the mise en scene and adapt it to my own film so that I cant miss out on any generic conventions and make the opening good and realistic.