Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Open Scene Analysis

Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone Opening Scene

In the opening scene to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone we can tell that it is a fantasy film because there is a moment where a cat transforms into an old lady. There is also a man on a flying bike which also suggests to us that this is a fantasy film. There is a lot of things we don't know about the characters in the opening scene which might bring the audience to ask; are these people good or bad? Why did they leave the baby on the doorstep of a house? In the opening scene the music is quite mysterious and non-diegetic.

In this scene we can see the character Hagrid flying down on a flying bike. The camera angle used to show this is Low angle shot. A low angle shot is normally used to make a character look large, therefore making the character seem more powerful everyone else. In this scene it is used to make Hagrid look magical and mysterious because he is on a flying bike.



In this scene you can see Dumbledore standing at the end of a road late at night. The camera shot used to show this is a Long shot. Long shots are normally used to show the audience where the scene is being set or it could be used to view a character from far away and make them seem vulnerable. In this scene it tells the audience immediately that the scene is set late at night and something mysterious is happening.

In this scene you can see a close up shot of harry potter when he was a baby. A close up shot is normally used to show a character's facial expressions in detail. Close up shots may also be used on objects to make the audience ask "what is that?" The close up shot used in this scene makes Harry look innocent but the camera shot also wants the audience to focus on the scar on Harry's head. This might make the audience ask "Where did he get that scar?"