Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Opening Scene Analysis

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Opening Scene Analysis (Own Choice)

In the opening scene of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone non-diegetic music is used extensively to reflect the narratives of the story and contrast the magical and unknown elements of the storyline. The music is quiet, mysterious and relatively fast paced which helps engage the audience and emphasize the importance of the characters shown on screen. The music is used constantly with the opening scene as its gradual but effective tone creates the atmosphere for the movie and also helps emphasize to the audience of when a character of importance is introduced. We are also introduced to a variety of non-diegetic sounds which help emphasize the mysteriousness of the film and its elements which are still unknown to the audience. Diegetic sound is used in the dialogue between the two characters shown as their conversation helps reveal to the audience of who the main character is and it helps establish the setting of the beginning of the film. 

An establishing shot is first used of the initial setting of Privet Drive, this establishes to the audience of where the narrative at the beginning of the film will take place and also allows the audience to relate this shot to their respective houses. A tracking shot follows the first character introduced to reveal to the audience the importance of this character and with help from the non-diegetic music allows them to infer that he has an important role in this movie. This is also present when the next character is present as the camera eventually becomes centered on and around a cat, this leads the audience to assume that this is also a main character. A two shot is used of Dumbledore and McGonagall to reveal to the audience of what the main character in the narrative is and they help show the audience of the characters origins and how he arrived at the desired setting. Their conversation also allows the introduction of a new character into the opening scene in which he is introduced through a variety of non-diegetic music and camera shots; although a tracking shot was primarily used to help infer to the audience of the speed at which the character is travelling. There is a constant use of close-ups revolving around the three original characters introduced which helps engage the audience more into the plot of the story as the characters become more personalized to the audience as their personalities and character traits are shown constantly throughout the opening scene of the movie. At the end of the opening scene we as the audience are introduced to the primary protagonist of the film and we assume this because of the camera shots he is involved in; which help contrast the innocence of a child to the somewhat dark atmosphere of the film. A close-up shot is used of the character to help emphasize the potential power of this character and the scar on his forehead suggests that he has been somewhat affected by another being in the setting.

The protagonist is introduced towards the end of the opening scene when Dumbledore labels him, the audience recognises that he is the main characters through the use of the dialogue between the other three characters present and the camera shots in which he is involved in. He is also the talking point of the conversation between Dumbledore and McGonagall as apparently he was involved in a tragic event which has left him with just a scar. We are also introduced to three other characters who we assume will have a integral role in terms of the main character as the camera shots they are involved in and the information we learn about them helps to personalize the characters to the audience and can allow the audience to relate the characters to other characters present in the specified genre.

The audience can see that the two characters presented in the beginning of the opening scene are wearing large colourful cloaks and large hats which helps to add the element of mystery to the characters and it allows the audience to infer why they are wearing the given clothing. This unusual clothing showcases to the audience the hidden elements of the supposed setting and emphasizes the narrative of the story to the audience.

The audience is constantly left with certain puzzles about the characters in the opening scene of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone about where the characters work as they often refer to eachother with a higher class term such as professor. The audience is also left with questions unanswered about the origins and events the boy introduced has been involved in and where he received the notable scar from.