reading a film' coursework improvement

7/23/2019 'Reading a Film' Coursework improvement

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READING A FILMMedia CourseworkBy Hasina

Harry Potter and the

Order of the Phoenix


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Institutional InformationTitle-

The title of this movie, which comes up in the rst ve minutesof the movie, is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Thismovies title is e!ective "ecause, as this movie is a se#uel, thetitle $oes with all the the previous movie titles The %ont is acreepy yet mysterious font The font&title $oes well with the

movie's $enre (ven thou$h the title is only shown for a smallperiod of time it is very e!ective in showin$ the audience whatthe movie is a"out )lso the title in this movie se#uel has atheme to it where the title are all very similar except the factthat each of se#uels have a di!erent movie name after the mainmovie name *Harry Potter' The way the title is presented makes

it e!ective "ecause, as the movie is a se#uel, each movie $etsmore mature +scary&more thriller and the title is presented in away to t the atmosphere of the movie

%ront %acin$ -hot. The title ispresented in a shot where it isshown from the front where

you can see the full titleclearl


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Institutional InformationGenre-

The $enre of Harry Potter and the Order of thePhoenix is fantasy and horror, which is animatedvery well in this movie of the se#uel Thefantasy part of the $enre is very o"vious with

this movie, and all the others, "ecause there is alot of ma$ic, spells and mythical creaturesincluded in these movies This is e!ective forthe movie and the audience "ecause most of

the audiences are children +/0. teena$ers TheHorror part of the $enre is included more in thestart of this movie than the rest This is "ecausethis se#uel of the past movies is "e$innin$ to"rin$ out the tension and as the characters $rowup the movie "ecomes more $rown up


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Institutional InformationProduction Coman! and

Distri"utor- The production company of this movie and all the otherHarry Potter se#uels is, Heyday %ilms They have a lar$ecareer in fantasy&ction movies and they have producedlms like1 *2ravity', *3e're the Millers', *Paddin$ton' etcHowever, Heyday lms is well known for creatin$ the HarryPotter movies and have "een $iven a lot of credit for it

The 4istri"utor of Harry Potter and the Order of thePhoenix and all the other Harry Potter se#uels is, 3arnerBros Pictures This distri"utor is very famous and wellknown, they have worked with producers like1 53

Productions, Carousel Productions, HeydayProductionsetc This is a $ood thin$ "ecause the distri"utor is as wellknown as the movie and that is e!ective "ecause then itwill "e watched


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Institutional InformationTar#et Audience-

The Tar$et audience of this lm is #uite easy to understand with the"e$innin$ of the movie This is "ecause the "e$innin$ of this movie is

scary, therefore the movie would not "e for little children, unlike the other

se#uels of the movie %or this reason 6 think the tar$et audience ischildren a"ove the a$e of /0 +mainly Teena$ers Children would pro"a"ly

$et scared of *dementors' which are displayed&shown in the rst 7

minutes of the movie The special e!ects make the *dementors' seemmore realistic and they have close up shots which are actually #uite scary

The *dementors' are "lack, cloaked, mythical creatures who suck out yoursoul (ven thou$h they are mythical 6 think many little children would $et

scared of them, even some youn$ adults sometimes However for the

tar$et audience 6 think the movie is e!ective in entertainin$ the audience,"ecause in most movies the openin$s are #uite "orin$ "ut this movie has

already "rou$ht out the tension

4ementors. -cary 6ma$e +not forchildren 6n the openin$ scenes ofthe movie Close up -hot. Thisshows a close up view of the

su"8ect where you can see most oftheir facial features


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Institutional InformationDirector-

The 4irector of the movie is *4avid 9ates'he has directed the Harry Potter moviesfrom 0::; to 0:// +the last one which

includes this movie +Harry Potter and theOrder of the Phoenix )lso he has a closerelationship 3arner Bros who he hasworked with and directed some of their

movies %or these reasons he has "ecomea famous director and is still directin$upcomin$ lms


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Institutional InformationMain$Lead Actors$Actresses-

Throu$hout all the se#uels up to this this movie the leadactors and actresses have "een the same +no one has diedor left and there are three

4aniel


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Cinemato#ra%!Camera &%ot T!es-

E'tra Lon# &%ot (#rou s%ot)3here the su"8ect is shown with thelandscape and other characters inthe "ack$round By >sin$ this *2roupshot' The director wants to make thecharacters intimidatin$ "ecause

Harry is outnum"ered An E'treme Lon# &%ot where the

settin$ of the scene is shown and alot of scenery is shown on the 6ma$e

CA (Cuta*a!) where somethin$other than the su"8ect is shown inthe scene

Mid-&%otthis shows the characterfrom the waist up $ivin$ theaudience a view of their facialexpression and how they feeltowards other characters they arefacin$


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Cinemato#ra%!Camera &%ot T!es (+)-

Full &%otThis shot shows thecharacters&-u"8ects from top to"ottom showin$ the audience whatthey are wearin$ and how they arepresented, this also demonstratesthe characters relationship 6n this

case it's a *$an$&$roup' of teena$ers$oin$ up a$ainst one sin$le Thefact that they are standin$ and he issittin$ makes them seem moreintimidatin$ makin$ this scene moree!ective

Close u ) certain feature of thesu"8ect is shown and takes up thewhole screen makin$ him seemimportant "ecause of the fact thathe is windin$ up the other character


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Cinemato#ra%!Camera An#les-

A "irds e!e an#leThecamera is showin$ theaudience a "irds eyeview of the scene so allthe main props are

shown and helps theaudience understandwhat's $oin$ on

E!e-Le,el An#leTheshot is taken at a an$le

of the audience whichmakes them morecomforta"le with thecharacters This is themost common an$leused in lms


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Cinemato#ra%!Camera An#les (+)-

Lo* An#leThis an$le isthe opposite of a hi$han$le where the characteris shown from "elow andmakes them seemintimidatin$ and "i$$erthan the audience 6n this

case the character isespecially intimidatin$"ecause they aresupposed to "e scary andthis is e!ective "ecause itmakes the movie scaryenou$h so that the

audience $et scared "utnot terried

A i#% An#le is wherethe settin$&scene is shownfrom a"ove to $ive theaudience a view of thescene and what is $oin$

on and shows theaudience how it is windyand the scene is dark 6nthis case "ecause it is$ettin$ spooky theaudience would feel as ifthey are in the sameposition as the characters


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Cinemato#ra%!Camera Mo,ements-

Doll! &%ot thecamera is followin$the su"8ect whilstkeepin$ it in the

scene This helps

the audienceunderstand what is

happenin$ and ise!ective in makin$

the audienceunderstand whatthe characters are

doin$ and what sort

of position they arein

Trac.the camera ismovin$ from side.to.side hori=ontally withthe conversation 6nthis scene thecharacters are lau$hin$and the camera moves

to the su"8ect to seethe reaction which theaudience would do aswell -o they $ive theaudience a $ood viewof what's $oin$ on

Doll! /oom is atechni#ue where thecamera is =oomin$ intothe su"8ect whilst keepin$them the same si=e in theframe This is e!ective"ecause at this point inthe scene the su"8ect

looks like he is $oin$ to dosomethin$ suddenly"ecause the movementsare slow at the momentand this $ives an elementof surprise to theaudience


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Cinemato#ra%!Transitions (Edits)-

A Cut is where the scene is "ein$ cut into theother scene without any e!ects of edits and it 8ustcuts to the other scene like a ?ash This scene hada lot of cuts "ecause there was a sort ofconversation $oin$ on so the camera cut from onecharacter to the other

Mi' $ Dissol,e $ Crossfade the scene sort offades "ut also dissolves into the next scenewithout cuttin$ and makes it sort of ?ow into thenext scene whilst the previous one is still playin$This is an e!ective way to present how thecharacter is feelin$ and it shows that he is lonely

"ecause the movement is slow and sad The movie has a lot of cuts "ecause the movie is

focusin$ more on the scenes than how they movefrom scene to scene Most of the cuts are there toshow the audience the characters and what ishappenin$ next, this also shows us that the movie

has a lot of action which re#uires the transitions to


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&oundDie#etic &ound-

The die$etic sound in these scenes, of the rst 7 minutes of themovie, are clear and you can tell that they are die$etic and havenot "een edited

The 4ie$etic sounds include1 Talkin$, the voices and dialo$ues "etween characters are die$etic

sounds "ecause they have not "een edited to sound di!erent


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&oundNon-Die#etic-

The non.die$etic sounds, in the openin$ of the movie, were pretty clear ando"vious They are sounds that have "een edited to make it seem real eventhou$h these sounds were not in the shot when they were recordin$ thesescenes

They were sounds like1 The radio at the "e$innin$, there was a radio playin$ whilst the character +Harry

was walkin$ to the park even thou$h he did not have radio on him The s#ueakin$, the o"stacles&swin$s were s#ueakin$ in the movie and the

s#ueaks were #uite loud which does not happen normally and especially in aplay$round where it could irritate children However if you aren't focusin$ on ittoo much it is "elieva"le and links to the scene

The wind roarin$ like a *storm is comin$', the sound of the wind was very powerfulwhich is not an ordinary thin$ "ecause whenever a storm comes the clouds do

$et darker and the wind does $et stron$er "ut it doesn't have a sound so loud%or what is happenin$ and the fact that the dementors attract cold and makeeverythin$ $loomy this was an appropriate choice in the movie (specially a $oodway to "rin$ tension at the "e$innin$ of the movie

The non.die$etic sounds are very e!ective for fantasy movies where half themovie is non.realistic anyway This movie is very a!ective in makin$ the soundssound real so the audience "elieve it even thou$h it is fake


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Mise-en-&cene&et-

The way the atmosphere chan$edso #uickly from a nice sunny dayto a dark windy twili$ht timesu$$ests that the ma$ic anddarkness is "e$innin$ The

audience would have expected thisfrom a fantasy lm and it is a $oodway of introducin$ the $enre of thelm and how the tension is "uilt upso #uick

The use of the wide landscapesu$$est that it's a nice sunnyday and there are still normalthin$s $oin$ on even thou$hHarry's life has chan$ed

throu$hout the previousmovies

The way the merry.$o.round is movin$"y itself shows usthat the movie hasadded a hint ofdesire, the fact thatharry is watchin$ themerry.$o.round spin

means that hemisses the normalthin$s he used to do

The way this shot is takenshows us that theyintended to make Harryseem alone and whilst hewas facin$ a $an$ he wason his own and this iswhere the tension comesin "ecause it is him @s awhole $roup 6 can seethis "ecause the shotshows him sittin$ in a rowof swin$s "ut all the

swin$s are empty exceptthe one he is sittin$ on


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Mise-en-&ceneLi#%tin#-

)lthou$h this li$ht may seem real,"ecause of the fact that it is followed "ya nice "ri$ht day in the park However"ecause "efore that there were dark andmisty clouds coverin$ the li$ht you wouldknow that the li$ht is not the sun +notnatural However This is very e!ective in

the movie "ecause the li$htin$ showsthat there is nothin$ "ad $oin$ on at the"e$innin$ and this is also e!ective"ecause later on in this scene theatmosphere chan$es completely

This shot shows a clear shadow ofharry which means that the sun&li$htof that day is very "ri$ht and theshadows are very clear The shadowmakes harry seem lonely "ecause itsdark and dull and it looks like he's onhis own, which he is

This scene shows the sunny day"ein$ covered "y these dark, scary,stormy clouds which make theatmosphere seem scary The Ai$htthat is "ein$ shadowed lets theaudience know that there will not "eanymore li$ht after that which is true


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Mise-en-&ceneCostumes and Ma.e-u-

The costumes of these rst few scenes are pretty strai$ht forward and normal )lthou$h the movie is more a"out the ction and fantasy most of the wardro"es are normal like

"asic 8eans and t.shirts This is to make the movie seem realistic "ecause they want theaudience to "e involved with the movie and they try to make it very normal "y wearin$ normalclothes that anyone would wear The make.up for the humans at this point is natural whichmeans that they have not added anythin$ which is not normal for this scene and all thecharacters look like they arent wearin$ any make up

However in some scenes of the "e$innin$ like when the dementors come the costumes start to$et ctional The dementors are wearin$ "lack cloaks and the fact that they don't walk and they

sort of ?y&?oat shows us that you would not really "e expectin$ them to wear 8eans and a t.shirt"ecause they are supposed to "e scary so they wear cloaks The make.up on the dementors isnot that noticea"le however when there is a close up of their face at one splint in the shot youcan see their mouth and there it is clear that there was make up used however it is not verynoticea"le "ecause the shot of the dementors is very short


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Mise-en-&cenePros-

The props in the "e$innin$ are the e#uipments in the play $round and"ecause they are so o"vious you instantly know that the settin$ is in aplay$round this is called1 arrative co's

The Props at the "e$innin$ of the openin$ are thin$s like1 swin$s, slide,merry.$o.round etc These props are typical in a play$round so you knowwhere the scene is even if they dont show or tell you

) main prop which comes up for a "rief moment of the openin$ and is veryimportant throu$hout all the se#uels is the wand The wand was e!ectivein remindin$ the audience what sort of movie this is and that they still usema$ic in Harry Potter even thou$h thin$s mi$ht have chan$ed

)nother "rief prop which many would not really reco$nise is the trolley thatMrs %i$$ is carryin$ throu$hout the scenes The prop is not so important inthe movie "ut it is very e!ective in showin$ the audience what type ofcharacter Mrs %i$$ is and it is #uite stereotypical in showin$ that "ecauseshe has a Trolley it means she is old "ecause most old women have

trolleys There aren't many props in the openin$ "ecause most of it is actin$ and

dialo$ue


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Mise-en-&ceneActin#$Dialo#ue -

The actin$ and dialo$ue is pretty strai$ht forward where the "ackin$ actors 8ust actlike it's a normal day in the park The actin$ is very convincin$ "ecause the "oy isactin$ sad "ecause he has to leave and the mum is tellin$ him to leave This is aconvincin$ act "ecause that is usually what happens as well

Aike a $roup where they have to "e intimidatin$ and look "i$ in front of harry "ecausethey want to show they are tou$h, they also talk like they are in char$e and what4udley says and he is speakin$ like a "ully 3hen Harry says D"eat up another /:

year oldE This shows the audience that this *$an$' is actually intimidatin$ "ecausethey have $iven us information a"out the fact that they "eat up /: year olds

)lso after when 4udley says Dthis one deserved itE we can see that he doesn't feel$uilty and even if he did he tries to mention that the /: year old did somethin$ to $et"eaten up which wouldn't "e a $ood excuse

The dialo$ue and actin$ of the openin$ is very e!ective "ecause everythin$ they sayor do is "elieva"le and it makes the audience feel like this is real and it actually

happenin$ The actin$ "ein$ e!ective meanin$ that the audience feel as thecharacters feel

%or example when 4udley was sayin$ hurtful thin$s to Harry we all would feel sorryfor Harry "ecause he looked hurt and his facial expression showed it

)lso this links to a close up of his face which is e!ective at this point in showin$ ushow Harry feels


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0inar! 1osition- The "e$innin$ of the movie shows a lot of "inary oppositions and most of them

included the main character and had somethin$ to do with the plot of the story One (xample of "inary opposition is when the scene is all "ri$ht and its sunny outside

rst and then it chan$es +Ai$ht&4ark

The scene is li$ht andthe sky is "lue like the

sun is shinin$ Thereis no hint of rain orchan$e of weather

The audience wouldnot "e focusin$ onthe weather at this

point "ecause theplot is a"out to reveala twist

)lso at this moment

"ecause Harry is$oin$ to attack

4udley you would

think he will punch

him "ut he pulls out

his wand and instead

of castin$ a spell he

threatens him and

that's where the plot

comes in

The scene $oes dark and theclouds cover the "ri$htsunny sky This made 4udleythink it was Harry's doin$"ecause he has his wand

out The scene has chan$edfrom li$ht to dark completelyleavin$ even the audience asconfused as the non wi=ardswho don't know a"out thema$ic "ehind Harry That iswhat "inary opposition isa"out in media where thecomplete opposite happensin a movie&clip or show

This is why Binaryopposition is soe!ective in moviesfor the media

"ecause that meansa plot twist and

somethin$unexpected

happened to makethe audience likethe movie 8ust forthat twist "ecauseit was excitin$ andunexpected


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T%e narrati,e meta%or

6n movies the narrative metaphor would "e what the messa$e of the story is 6n this case it already tells us some of the story where Harry $ets "ullied "y a

"i$$er $roup who may look tou$h and intimidatin$ Harry seems like a wimpand he looks weak "ecause he is on his own "ut they don't know that in fact,he has hidden powers that could demolish them all

6t is wron$ to pic on someone or make fun of them so the author was tryin$

to show that the people who may seam "i$ and mean also have a weaknessand are actually scared of thin$s like when the sky $oes dark and the cloudsare dark they all run away

Harry, who was "ein$ "ullied, stayed and still wanted to hurt 4udley for whathe had said "ut then he realised this was not natural and had somethin$ todo with his unnatural, paranormal other life He shows the audience that he isstill stron$ and in this case the story would "e Dpeople who seem weak and

are intimidated are actual stron$ and have their own special hiddenstren$thsE

Harry stands upfor himself+attackin$ 4udleywith his wand


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2ses and Grati3cations T%eor!

This movie has a lot of e!ects on the audience in times where the $enreis fantasy and thin$s that happen in the movie people would dreama"out in real life

(ven thou$h people know the movie is fake and all the ma$ic in it is alsofake they still "elieve in ma$ic after seein$ it "ecause the charactersmake us want to "elieve in it

)lso the movie is a"out fantasy and ma$ic where children would nd thatthe $ood or main character defeats the "ad character in a way that itwould not end in a "attle and they would all sort thin$s out and for$ive

This movie sets out a di!erent "e$innin$ where the audience would feelsorry for Harry "ecause he is "ein$ made fun of when his mother died+which he is very upset a"out the audience want to hurt 4udley or make

him pay for hurtin$ Harry This feelin$ instantly chan$es "ecause Harryeventually 4O(- stick up for himself and $oes to hurt 4udley

4udley and his friends make out that they are "i$ and scary "ut in factthey run away as soon as the weather $oes "ad and wimp out

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