Film_Critique_Harry_Potter

Some of the most influential and popular movies of our time are the Harry Potter movies. Based off of novels written by J.K. Rowling, the Harry Potter films have heightened our imagination by taking us into a magical world where good and evil come alive. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is a fantasy film that used old and new techniques and special effects to create an amazing film. Steve Kloves helped create the screenplay for the movie along with J.K. Rowling. If writing a screenplay from scratch is hard, then writing a screenplay from a book is twice as hard. Of course, you can’t fit a whole novel into an one and half to two hour movie, some parts are going to have to be cut out. This was his job. He had to take the main points from the novel, without leaving out too much important information, and make sure it flowed nicely together. I remember seeing an interview with him and he said “if people like the movie, it’s because of the books, but if people hate the movie, it’s because of me”. (Kloves) By writing a screenplay from a book, you already know the plot and the story. The story is what happens in the movie and the plot is how it happens. (Goodykoontz, 2011) In this film the story would be explained as: three young wizards try to destroy a powerful and evil wizard who wants to rule the wizarding world. The plot would be explained as: three young and powerful wizards search for Horcruxes, or pieces of Voldemort’s soul. By finding and destroying each Horcrux, the young wizards then have an opportunity to kill Voldemort and save the wizarding world. The director of the film was David Yates who directed the last four Potter movies. He became popular directing a BBC mini-series called State of Play, but he went above and beyond with the Potter films. He really made a name for himself here in the US. It was his job to take the screenplay that Steve Kloves created and turn it into a visual presentation. The director is in charge of every aspect of the film, he is the boss. The director is usually blamed for the success or failure of a film. The three main actors in the movie are Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. Of course, this movie has a very large cast of completely different characters. I believe that over the years, their characters have gotten so much better. They have been playing these characters for over ten years; they’ve grown into these characters. Everyone plays their part so well and is so believable that many of these actors are either liked or disliked just because of their character in the Harry Potter films. Most of these actors will forever be known as their character in the Potter movies. When Daniel, Emma, and Rupert were cast for the first movie, they were only kids and nobody knew who they were. Over the 10 years that the Harry Potter movies were made, I also watched these three actors in other films. I would classify all three as being wild card actors. They have all adjusted to many different films and personalities. Because of the Harry Potter films, these three actors have also become stars. Stars are actors who are so well known that people are intrigued not only by their films, but by their personal lives as well. (Goodykoontz, 2011) The cinematography in this film is amazing. The first thing you notice is that they use desaturation throughout the whole film. Desaturation is the removal of color to give the film a darker look and feel. (Goodykoontz, 2011) The entire movie is dark, even when they are in the sunlight; it still has a darker feel to it. The colors are not as bright as you know they should be. This gives the movie a sinister feeling, which is perfect because of all the evil and fighting that takes place in the film. The film follows continuity editing, everything is happening in a continuous time and space. There are also a few clips of dreams or flash backs. The flash backs are little clips of memories all jumbled together to give it a dark and scary feel. The flashbacks are even darker than the rest of the film. The clips move very fast so that you only get a glimpse of what is going on. I have sometimes seen this type of editing in horror movies. One famous scene that comes to mind with this type of editing is the scary tunnel scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It’s just a bunch of pictures that flash by very quickly. There is one scene in particular that they use the 180 degree rule. When Harry’s friends are taking the Polyjuice Potion to turn into Harry, the camera circles around to see everyone as they transform. This scene is actually quite amazing; it’s called The Seven Harrys. Each actor had to play their character for a separate taping of each. Then, Daniel (Harry) would study each character, how they moved, talked, undressed and dressed, facial expressions, everything about that character. Then Daniel would be filmed doing the same thing. All of the Harrys were then put into the scene by computer and you see seven Harrys but you can also see the character of each of one of those Harrys. The whole scene took a total of 95 takes. They also used a new technique called Mova which is a facial capture. They put on ultra violet make-up which would only show up under special lights. While wearing this makeup, they would make distorted facial expressions while being filmed from over 20 cameras at once from all different angles. Then they were able blend all the faces together on the computer to get the facial changes that take place in that scene. One of characters in the film, Hagrid, is supposed to be 12 feet tall as he is half giant. He towers over the characters. He is extremely tall and wide. The creators of the film are keeping it a secret on how they produced Hagrid to look so large. Although, I do have a few of my own theories. There are a couple of ways that I’ve discovered to make someone look smaller or larger in a film. There is forced perspective and scale composition. Both of these were used in The Lord of the Rings films to make the Hobbits seem smaller than the other characters. Forced perspective is when you place an actor farther away from the camera to make them seem smaller or closer to the camera to make them seem bigger. By placing the camera at a certain angle, it can look like the characters are standing next to each other. By placing one of the characters on a pulley system, they can move while the camera moves so that they seem stationary and you never lose the sizing effect. You might also use small props in Hagrid’s case to make him seem larger; like a small chair that he sits in or smaller doorways that he has to bend down to get through. Another theory is called scale composition. This is when you film one character of the scene farther away using blue screen, then film another character closer to the camera. Then, using computer technology, they can mesh these two characters into one scene. This makes one character seem larger than the other. One scene in particular seems like it would be difficult to shoot, when in reality, it was so simple. When watching the making of the scene, I never would have guessed that they filmed it that way. The scene takes place in the woods and Hermione had put a protective charm around the camp so that anyone coming by would not be able to see them. A snatcher by the name of Scabior walks past the enchantment while Hermione is standing on the other side. He doesn’t see her, but he can smell her perfume and he stops in his tracks. They are actually face to face with the magical barrier between them. They use the 180 degree effect to film the scene, which means that the camera circles around both Hermione and Scabior so that you can see both points of view. You would think that they used a blue screen or some kind of technology to remove Hermione from his view, but all she did was duck down. As the camera circled around her and went behind Scabior so that you could see his point of view, she just squatted down below the camera. The technique is so simple, I never would have thought about it. They also use an animated scene in the film. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn about the Three Deathly Hallows, the story is told in animation with Hermione narrating the story. It is actually quite beautiful. It has a yellow sepia color to it and all the characters in the scene are just silouettes. It is reminiscent of the old paper cut out cartoons from the early 19th century. It has a very old time feel to it and a little eerie, it really fits well with the film. The score, or background music, for this film is practically in every scene. To me, the score is a character in the film. Many scenes don’t have dialogue and the music gives you the feel for the scene. The first scene of the movie, the music is light and almost sad sounding as everyone is leaving home and preparing for this war that they know is coming. It sets up the whole movie. The music becomes faster and more intense during fight scenes and has almost an adventurous sound to it when Hagrid and Harry are driving through the tunnel being chased by the Dementors. It slows, heightens, and stops at just the right time. The sound effects are everywhere. The flapping sound of the dementors flying, cracking of wands casting spells, even the wind blowing as they fly through the air. It makes the movie come to life, like you are in it with them. These films are known around the world and have had a huge impact on society. They teach us just how important friendship, love, and trust are. We watched these kids grow up together and trust each other with their lives. They all have such a strong bond. Family values are also extremely important in these films. It was love that saved Harry as a baby. When Voldemort first tried to kill Harry, he was just a baby. His mother gave her life to try to save his and it was this love that caused Voldemort’s spell to backfire. It’s important for us to remember these lessons in our everyday lives. Our families are the most important things and should always become anything else. A wide variety of people are Harry Potter fans, from the young to the old. There are Harry Potter conventions, costumes, all kinds of merchandise, and even a Harry Potter theme park inside Universal Orlando. I have been a Harry Potter fan since I read the first book over ten years ago. I prefer the books to the movies because they do have so much more information in them. But the two films of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2 are definitely the best of the Potter films. With so much more detail and technology, you’re sitting on the edge of your seat the whole time wondering what’s going to happen next. This is a film that will become a classic and live on forever. References Barron, D. & Heyman, D. (Producers). Yates, D. (Director) (2010). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. [DVD] Warner Brothers Pictures Barron, D. & Heyman, D. (Producers). Yates, D. (Director) (2010). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Special Features: The Seven Harrys. [DVD] Warner Brothers Pictures Barron, D. & Heyman, D. (Producers). Yates, D. (Director) (2010). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Maximum Movie Mode: The Deathly Hallows. [DVD] Warner Brothers Pictures Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. https://content.ashford.edu Jackson, P. (Producer & Director) (2001) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Forced Prespective Moving Camera. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch'v=jDlxpnRxDJs Jackson, P. (Producer & Director) (2001) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Scale Compositing. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch'v=a0fJUPU5xys&feature=related New Line Productions Inc. (2002). Q&A with Peter Jackson. Retrieved August 26, 2011 from http://www.lordoftherings.net/film/filmmakers/fi_pjack_qanda.html