HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD

PRINCE MOVIE ANALYSIS

By Hasiba Rassuli

TITLE This title creates a great effect because it is the name of

the main character and the story is based on his life and
how it all changed because of that one night. The theme of
this title also works well with the magical theme of
wizards, wands, witches etc. Also the background of this
title is leading towards the start of the opening scene
therefore it is dark and gloomy because of what happened
in the movie of the sequel before this one. The background
also makes the title look dim and scary which creates a big
effect on the viewers by making them feel tension of what
this movie will be about.

GENRE

The genre for this movie is a fantasy horror, the

reason for this is because there is wizards and
witches and it is set in a school called Hogwarts.
It is also seen as a horror for some of the
younger viewers aged at around 13 or under
because of the many deaths that occur in these
movies.

PRODUCTION COMPANY AND DISTRIBUTOR

The production company for this movie is Hayday films
1492 pictures.
Hayday films are also the production company for movies
such as paddington, The boy in the striped pyjamas,
Gravity (award winning movie) and all the Harry Potter
sequels.
The distributor is Warner bros is an American entertainment
company that produces film, television and music
entertainment.

 The target audience for this movie

TARGET AUDIENCE wouldnt be for children for the first five
minutes of this movie because of the
content and the depressing formation of
it. Also at the start of this movie the
death eaters destroy the millennium
bridge in London with people on it who
die by falling into the river.
This scene could be scary for children however this movie
has some comedy scenes which children might enjoy. In my
opinion I think that this movie in particular would have a
target audience of young adults because of the death
scenes and it is quiet depressing since the return of
Voldemort.

DIRECTOR AND MAIN LEAD ACTORS/ACTRESSES

The director for this movie is David Yates who is a English movie
director.

The main actors/actresses are Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson and

Rupert Grint staring as Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron
Weasley.
Harry Potter is the main character which this movie is based on
and his life which is at risk of a dark creature who seeks revenge
for not being able to kill Harry the first time he had tried. Hermione
is a clever young girl who is very focused on her studies and quiet
ahead of the mysteries that are being solved. Ron is like a sidekick
and another one of Harrys best friends before Hermione. They are
together from the start and fight anything thats ahead of them
together.
These characters are also on the cover of all the movie DVDs
showing them in different settings but always together sometimes
with other characters added on to the covers.

CAMERA SHOT TYPES (1)

This shot type is called a Big Close-Up also known as a
BCU this shot is a full head height and the head takes up
the entire screen. It contains little or no background. This
shows the audience the features of the characters face.
In this example from the first five minutes of the half
blood prince it shows Harry Potter with scars and a
depressed expression.

This shot could be a medium shot where half of the

body is shown of the character but it could also be
a long shot to show other characters as well as the
background in the scene. The medium shot allows
you to get to know the character more closely by
viewing their facial expressions and body
language. In this case it would be lost in thought
for Harry and kind of protective or worried for
Dumbledore.

CAMERA SHOT TYPES (2)

This is an extreme close up of Harrys eye in this
scene where he looks quiet depressed. This gives
the audience an idea of the characters facial
expressions and appearances. Harry looks sort of
tired and worn out, you can also see a bit of his
glasses at the bottom left corner which gives the
audience and idea of who it might be.

In this scene the shot type is a

group shot showing more than
one character to give them an
idea of the setting. Also it helps
them see the background of the
scene and what is going on.

CAMERA ANGLES (1)

The camera angle in this scene is from eye level which
gives the audience a view of the characters form and the
way he is standing. This also helps them to see how
other characters in this movie look at the character. In
this scene Harry looks depressed and lost in his own
thought which we can see from his frown and how
Dumbledore is looking at him with a worried expression.
This angle is a birds eye view as we can
see it shows us the full scene of a cite and
a river; being the river Thames. This scene
also shows the death eaters ( Voldemorts
minions) going down into the city at a fast
speed with special effects to make them
stand out more. This angle gives the
audience a perfect view of the place and its
surroundings.

CAMERA ANGLES (2)

The low angle shot is presented here showing
the characters face from a different angle and
also by making the character look intimidating
and dangerous which is well shown here. This
character looks scary and quiet threatening with
his grin and the background also shows us that
this scene isn't very pleasant.
High angles are shown a lot in the opening scene of
this movie. High angles make the characters look
weak and makes them look like victims about to be
hunted which is true in this scene when the death
eaters are coming to destroy the bridge which is
also shown in this angle and the many people on it
who are about to face death.

CAMERA MOVEMENTS

Zooming is used a lot in this movie and especially in the opening scene that shows
the title and the production company. It also occurs when the camera is zoomed in
towards Harry Potter, who is the main character, to give the audience a full view of
the character. It gives the effect of importance to the object.

Tilt is another movement that is used often in this opening scene which is when the
camera follows the death eaters path from behind and they suddenly tilt to the side
with the camera as well. This scene makes the audience feel tension because of the
speed and the sudden tilts and movements created by the creatures.

When the bridge is about to be destroyed it uses the truck movement making it more
clear for the audience the length of the bridge and the way the bridge is set out with a
lot of people on it.

TRANSITIONS (EDITS)

This movie has a great number of transitions because it has a lot of movements as
well as the transitions. There are a lot of dissolves which are scenes that move from
one scene to another smoothly through the shots. This doesnt confuse the audience
to what is happening and what the next scene is. The movement is rapid but smooth
and shows us a full understanding. It is also known as overlapping, dissolves happen
when one shot gradually replaces by the next. One disappears as the following
appears. For a few seconds, they overlap, and both are visible.

Fades happen at the start of the movie fade outs happen when the picture is
gradually replaced by black screen or any other solid colour. Traditionally, fade outs
have been used to conclude movies. Fade ins are the opposite: a solid colour
gradually gives way to picture, commonly used in the beginning of movies. This
happens in the movie when the scene flashes to another after Harry Potter walks
away with Dumbledore.

DIEGETIC AND NON-DIEGETIC SOUND

In the opening scene of this movie there is mostly Non-diegetic sound and hardly any
diegetic sound apart from screams of people who have been attacked on the bridge. The
non-diegetic sound are mainly of the thunder rumbling and the death eaters approaching
places. Also the music that comes with the death eaters brings tension to the scene and
makes the audience more tense to see what happens next because of the fear in the
characters.

In this scene where Harry is in

caf of the human world the
diegetic because of the
clink on each other
the dishes. This
audience that at this
scene these people
are un aware of
a while ago.

the
sound is
dishes which
whilst washing
shows the
part of the
including Harry
what has happened

MISE-EN-SCENE SET AND LIGHTING

Set- The set in most of the movie is outside but at the very start of the opening scene the
set is in the magical world and the setting is gloomy with very few props around it
however it shows a lot about the setting and the atmosphere of this particular scene. It
also shows us the background isnt important right now
but the scene and characters are.
Lighting- This movie uses a lot of different lightings
especially at the start when pictures are being taken
of Harry because of previous events. Natural lighting
is also being used outside when the bridge crashes
into the water. This shows us a clear picture of the
scene unlike the camera flashes which sometimes
turn everything dim in the background.
This particular scene shows Harrys details because
of the lights that flash upon his face.

MISE-EN-SCENE COSTUMES AND MAKE UP

The costumes for the main character, which is

Harry, is ragged and ripped because of previous
events. This makes the audience think about the
previous movie and builds up the tension around
them. The scene of the public in London is
different because the business workers are in a
building dressed in suits and formal clothing.
A lot of make up is used for special
affects and to show the different
features. To show that the characters
have been hurt a lot of make up is
used to show scars and cuts on the
face. Also the make up on the death
eaters are affective as it shows how
threatening they are even though
they look dirty and tired.

MISE-EN-SCENE PROPS AND

ACTING/DIALOGUE

There are many props used in the first few minutes of this movie. Most of these props
are cameras and the props in the muggle world which are every day things used by
humans. The props give the audience a quick layout of the setting and what the
actors are doing in these particular scenes.

There is not much dialogue in this scene except from the reporters at the start when
Harry Potter looks distraught and tired. His facial expression shows the audience
how he is and what he is feeling. The acting of the public in the muggle world shows
us that they are scared when the bridge collapses; they scream and run in fear.

Another scene shows the characters acting skills well when the death eaters kidnap
the owner of oliwanders which is a shop to sell wands to the new witches and
wizards. The kidnappers are grinning at the shrieking public.

BINARY OPPOSITION

In this scene binary opposition is shown as good vs. evil showing these death eaters
kidnapping a shop keeper and burning the place down in the process. The binary
opposition of weak to strong is also shown in this scene because of how the people
are running away from those kidnappers to show how scared they are and that they
do not want to get involved to help the man.

Harry Potter is not shown as a hero yet but as the scene follows to the caf where
Harry is currently in the headlines showing that he is the chosen one meaning he is
to kill voldemort which suggests that he is the hero to save everyone from his misery
indicating he is the hero and that he is acting strong.

USES AND GRATIFICATION THEORY

Identification is shown in the first five minutes of this movie when Harry Potter is shown,
however to identify the character straight away the audience would have to watch the other
movies in the sequel. When Harry is shown depressed or quiet in thought some of the
viewers or audience would relate to how they are feeling at the moment whilst watching the
movie.

When the bridge collapses into the water

shows the audience that the death eaters
of the dark are there to ruin the
others and in this scene it is clearly
the hate for muggles.

The start of this movie is tense and rapid

letting you know the basic overview of
what is happening this makes the audience
want to watch on because of the enjoyment
and how it will end or lead into the movie.

it
characters
lives of
shown