ROLAND BARTHES' CODES - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Opening

Up to 2:00 minutes on the video

1. Identify the key actions within the opening - what kinds of actions are included and how is the narrative moved forward?

The sequence starts with a view of the London skyline, and businessmen looking out of their office windows at a strangely stormy sky. This introduces the audience to the black figures that the camera follows next, as they fly through London and into Diagon Alley. Here, they devastate the shops and kidnap an unidentified man. They fly off again, as the camera cuts to a view of the Millennium Bridge. The black figures cause the bridge to twist and break, and fall into the Thames. The music becomes louder and tenser until the camera cuts suddenly to a blurred shot of a moving train. The actions in the sequence create tension and mystery. We expect the rest of the narrative to focus on or be related to the cause of the incidents, and to find out who the black figures are.

2. Identify the enigma codes within the opening - what kinds of questions are posed and how is the audience meant to read these codes?

The first scene of the opening is of businessmen looking out of their office window at a stormy sky. Their puzzled expressions lead the audience to question the situation and think that something strange is happening. The unidentifiable black figures that the camera follow next also create a sense of mystery and pose many questions, for example: Who are they? What are they doing? Why are they kidnapping the man? The kidnapping scene is particularly important in adding suspense and mystery to the opening sequence, as the action leads up to this point, presenting it as an important event. The identity of the kidnapped man is hidden by a sack on his head, so the audience wonders who he is and why is has been taken. As an audience, we also question the figures’ motivations when they destroy the Millennium Bridge.

3. Identify key characters and think about what they represent in the opening

The most important characters in the opening sequence, those who makes the narrative move on, are the unidentifiable black figures that we see fly through London. The audience realise that these are bad characters because they are destructive and violent. The man they kidnap is seen as the victim as he is badly treated by these ‘villains’. The businessmen we see right at the start help to introduce the action in the opening sequence; however they are not presented as important to narrative flow as they are only seen for a few seconds.

4. Interpret the cultural codes in the opening. What kind of knowledge is being drawn on? social/historical/political/art and culture etc. Highlight the 3 most important references in the opening that help with audience understanding.
The first thing we see is a grey, stormy sky and city skyline reflected in a wall of windows that we recognise as an office block. The businessmen together with a city skyline set the scene in London. The audience realise it is London, and not another large city as we see red buses and famous London landmarks in the clip of the figures flying through the air. The figures land in a narrow street lined with old shops which audiences familiar with the Harry Potter series will recognise as Diagon Alley. This is a cultural code that relies on the viewers of this film to be fans of the series and have watched the previous five movies, or have read the books. A close-up of a condiment set establishes the next setting: a cafe. The condiments are typical social codes representative of cafe and restaurants.

5. Identify key themes and analyse how they are presented visually/technically.

The key themes of the opening sequence are destruction, evil and mystery; very dark, sombre themes, setting up the mood of the rest of the film. The destruction happens throughout the opening scene, in Diagon Alley and at the Millennium Bridge. The destruction is focussed on through the use of close-ups and mid shots, and loud noises to attract attention to the action. The evilness of the unknown ‘baddies’ is shown through the use of black and dark colours, as well as shadows on their faces when they appear in human form at 1:05. The whole opening sequence raises many questions, so mystery is key theme. These questions are caused by the action, because the audience does not know what has motivated the villains to do this. An air of mystery and suspense is created by the use of blueish tones, which create an unsettling atmosphere.