Q2 Week 1: Mise en scene

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" opens to a street sign reading "Privet Drive", showing the audience that is where the following scene will be taking place. It is night and the area is foggy, signaling that something dark had happened or is going to happen. The area has low-key lighting and is dimly lit by a few streetlights. In deep space, a man slowly appears out of the woods, wearing a robe and a classic wizard's hat and pulls out of his robes a lighter. He proceeds to take all of the surrounding light away from the area, making it even darker than before. This signifies that something secretive is about to take place because it is obvious he does not want to be seen. A tabby cat then transforms into a woman who also has a robe and hat on, signaling that these two people know each other and are from the same group of people. It also shows that the group they are from is not of normal people.

The actor playing Dumbledore seems to practice non-method acting. It seems as if he was made to play this role and that it is very natural to him. He is soft-spoken and is not trying hard to show the audience that he is able to play a wizard, even though he is not one in real life.

I observed only the first four minutes of the movie because it is the most important due to the wonder it gives the audience of who the professors in the robes were, who the baby is, and why they dropped him off on a front porch. These first four minutes pulled the audience in and made them interested enough in the movie for seven more and a spin-off to be created after it.