Use of colour in the opening of Phantom of the Opera

In the opening credits the background is pitch black, but the writing is very bright, with light coming out of the text. This creates a sense of eeriness which reflects the film. When it reads ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ the writing is in calligraphy and a candle is shown underneath which appears to be lighting the words up. This indicates that it’s set in olden times. When the actual film starts it starts off in a scene outside a theatre. The colour of the picture is sepia, which then changes to black and white. The shot then changes to inside the theatre. The film stays in black and white until the curtain is lifted up which turns the whole film into colour. First dust flies everywhere and covers up the inside of the theatre, and then fire appears on all the objects turning them from black and white to colour. This includes the chairs which turn red and the chandelier and the statues which turn gold. This makes the entire theatre look very regal and the music used is contrapuntal as it’s quite scary and intense which does not reflect what is going on screen. The music would be parallel if it was used when the film was in black and white. Then the shot changes back to outside the theatre. You see lots of people walking around in fancy and regal clothing. The next scene is back inside the theatre, but there are more people than before, including costume designers, musicians, actors and cleaners. As before, the colours all remain very grand. The whole tone of the film has changed drastically because of the colours used. This shows that colours are very important as they can affect the way we feel.

Harry Potter Sound Exercise

Harry Potter sound exercise

For the credit sequence, I used music that sounded eerie and quite futuristic to match what was on screen. At the beginning music starts playing while there is nothing on screen. Then once the 'Warner Brothers' logo appears on screen the music starts to build up, which builds up tension for the audience. I also used thunder to highlight certain aspects of this sequence such as when it read 'Harry Potter'. This matches what is on screen as well. Then as it titles fade out a pan shot of a road is shown on screen. I used ambient sounds as I think diegetic sound would work best for this scene. For the playground sequence I used ambient sounds again such as the cricket noise to make the film seem realistic. I also used quiet and slightly creepy non-diegetic music to continue the suspense of the film. Just before the dialogue I fade out the music. Throughout the dialogue there is no other sound, so the viewer will just focus on what is being said.  When it became dark on screen I used thunder and grand, majestic music to build up the tension further. Overall, I'm pleased with my final sequence. Although I didn't manage to finish it, I think the scenes that I completed were good and carefully thought out. If I had completed it I would have used tense music later on to help build up anticipation.