Technical,Audio and visual codes

In the making of a film a lot of time and effort goes into getting the correct shot and making the effects and sounds as authentic as possible especially in a fantasy film. The Harry Potter franchise are some of these.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (directed by David Yates) we see the Wizarding War take place. In this scene a lot of different and difficult visual effects are used. In the Harry Potter films, visual effects are crucial in making ghosts, spells and magical creatures believable. The purpose behind having good visual codes is so the film is realistic, appealing and enjoyable to watch; because no one wants to watch a film were you can clearly tell it's green-screened and effects are terrible.

Voldemort before special effects

Some of the visual codes we see in Deathly Hallows is the rubble and broken building pieces on the ground, this rubble all looks realistic but it is in fact Styrofoam so that actors and stunt-doubles don't get injured whilst getting thrown, much like when Hermione and Ron (Emma Watson and Rupert Grint) fall on the rubble later on in the movie. Another Visual code seen is the different lighting used. When we get a medium close up of Fred and George (James and Oliver Phelps) talking, during this the lighting changes. This is because it's the effect of the spells that are being fired in front of them as the death-eaters try and breakdown the protective bubble put up by the professors. This is very subtle as we only see the death-eaters attacking it earlier. Similar to this the actual effects of the spells being fired are excellent, as another visual effect this has followed the franchise from the beginning but nevertheless it is a hard effect to make authentic. Although they don't make a huge appearance in the films, the ghosts that are seen are portrayed as people, and visual effects are added during editing. In the Deathly Hallows Helena, the ghost of Ravenclaw, is one of the only ghosts seen in the final film. Most of these effects are only seen in the final product as they are added and altered with in the editing. This is much like Voldemort. Ralph Fiennes, who acts as Voldemort, had to have stickers on his face so that the editing team could accurately alter his appearance because he did actually have a nose!. This was also similar to creating Nagini the snake, before editing Nagini is simply a green tennis ball on the end of a stick.

protective shield being broken

Audio is a great code to make the audience feel involved, and emotional all at the same time. In Harry Potter, the soundtrack is very recognizable and known across the globe. This is because with each Harry Potter the soundtrack gets darker and more scarier as does the franchise. The soundtrack is used during the war sequence to create tension and in someway nostalgic and sad as it reminds us how happy and safe Hogwarts was compared to now where its under threat. Dialogue is another code of audio as it is one of the main components in making a anecdote make sense. Dialogue is important in the scene as it helps us understand how the characters feel. When Harry is running up to Ravenclaw tower you hear a girl shout to someone 'Hurry up' creating tension as it makes us feel like Voldemort is closer than he already is. Also whilst everyone is running around most of the audio is random, and muffled shouting; only the main antagonist's voices are heard to show importance around what they are saying, equally making the audience feel included in what is happening instead of an outsider like most of the other students who are rushing around. Sound effects are also used to create more of an impact of what is actually happening, this is like when the large group of death-eaters fire spells at the protective shield we hear when the spells hit and we know there is damage on the protective shield making the audience and the people inside the shield scared as we will all know the protection won't last much longer.

Technical codes are important in making the scene seem more action packed rather than stationary and static. An extreme long shot is used to show how large Voldemort's army is and how powerful they seem against Hogwarts. This is because they are all still waiting for a command from 'the Dark Lord' unlike the pupils at Hogwarts who are rushing around like maniacs panicking about it all. This is to make it seem that Voldemort and the Death-Eaters are more composed and prepared than everyone else. We see an extreme close up of the Elder wand breaking slightly after Voldemort uses a powerful spell, this is used  to show how important the breakage is, This is because the wand doesn't belong Voldemort, however Voldemort doesn't know this even though he did feel the breakage he didn't think of it because he believed the wand belonged to him; this it also creates Dramatic irony because the audience knows what is happening to the wand and why unlike Voldemort. A tracking shot is used to follow Harry around as he goes looking for the Diadem, and as he runs through the chaos of students, this is so the audience can easily keep track of Harry and feel involved as it shows the

Helena Ravenclaw

importance of Harry's movements. A Point-of-view shot is used when Harry is talking to Helena, this makes it seem as Helena is talking to us personally and makes the audience feel engaged with the events. A panning shot is used to show all the destruction at Hogwarts, from the Quidditch pitch to the greenhouses and the courtyard. This is important to make the audience feel emotional because it's a school where all children want to do is learn, it's also where they have followed Harry around during his adventures most of the time.

Overall the main use of Technical, Audio and Visual codes are to help enhance the film and make the audience feel more involved with the storyline and not feel distance from it. It also helps to create amazing films with special effects of magical creatures, spells and magic.