Phantom Of The Opera

Phantom of the Opera opening

The scene starts in black and white and this masculine character (antagonist) is smartly dressed. We hear slow deathly music that sounds heavenly yet scary, the music then stops and we hear dialogue; an auction. They proceed to speak formally in old English. As the draped, sheltered chandelier is unveiled and it starts to rise, we hear the music is deep and threatening, it is repetitive and continues through the whole opening. However, the tones change depending on the mood of the scene, for example, as the camera rises and the colours change the beat increases its pace giving a sense of magic and nourishment. He stands on the second floor of the dusty and unkept theatre as the music pauses. He looks out to see a diamond chandelier layed on the floor. Echos of wind flourish around the scene, this is significant because it replicates the subliminal message in that the theatre is being washed away and is eroding itself by sheer abandonment. More characters emerge, also dressed in Victorian clothing and fresh suits, big grand hats like the businessmen of them times. A woman has dark clothing with a black hat and veil, as if it was the funeral of the theatre. 

As the scene continues the camera which was originally screened at birds eye view, gave the character a lot more power over the surroundings as he looks down upon the action. It slowly changes to a low angle. this technique makes the atmosphere a lot more tense and scary, increasing its significance. Scanning the theatrical chairs as the colour changes to a strong red; this creates a strong and powerful feel to the theatre. As the dust floats over the interior of the dead playhouse everything becomes colourful in reds and golds making us feel royal representing wealth. The lighting is bright and florescent demonstrating 'the rise of the dead' the modernization of the run-down theatre appears by a flashback.

The whole scene becomes a lot more realistic when we see the exterior of the theatre. The natural lighting is a lot less intense and creates realism, we see carriages and middle class citizens walking the streets in a busy area. We see children and adults rushing around the pockets of the theatre in a rush, creating masks and doing arts, the lighting is a lot darker then before but is feels a lot more warm to the black and white scene we saw at the start. This is a massive contrast to the middle of the opening where it seems a lot more wealthy and higher class,it almost seems magical when the chandelier rises and the theatre gradually grows richer.                                        

However seeing graft by the people when supporting the fresh opening of the theatre it gives us a completely different feel. We see workers dressed very casually, then we see dancers dressed in glowing costumes and frocks. All of these contrasts work together to show the value and importance the theatre has to the people. Its popularity towards the end with the crowding contrasts the lonely disserted theatre at the start of the opening, like its being brought back to life with intensifying passion from the people and the soul of the theatre.