Phantom of the opera opening

Phantom of the opera

Scene	Sound and visuals	Colour and lighting	Effect
1	In the first scene there is a picture and the sound of children playing and as the camera pans in you see that the picture is moving and you enter the picture of the children playing by a big grand looking opera house. The sound is mainly diegetic sound such as the car horn and children’s laughter.	The scene is in black and white whereas the credits are in colour so this must have been done for a reason	The first scene gives the effect that this happened a long time ago.
2	The second scene shows an elderly man getting out of a car and being put into an old wheelchair and being wheeled inside this grand opera house by a nurse, there are again mainly diegetic sounds here as it is a quiet scene.	The colour is still black and white	As you can hear a whistle blowing in the background this signifies that this this be an industrial area. You can also only see parts of the man in the wheelchair so this leads the audience to wonder who he is and why they aren’t showing all of him.
3	This scene shows the inside of the grand opera house where an auction is happening. You also see the mans face as he looks at a woman that he seems to know as they both vie to buy a music box that seems to mesmerize them as it plays.. The auctioneers voice echo’s in the vast opera house and just adds to the feeling of how big and important the opera house is. The sound is still on-screen diegetic with the auctioneers voice and some birds flapping.	The colour is still black and white. The light being let into the gloomy opera house shows how dusty and old it is.	This scene will cause the audience to wonder how the old man in the wheelchair knows the woman and why they are both trying to win the music box. The dust in the air and the gloomy look to the opera house also adds to the feel that this is a flashback or happened a long time ago.
4	This scene see’s the next lot in the auction to be an enormous chandelier which is unveiled from a dusty cloth and is somehow connected to the ‘legend of the phantom of the opera’ as it is hoisted to the ceiling there is an explosion of sound as the church organ of the soundtrack to the phantom of the opera (written by Andrew Lloyd Webber) kicks in. this is in stark contrast to the near silence of the scenes before.	As the chandelier ascends and the music kicks in there is also an explosion of colour as the whole opera house is seemingly revived as the colour washes over it, brightening the whole scene up.	This may shock some of the audience as it goes from steady near silence to a flurry of music and colour, completely changing the pace of the film and its feel.
5	The scene then cuts to the outside of the opera house where a black carriage pulls up outside and two elegantly dressed men get out. The first man to get out seems to be a younger version of the man in the wheelchair. As the other man comes up alongside the other man they have a look of wonder on their face. All throughout this scene the phantom of the opera soundtrack is still playing.	The scenes are now in colour and it seems to be that the present day is set in black and white and the past is in colour. This may be because the man in the wheelchair is old and grey while in his youth he was a vibrant young man and he wants to re-live those glorious days in all its colour.	The effect of this scene may see the audience wonder how important this man is and what the opera means to him.
6	This scene show sthe bustling and busy backstage to the opera with people getting ready with extravagant costumes and doing last minute preparation, going through lines and sequences. The soundtrack is still playing in the background and just ads to the sensory overload of the whole scene.	The whole mise-en-scene is so overpowering, as there is so much to look at and so much colours.	The effect of this scene is that it shows the importance of the opera house and how much it was used to put on grand operas night after night.