Lighting

• In both 'Home Alone' and 'Harry Potter' Columbus has used very little lighting in some scenes to give the overall effect of darkness surrounding the film and to create a negative environment, for examlple Voldemorts evil presence and also from the burglars in 'Home Alone'
• As an audience we often associate darkness to mean that something bad is happening or is about to happen or associate it to mean something bad, as in reality we are naturally more scared to be in the dark as opposed to being in light, and it gives us a feeling of being slightly uncomfortable. With Columbus's knowledge of this he has been able to apply the idea of using little light as possible to create a scared feeling within certain scenes of both films that not only gives the impression that the character may be scared of what is about to happen but also make the audience uncomfortable due to the uncertainty of the situation.

Lighting in Home Alone:

• From these still shots in 'Home Alone' we can see that the lighting surrounding the burglars is dark.
• The darkness surrounding them implies that they are dangerous and are up to mischief.It acts like a warning to the audience that they the two characters are up to no good.
• Literally shown in a 'bad light'.

• As society and as an audience we often assocaite that 'bad things' are more likely to happen at night rather than the day, and Columbus uses this association by placing the burglars in a night scene with little lighting to capture the idea that these two charcacters are of no good.
• Compared to the contrast of Kevin in soft light, giving the overall idea that Kevin is the innocent victim.

Lighting in Harry Potter:

• In 'Harry Potter' there are several scenes where there is little lighting used to convey the sense of danger ahead and can act as a warning to the audience of the danger that is to come. When Harry, Hermione and Ron fall into Devils Snare it is very dark and there is no great sense of light that gives the characters nor the audience the feeling of positiveness. We are able to see in this scene that there is some natural light entering the scene from above, which is able to translate to the auduience that the charcters have not only now literally entered darkness but about to face the person who symbolizes darkness (Voldermort).
• The light above them in Devil's Snare represents how above they are safe and now they are entering a drak world, almost like entering the Underworld. But by Ron, Hermione and Harry entering the darkness this show that they are courageous and brave.

Harry Potter- Devil's Snare

• In this still shot there is also very little light used when Harry and Draco are in the Forbidden Forest and from the wide shots we see only dark silhouttes against the moon light giving the scene a ghostly effect.
• Once again this gives the audience an uncomfortable feeling as the scene seems airy with little lighting.
• Also as an audience we have the association that bad occurances happen when it is dark and Columbus is able to use this idea to indicate to the audience that Draco and Harry are about to encounter something 'evil', within the Forbidden Forest.

Camera Technique- Low Angle Shots

• Chris Columbus is able to use low angle shots within the two films of 'Home Alone' and 'Harry Potter' to portray the idea of intimidation and vulnerablity, but also present the idea of conflict by a using low angle shot.

Where we see low angle shots in 'Home Alone':

• Kevin has been told by his brother that the local snow shoveller had murdered all his family many years ago, which in turn frightens Kevin. When Kevin is then left at home by himself he goes outside and frightingly runs into the snow shoveller. Here we see a low angle shot of the snow shoveller and this shot acts as a point-of-view shot from Kevin. It gives the idea that Kevin is very intimidated and scared of the man, and this shot also allows for us an audience to have the same feeling as Kevin. (30mins into movie) 
• He also runs into this person again in the local store and the same low angle shot of him is used. In the store we also see a low angle shot of the store manager, and also another low angle shot of the checkout person at the grocery store. This is able to emphasise that Kevin is very vulnerable now since he is only a child and is left by himself and is more vulnerable to danger. It also puts perspective into place of how he is a child living amoungst an adult world at this point and how he only has himself to rely on. (38mins and also 51mins into movie)

Where we see low angle shots in 'Harry Potter':

• The idea of vulnerablity and also intimidation is shown in 'Harry Potter' by the use of low angle shots.
• When Harry attends his first potions class with Professor Snape, Snape is shown in each shot at a low angle when he talks to Harry and imposes questions upon him. The idea of the low angle shot used in this scene  allows the audience to see that Harry is vulnerable to Snape, since he is the student and Snape is the teacher, and therefore Snape has more power over Harry due to this. Also, by using this shot the idea of conflict is presented as the low angle shot implies that Snape has authority over Harry, and we can tell that Harry is uncomfortable with this. (50 mins into movie)
• Like Harry, this makes the audience feel inferior to Snape as the shot makes us feel insignificant. Also, the low angle shot is able to give the impression that Snape is a threat.
• Again vulnerablitly is presented in the Troll scene where Harry, Ron and Herminone fight against the Troll in the girls bathroom. Almost every shot of the troll has been taken from a low angle and this emphasies that Harry, Ron and Hermione are vulnerable to the troll. Again, like 'Home Alone' the low angle shot acts like a point of view shot from the three students and puts into significance of how big the troll is and the challenge that it will be to fight against the troll. The low angle shot also adds the idea and intimidation because of this

Harry Potter- Potions Scene
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone- Troll Scene

Soundtrack- Music within these films

Like many hollywood directors Chris Columbus is able to use orchestral music within the two films of 'Home Alone' and 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone', in a way to build suspense where there is the situation of the burglers attempting to enter the house in 'Home Alone' and then Harry's encounter with Lord Voldermort in 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'. These situations are tense, due to the audiene not knowing what will happen between the overall idea of good vs evil and the music that is used is able to add suspense to these scenes. This is due to the build up of the music and the airy feel in sections of the pieces of music between each individul score in the seperate films.

• Columbus uses John Williams as the composer for both films of 'Home Alone' and 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone',
• The main trait used by Williams to convey the idea of a tense environment by the build up of music.While listening to each indivdual piece of music in both films the music builds up by getting louder and more instruments are introduced, indicating to the audience that the 'baddy' is near and that the audience can expect confrontation between the good and the bad. For example Harry meeting Voldermort and Kevin in 'Home Alone' attempting to avoid the burglars with booby traps.

Home Alone- 'Follow that Kid'- Composed by John Williams.
Harry Potter- 'The Face of Voldermort'- Composed by John Williams

• Effect of music- By using this type of music for the certain scenes of both Harry and Kevin facing their enemies we are able to understand how the character is feeling. The feeling being uncomfortable and scared but yet at the same time there is the idea of bravery presented in both individual pieces of music.
• Audiences reaction to music- Not only do us as an audience understand how the character is feeling in the situation but also it makes us feel uncomfortable. It gives us an uneased feeling where we are wondering what the outcome will be of the siutation that is about to take place- whether it will be positive or negative for the main characters of Kevin or Harry.The heavy music indicates to us that an 'evil' type of presence is near or surrounds the scene therefore we are to expect some conflict to occur.We understand how the character feels (scared) with the sudden chanage in the music which gives us a fright

Music used to portray theme:

• Not only does Chris Columbus use music to build suspense and add tension towards certain scenes, but he also is selective of the music used to create the overall theme of the film.
• Music is able to portray the plot of the films.
• Both the main theme song of 'Harry Potter' and 'Home Alone' have a similarity between them, where there is the repetition of the same melody in both individual scores and also similiar instruments in both

• Both the scores allow for the audience to know the setting of each individual film. For example if we listen to 'Somewhere in My Memory' we are able to sense that there is the idea of Christmas surrounding the film of 'Home Alone' with the subtleness of the bells in the background of the music in parts and also a warm feeling within parts of the music that gives the sense of family. Due to Kevin being left at home by himself, the music is also able to give the impression that he is missing his family with the choir singing.
• Also the music presents a type of sneakiness which represents the burglars trying to enter the house.

• 'Hedwigs Theme' however indicates to the audience that there is a fantasy theme behind the film with the start of a chime sound and then gradually builds to include more instruments and almost reflects the world of Harry Potter. Like Harry's life in the film where he goes from thinking that he is an ordinary "muggle" (non-magic people) to finding out that he is a famous wizard and actually has a more complex life, like the music introducing more instruments. The score becomes more complex and heavier compared to the start and portrays the story-line of how Harry meets his enemy for the first time.

Home Alone- Somewhere in My Memory-Composed by John Williams
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone- 'Hedwig's Theme'- Composed by John Williams


Bu using these pieces of music as the overall theme for each movie, Columbus allows us to get a sense of the type of feel each film has and gives us a subtle feel as to what events may occur in the film.


Source of information:
Link: About John Williams inspiration of composing the Harry Potter themes, and also how some scores have a similiar sound to the scores used in Home Alone.
http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/harry_potter.html#audio

Distinctive Elements

Films I've studied:

• Home Alone (1990)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)

Common elements of these films...

• Soundtrack- music
• Lighting
• Camera technique- Low angle shots

Columbus and 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief'

• Critics have said that Columbus uses the same traits from his previous film of 'I Love You Beth Cooper', with the camera work being frequently pedestrian, possesses bad acting and hasjokes that continously fall flat.
• However, has improved on the film by not becoming a slave to the book (Unlike the first two Potter films) and was able to put more of his own style into the film and compressed certain events that occur in the book.
• Again, Columbus works in the genre that appeals to children and like 'Harry Potter', 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' is a mythical story relating to the overall theme of magic.
• Uses a similiar set of Hogwarts for the exterior setting of the film.

Sources of information:

• 
  
  http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2783138/columbus_adaption_of_percy_jackson.html
• 
  
  http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2010/02/12/lightning_thief_struggles_in_shadow_of_harry_potter/
• 
  
  http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/percy-jackson-the-olympians-the-lightning-1004066873.story

Audience

Columbus's work can be said to be most loved by everyday American men, women and children who stuggle to uphold family traditions. His films are made to be an escape from stuggling society and provide some comedic entertainment and maybe even leave a sense of hope.

Cameo's in Columbus's work

• In the first two Harry Potter films Columbus gave his daughter Elenor the small role of Susan Bones. Columbus's nephew also appeared in the second Potter film as the 'Boy in the Study Hall'.
• Columbus's other two children, Brendan and Violet appeared as unnamed characters in 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'.
• Elenor Columbus also was in 'Home Alone' as ababy with her mother, and also appearred in 'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York with Chris Columbus'.
• Violet played a small role in 'I Love You, Beth Cooper' by singing the graduation song at the beginning.

What can we learn from these Cameos?

With Columbus assigning small roles to his family in his works, we can presume that in his personal life he is a real family man, and where he may like to show his children the industry he works in and help them learn more about the film world.

Source of information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Columbus_(filmmaker)

Style of directing...

• Columbus focuses on the family genre, where majority of his films are appropriate for all ages. His 1990 film 'Home Alone' set this trend, where it was one of Columbus's early noticable movies. Therefore  Hollywood began to identify him with the family genre.
• When Columbus was assigned to direct the first Harry Potter movie this furthermore showed that Hollywood appreciated him directing family genre films.
• We are able to see that Columbus is able to work well with children through his work
• By having directed 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' and now 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lighting Thief" it shows that Chris Columbus has some creativity isn creating fantasy worlds, that allow for the audience to escape from their ordinary lives.
• Columbus had the big mission of directing the hit Broadway show 'Rent', but critics did find that it brought to the big screen the vibrance of the live show even though Columbus used a vast majority of actors from the original Broadway show

Sources of information:

• http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800012955/bio
• http://www.screenrush.co.uk/personne/fichepersonne_gen_cpersonne=13170.html