HP and the Half Blood Prince Trailer Analysis ...

The movie trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince follows a formula used for the whole series of the Harry Potter films; a mix between the darker major themes and the light comical aspects of the 'coming of age' style humour. This trailer displays perhaps less of the comedy and more of the darker nature of this film. The music that has been adapted between each film has now developed a more melancholy tone. The score, as is typical in most major movie trailers, follows the cuts and provides emphasis to the narration, when important parts of speech are emphasised with a quick end to the music, for example when Dumbledore quotes, "This time I cannot hope to destroy it alone."

The establishing shot is of the cave that is central to the film's storyline, with the two main characters framed upon an outcrop of rock. The striking image provides a hook to the viewer and introduces the setting of the film.

The trailer then introduces the two main characters, followed by a montage of small clips from the movie; which shows in a brief flash the major themes throughout the film. This technique shows the audience what to expect without giving away huge amounts of the plot and creates a dramatic atmosphere.


The production company logo of Warner Brothers has been repeatedly, with each film in the series, adapted to fit the melancholy tone of the film. The difference can be seen below;

The original uses bright colouring, whereas the Harry Potter brand is transformed into the darker colour scheme, which fits into the tone of the rest of the film.

The narrative uses a composition of direct quotes from the film and a narrative enigma; an unknown speaker that explains key plot points from the movie and entices the audience into wanting to watch the film.