More on Parseltongue...

[frantyck]

Steve <bboy_mn at y...> wrote (about Parseltongue):

> When Harry hears this vocal sound, he heard language and 
understands.
> 
> When we hear Harry make this same vocal sound, we don't understand 
it as anything but noise.
> 
> Harry hears language; to our ears, Harry makes noise.
> 
> And that is exactly how the movie portrayed it.


Well, by positioning the camera differently, it might have been 
possible to illustrate the same point: who hears what. The problem 
with the shots of Harry speaking Parseltongue during the Duelling 
Club scene is that they're either close shots of his face, seen from 
below -- apparently the angle from which the snake sees him -- or 
shots of the snake reacting to the Parseltongue, seen from the 
position and eye-level of Harry himself. This is quite misleading, 
because it implies a closed circuit between the two.

If, instead, the incomprehensible version of Parseltongue had been 
spoken in a wide shot, looking up towards Harry on the platform from 
the eye-level of the other students, then it might have been clearer 
who was hearing what. This could have been followed (or preceded) by 
a close-up of Harry's face speaking the comprehensible hissy-
English, for himself and for the snake. Columbus has no particular 
favour for sustained camera shots of conversation, after all, so 
there's no oddness to switching back and forth.

Rrishi