The tale of Harry Potter, a young wizard that grows to defeat the seemingly immortal dark wizard, Voldemort, and his army of followers. Throughout the series, the plot of each film grows darker as Harry and his friends come of age and fight for peace in the wizarding community. Although the story line is seamless, several movies have different directors, including Chris Columbus, Alfonzo Cuarón, Mike Newell, and David Yates. Beacuse each of these directors have grown to develop their own style, you can see the difference in the way characters are portrayed, scenes are shot, and props and sets are used.

One of the major pieces of film that changes throughout the eight-movie series is the lighting. As the battle begins and things start heating up, the lighting grows darker. By comparing the title shots of each of the films side-by-side, one can easily come to the conclusion that the story grows darker and becomes more suited for adults. This is a good example of explicit and implicit meaning where the audience can get a feel for the mood of the film through the way it is captured on camera. In this case, we draw the conclusion that the storyline becomes darker and more serious as the picture becomes darker and has a more grey-ish tint.