Research and Planning: Opening to The Dark Knight.

Opening to The Dark Knight.

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement/Sound

Shot – there is a lot of shots in the beginning of The Dark Knight and they change shots very fast. The shots that are used are aerial shots, so we get a feel of the location, mid-shots and long shots of the characters so we can see who they play. The director also uses some master shots so we can see the explosions that dominate the scene.

Angle – in the opening of The Dark Knight, the director uses high angles so we can see characters and explosions dominating the scene, and there is also eye level angles used, showing the drama of the characters and situations.

Movement – the director uses a pan movement to show a wider view of the location and to give a sense of expanse. It also tracks some of the characters for a few seconds. There is also crane movement, giving the reaction of a crowd as they run away in fear.

Sound - The sound is only hear able until about 20 seconds into the opening scene. This gives a very dramatic effect when the music does come on. It is a very dark and dramatic soundtrack to go with the scene’s the director is showing in the opening scene. The music starts to get quieter as the scene comes to an end and the title of the film is shown on screen, so we know that the film is about to start properly.

Editing and Mise en Scene.

Editing - The opening scene is made up of scenes of the film, so these have been cut and put into the beginning so the audience gets a sense of the characters and what they are like, these scenes have been edited into each other and put together so we just see short snaps of the characters and explosions so it does give too much of the film away, the editing is just used so we get small ideas and then it is moved onto a new clip.

Mise en Scene - In the opening scene, the text on the screen saying the names of the actors sometimes dominates the scene, and in the background the audience can see what character the actor plays and from the background the audience get a feel of the protagonist and the antagonist. The background consists of car crashes, explosions, chase scenes, fighting and much more which the audience can tell that this film is full of action.

Characters/Location/Narrative/Plot/Themes/Visual Style/Genre.

Characters – The characters are clearly shown in the opening scene to The Dark Knight, as they are clearly presented in the text and from the clips that are shown, we see what actor plays which character and we can have an idea of the protagonist due to the costumes they are wearing and the make-up that is used.

Location – Aerial shots are used so we can see where the film is located. Showing buildings and streets and people help the audience see where the scene is being set.

Narrative/Plot – From the opening scene, the audience can get an idea of what the film is about, as many people have seen previous films or heard about “Batman” and “The Dark Knight” not much clue’s need to be given about the story.

Themes – The themes of this film are revenge, jealousy, murder, death, we can tell the themes by the conventions in the opening credits.

Visual style – The Visual Style of The Dark Knight opening shows the darkness of the film, the scenes are mostly all at night so we can see that it is not a comedy or a happy film.

Genre – The Genre of this film is clearly shown by the opening credits, it is all at night so it is very dark which gives the audience an idea that the whole film is very dark and not a happy film. The conventions in the film also tell us there is action in the film by the explosions and chase scenes and the violence in the films. This shows us that it is a thriller by the antagonist clearly shown by the costumes, make-up and by his actions in the opening credits.