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Dark Knight Opening Sequence Analysis Emm Wright https://vimeo.com/96767117
First we see an establising shot, with a long drawn out violin note with builds suspension. There is instantly action when the window is broken, unexpected chaos, which reveals a theme of the film which is chaos. The slow zoom in and music helps create an uneasy atmosphere and the audience instantly knows that something is going to go wrong and that something is up.
The shot of the Joker’s back depersonalises him. At this point we don’t know he is the Joker but we do know this person is important. The slow zoom in and the camera focussing on the mask makes us ask, ’who is behind the mask?’ This is an enigma code.
This sign that says ‘pay day’ in the background of this scene, foreshadows that they are about to rob a bank.
We next see a birds eye view of the two robbers ziplining from one building to another. Seeing how high up they are can create tension as heights is a very common fear in humans. It also amplifies the tension.
We see cross cutting between two groups, who are both doing separate tasks for the bank robbery. In this dialogue we are introduced to the character of the ‘Joker’. The things they are saying tells us a lot about the joker, but also nothing. We know he is clever, feared and good at planning but we don’t know his identity. This pulls the audience in as we want to know who the ‘Joker’.
The pictures in the previous slide are multiple screenshots of the 10 seconds when the robbers enter the bank. The technique is a ‘180-degree flip’. This is an editing technique which is off putting when used with short takes as it is unnatural and it stimulates the brain in an uneasy way. There are four in a row and it makes it disorientating. It shows something is wrong and makes the scene more nerve-wracking
The action of taking off his glasses makes us see this character go from a stereotypical nerdy Accountant to a hero figure, the slow zoom in does This as well. This makes us expect he is about to do something. The way he slowly takes his glasses off also can connote that he is being cautious and clever as he may know a quick movement may get him noticed by the others.
The placement of these actions from the next few scenes are all slightly off centre and to the right, it makes it clearer to the audience what is going on and easier to focus. This builds tension as sometimes people can lose interest when things are darting all around the screen can make it harder to follow.
A close up to show the intesnity of the next scene. Shows his facial expression clearly and how he is evidently concentrated on his next actions.
All of the deaths don’t use blood effects, this doesn’t gorify the kills. This makes it more real and gritty. This takes the comic book characters we know already and bring them to real life. It’s more realistic.
The close up of the joker, with the music creates a sinister impression of him. The low angle shot makes him more powerful and the entire scene before this moment has lead to this scene and built up to when we first see his face. We know that he doesn’t care about his minions as he kills them all off, this makes us fear him. We know exactly what he is capable of and fear him Also from this opening scene we instantly know this is a lot darker than any other batman films, and possibly not for kids. It’s a good opening as fans who want to see a film with the comic book characters that is a lot dark, this represents a lot of the comic books in the past.
