Initial Analysis Of A Film Opening

Toby Hampson
The Dark Knight
Director : Christopher Nolan
Writers : Jonathan and Christopher Nolan(screenplay), Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer(story) and Bob Cane(characters)
Release Date : 24th July 2008(UK)
Awards : Won 2 Oscars, 46 other wins and 47 nominations
Budget : $185 000 000
Opening Weekend : US - $158 411 483 UK - £11 191 824
The film stars a high budget cast with actors such as Christian Bale and Heath Ledger.
BBFC Rating : 12
The opening scene : The scene starts off with the Warner Brothers logo in black and blue colours, with non-digetic tense music in the background this creates a tense atmosphere for the audience and the colours also create a chilling effect. Then the legendary pictures logo appears in the same colours followed the DC comics logo creating also in black and blue. We then know the film is Batman and its going to be packed with action as the logo for Batman appears in explosive flames. The non-digetic volume decreases a little and then increases when into the action when the actual film starts, this creates a build up effect and excitement.
There is then an establishing shot some tall buildings, this tells us the film is set in a city and also the style of the buildings suggests that it is a capitalist society. The camera zooms in on the black building and as the zoom furthers in non-digetic music also creates a tense atmosphere and then the window smashes, a bit like waiting for a bomb to go off.
We instantly know that they are robbers and they are a criminal gang as they have joker masks on, as they are shooting an arrow with a wire attached to it we know this is a well organised robbery. Throughout this clip there is tense non-digetic music.
The non-digetic music begins to speed up creating an even more tense atmosphere and it begins ticking like a bomb.
It then cuts to a character stood waiting on the pavement, not wearing a mask but the camera is behind so we cannot see his face, this makes this character more mysterious than the others as the rest all have masks on and we see the front of them straight away. The camera then zooms in on the mask the character is holding suggesting that this character is the real joker.
The character enters the car , they prepare weapons and talk about shares of the money, letting us know that they are obviously robbing a bank.
Quick cuts. Quick cut to 2 gang members on roof cutting silent alarm, non-digetic music becomes louder when one gang member shoots the other, creating more tense and more action feel to the scene.
We know that that this robber is getting the money as he is in the dingy part of the bank, not in the front public area.
Quick cut to a focus on a character sat at desk not looking frightened, costumes easily let audience know who is who, jokers, civilians in mixed clothing and bank workers in uniforms.
The colour of the rooms where the vault is, is green like money.
We can easily guess that this is a mob bank as one man has a shot gun in his desk, this assumption is backed up when a robber says it’s a mob bank.
The way the banker walks, brave and not scared he is also a criminal himself.
Money bags, looting the cash.
We know this is a very high budget film, the setting, the effects, the stunts.
The real joker always keeping quiet, until he finally reveals himself at the end.
Use of smoke bomb, irony.