Institutional information
Batman: Dark Knight is an action thriller superhero film that was directed Christopher Dolan. Released in 2008, the film is a sequel to Batman Begins and is produced by Warner Bros and Legendary Productions. The film began with a budget of $185 million, but was swamped with a $1,005 billion taking at the box office. Dark Knight lasts for 152 minutes, and was created based on the Batman comic books The Long Halloween, The Killing Joke, The Man Who Laughs and the first two comics to feature the Joker character served as an influence on the film's storyline.
The primary target audience is 12+, but there is a secondary audience of people who have seen the previous film, and those who are older and have read the comics.
Narrative
The fantasy thriller focuses on the antagonist the Joker and how he causes chaos within the town of Gotham, then follows Batman coming to terms with this testing his psychological ability to fight the villain. From this, it is clear that the film follows a linear structure and will contain stereotypical conventions of a thriller; including fight scenes, and a battle between an antagonist and a protagonist when there is a disruption in the equilibrium. The aim of the film is for the protagonist to restore justice, while the antagonist seeks to destroy it.
The opening scene begins with a person wearing a clown mask shooting a zip line through a window, also producing an establishing shot of a city. In these few seconds, stereotypical conventions are shown; for example the use of a gun and violence in smashing the window is something that fits with the genre as it creates tension because the audience are unaware as to why this is happening. Also, the use of the masks on the characters signifies the importance of the object as well as making a sinister feeling within the film as it is hiding the characters identity. Conventionally, clown masks are associated with fear, the opposite of what they are supposed to mean, and this is portrayed in the film. As the audience are already aware that the antagonist in the film is the Joker, so the use of the clown masks confuses the audience, setting the tone for the entirety of the film. Following this there is a medium shot of a man with his back to the camera holding a bag and a second clown mask in his hand. The way that he has his back to the camera denotes that he has a secret to hide or is hiding something that he doesn't want anyone else to see; it is also indicative of the Joker's black humour. The angle of the shot is mainly focused on the mask, again signifying that it is of importance in the film. After an elongated shot time based on the mask, the film begins to pick up pace, with several characters getting into a car and others using a zip wire to cross buildings. This type of action fits with the conventions of thriller, and will appeal to the target audience. The location of the production as stereotypically the streets are where most acts of crime and violence take place.
The beginning of the opening scene begins with a close up of a person in a clown mask shooting a window so that is smashes. It presents the character as being menacing to the audience as it is clear that he is violent as the close proximity the camera has with the character creates more fear in the audience. This shot then become high angle and begins to pan behind the character to show what is out the window; an establishing shot of a city, which is a conventional location of the genre. There is also a long shot of a man with his back to the camera which continues to zoom in on him until the main focus is on the mask, reinforcing the sinister feeling to the film. Quite a few low angle shots are used to present the characters wearing the mask, which connotes that they have importance of the other characters in the film and the a superior to them. A crane is used when the men are using the zip wire across the two buildings, which also creates a more detailed establishing shot of the location. It also is used to show how dangerous the situation is and how it can go wrong, increasing the tension in the film which engages the audience more. The way these characters are portrayed in the shots (close ups, high angle, fast panning) presents them as the antagonists due to the situations they are put in and how the film has been edited, to make them seem that they are going to do something bad. Point of view shots are used to show the 'antagonists' being shot by some who they think they are in alliance with, but eventually is shown to be the genuine Joker, it confuses the audience as he is not revealed until the end of the opening scene. Throughout the action scenes, a steadicam is used to follow the characters as they move quickly to ensure that the action is captured to appeal to the audience. The majority of the shots transition through jump cuts to build suspense and tension.
Mise en scene
The opening scene begins with a person wearing a clown mask shooting a zip line through a window, also producing an establishing shot of a city. In these few seconds, stereotypical conventions are shown; for example the use of a gun and violence in smashing the window is something that fits with the genre as it creates tension because the audience are unaware as to why this is happening. Also, the use of the masks on the characters signifies the importance of the object as well as making a sinister feeling within the film as it is hiding the characters identity. Conventionally, clown masks are associated with fear, the opposite of what they are supposed to mean, and this is portrayed in the film. As the audience are already aware that the antagonist in the film is the Joker, so the use of the clown masks confuses the audience, setting the tone for the entirety of the film. Following this there is a medium shot of a man with his back to the camera holding a bag and a second clown mask in his hand. The way that he has his back to the camera denotes that he has a secret to hide or is hiding something that he doesn't want anyone else to see; it is also indicative of the Joker's black humour. The angle of the shot is mainly focused on the mask, again signifying that it is of importance in the film. After an elongated shot time based on the mask, the film begins to pick up pace, with several characters getting into a car and others using a zip wire to cross buildings. This type of action fits with the conventions of thriller, and will appeal to the target audience. The location of the production as stereotypically the streets are where most acts of crime and violence take place. Editing/ camera angles
The beginning of the opening scene begins with a close up of a person in a clown mask shooting a window so that is smashes. It presents the character as being menacing to the audience as it is clear that he is violent as the close proximity the camera has with the character creates more fear in the audience. This shot then become high angle and begins to pan behind the character to show what is out the window; an establishing shot of a city, which is a conventional location of the genre. There is also a long shot of a man with his back to the camera which continues to zoom in on him until the main focus is on the mask, reinforcing the sinister feeling to the film. Quite a few low angle shots are used to present the characters wearing the mask, which connotes that they have importance of the other characters in the film and the a superior to them. A crane is used when the men are using the zip wire across the two buildings, which also creates a more detailed establishing shot of the location. It also is used to show how dangerous the situation is and how it can go wrong, increasing the tension in the film which engages the audience more. The way these characters are portrayed in the shots (close ups, high angle, fast panning) presents them as the antagonists due to the situations they are put in and how the film has been edited, to make them seem that they are going to do something bad. Point of view shots are used to show the 'antagonists' being shot by some who they think they are in alliance with, but eventually is shown to be the genuine Joker, it confuses the audience as he is not revealed until the end of the opening scene. Throughout the action scenes, a steadicam is used to follow the characters as they move quickly to ensure that the action is captured to appeal to the audience. The majority of the shots transition through jump cuts to build suspense and tension.Sound
During the start of the opening scene there is a non diegetic sound bridge that is used throughout the entire opening scene, and the music used builds up in pitch and sound when something dramatic is about to happen. By doing this is creates tension that audience feel as it signifies that something bad is going to happen. There is also diegetic sound as a result of the actions of the characters, for example when the man in the clown mask shoots the window, both the gun shot and the broken glass can be heard by the audience and the characters. Stereotypical sounds can also be heard that conform to the conventions of the thriller genre; these include people screaming when the characters rob a bank. This fills the audience with fear and creates suspense as it is a harrowing sound. There is also ironic dialogue in the opening sequence, with the characters talking about topics that the audience can clearly see are wrong.
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