The Dark Knight Rises opening sequence

1. The Dark Knight Risesopening sequence The Dark Knight is thriller/action film directed, produced by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the sequel of Batman film 2005's Batman Begins. Christian Bale plays the lead role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, with a returning cast of Michael Caineas Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox joins Batman and the police in combating the new rising threat of a criminal mastermind calling himself the "Joker" Heath Ledger.

2. Setting and location • The first shot in the dark knight , it straight away shows the location, the establishing shot shows the viewer that there in a big city, typical to the thriller genre. This shot is an extreme long shot. Most batman fans would know this city as Gotham city. The text location you get shown is a large bank, which you know from the establishing shot is in the busy city of Gotham. This shot helps contribute to the representation as it suggests the characters shown are attempting to rob the bank, which make them the antagonists of the scene

3. Mise en scene-Props The props in the opening scene play a big role in portraying the characters, as you never get to see the faces of any of the antagonists , so you cannot see any emotion on there faces. Guns are shown through out and are used in killing an intimidating the bank workers, so the guns show us how the robbers our ruthless and sinister. Close up of the mask to show its importance, massively contrasts against the black clothing of the person holding the mask. The mask is typical to the film as the main protagonist is a man with clown make up , this mask foreshadows his involvement Suggestive intentions robbery. The shot is not just focused on the mask but also the bag showing they both have importance Used to create fear as clowns are perceived as good and happy while this mask is being used for evil, so big contrast

4. Mise en scene -props Mask stands out against the black which suggests its importance in the scene. Mask intimidates the viewer as Guns, implying the robbers intentions of violence. Implying robber may be an experienced criminal helps shape the character Everything's black, jacket, gloves and guns, firstly contrasts against the lighting making him out as sinister and an antagonist. and also portrays him as evil and the bank workers good

5. Lighting and colour the men is this scene are in a building with no light, while its light outside, this conveys to the viewers that these two men are antagonists as they are in the dark and darkness suggests evil and sinister feelings In the opening title sequence, there is only one protagonist, the bank worker which tries to rebel against the robbers, in all the shots the protagonist is always in some form of light, natural light through the window, or under the lights on the wall, the lighting is subtly conveying him as being the good guy and highlighting his good intentions Finally when the protagonists is trying to shoot the robbers they are always in the dark and a shot reverse shot shows the protagonist in the light, then the antagonist is the dark, which is also subtly showing the fight of good vs. evil through the colour of the lighting, what is also significant is evil wins and the protagonist gets shot, which gives the viewer an idea of what kind of film this is; a sinister dark one.

6. Camera In the dark knights opening scene the Establishing shot tells the viewer of the current location which is a big city, and gives us an idea of how big it is. Big city's setting are typical to the thriller genre as it conveys realism and the feeling ‘no where is safe’ Apov shot of the masked men driving off in a car, used to show the viewer props, the gun which connotes violence and the masks which covey evil and the unknown Low angled shot makes the robbers looks less dominant and weak, also connotes they are in trouble and in imminent danger Close up of a man holding a bag and a mask, a close up us used so the viewer can see the importance of the mask and bag.

7. Panning, tracking and zooming In the dark knight opening sequence panning, tracking and zooming are used a lot for conveying some of the films main themes, firstly tracking and zooming are used in the opening establishing shot, they allow the viewer to see a full view of all the buildings for it then to zoom in on a single window to show the robbers. The next use of these shots is when the camera zooms in on a man holding a clown mask and a large bag, showing the viewer that the man in the shot is a antagonist. When the camera zooms in to the mask it tells the viewer its importance.