Ifaz Chowdhury

The Dark Knight Opening Scene Analysis

The Dark Knight is a fantasy movie that again, is grounded in reality. It's a story
about and evil set around the comic book hero Batman. The Dark Knight begins with
a bank heist, The Joker takes centre stage in this scene along with 5 other men who
wear clown masks and slowly get killed off one by one throughout the clip.
It cuts to a long shot, which acts as an establishing shot of a large building and the
camera begins to quickly track in towards the windows of the building. As it cuts to
this shot we again hear the sound of a boom noise followed by a tone that continues
over the sound of the ticking. These combined give the slowly rising tone creates
tension among the spectator. As we get closer to the windows suddenly one
explodes creating a slight "jump" moment that confirms our thoughts about this
scene beings associated with danger. It cuts to shot to the interior of this building and
judging by the desk it is an office building. We then get to see our first character of
the film however, he is wearing a clown mask and holding some sort of gun. Clowns
are one of the biggest fears in the world so this combined with the fact he is holding
a gun tells us that he is both an antagonist and that he has been placed in the film
specifically the create fear upon the audience. As the window smashes the ticking
noise continues however, it is a modified version of it. One of the clowns shoots a
grapple hook over to an opposite rooftop. As we know that the clowns are likely to be
the bad guys we think that they are planning to pull off some kind of dangerous act
like a bank robbery. The music at the beginning of has a fast pace and matches the
general tone of the film.

The scene cuts to reveal a man standing with his back to the audience whilst the
camera slowly tracks in to his back. He is holding a blue bag and a clown mask to
tell the audience that this character is also one of the bad guys. Because we never
see his face we automatically assume this person is a bad guy as we have nothing
to identify him by, also as it cuts to this character the tense tune begins to start again
possibly telling us that this person may be the leader. As it continues tracking in a car
suddenly pulls up and allows him to get in. The tense tone stops completely and it
cuts back to the people in the office building, allowing us to figure out that they are
travelling in two groups. By the use of their costumes and props, the audience have
a very clear idea of what the characters are like and we get a clear view of their
personalities. It is easy for the audience to pick out the antagonists and the
protagonists. The use of masks and other costumes help the audience learn about
the characters and their relationships with each other. We also see with their body
language how they react with each other. Withe the use of masks and the guns they
hold, the audience can realise the status of the characters, and whether their part in
the rest of the film is important

We see the other group of clowns in the car and hear our first line of diegetic
dialogue. There are a total of 3 people wearing clown masks in the car. At no point
during this part do we see any ones face. Although, the light outside is very bright the
inside of the car is very dark to again tell the audience that the people in this car are

Ifaz Chowdhury

the bad guys of the film. It cuts to a close up of one of the clowns although we do
see the other two in the background. They are talking about the heist that they are
doing and talk about a specific character known only as "The Joker". The two clowns
that were originally inside the car are the only characters talking in this clip, however
the character that entered the car is at the back although still slightly in shot so the
audience remembers that he is there as it is made obvious this particular character is
important to this part of the film.

The other group of robbers on the roof continue there conversation about "The
Joker" which helps us know a little bit more about this character. After this it cuts
back to the group in the car, they leave the car and approach a bank. The camera
follows the third mysterious member of the group who is the only character we have
seen who is yet to talk. There is a match on action as the robbers enter the bank and
begins the shoot the air to worry the people inside the bank. The non-diegetic
soundtrack still plays although is much quieter than before. It shows the bank
manager as well to signal that he is going to be important to this character during this
scene. The camera tracks around the bank and rarely stays still to keep up the
speed of what is happening.

The non diegetic music begins to pick back up as it again cross-cuts back to the
group on the roof who are checking the alarm system. We then go back to the
clowns who are now in control of the bank and see that the mysterious character is
going around securing grenades to the hostages hands, he has still not spoken. We
go back to the roof and it after one clown deals with the alarm the other clown shoots
him. This is to tell us that these clowns are not to be trusted and are slowly killing
each other to get a bigger share of the money. As he kills him the and runs
downstairs the music plays what will later be known as The Joker's motif as it plays
whenever he is on screen. He runs in to a room and the camera pans round to
reveal a large vault, he hear the sound quiets down and begins to tick again
suggesting this vault door is important to this scene.

It cuts back to the vault to reveal one of the robbers breaking in to the vault with a
large mechanical device. As it cuts back to the main hall we have a shot of on one of
the more psycho clowns beating a hostage, we then get a close up of the bank
manager with a rising tone in the background. The shots and music combined tell us
that these two clips will be somehow connected, the rising tone creates tension
among this scene. The bank manager shoots the clown and the music then kicks in
to a kind of action tone as he walks out with the shotgun and the other clown's run in
panic. The focus again is put on the mysterious clown as the back manager shoots
at him the music slowly begins to tone back down as he shoots more bullets. We get
a close up shot of the two clowns who are hiding behind a desk. The leader asks
using diegetic dialogue, "He's out right?" to which the mysterious clown nods. The
leader rises then gets shot by the bank manager. Through all the murders of the
various clowns it tells the audience that a theme of the film will be betrayal. The
mysterious clown rises up and shoots the bank manager. The camera then slowly
tracks in to the mysterious clown to then possibly suggest that he is in fact the leader

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of the group. The music becomes gradually silent and then kicks in with the tone
used previously to suggest that there is no more danger for the robbers.

There are a variety of props and costumes used throughout the opening scene. The
props used in the opening scene can portray the symbolism of the characters, as the
antagonists use guns and weapons, we see that they are symbolic for causing
danger and being a threat towards innocent people. The location of the production
matches the genre, it being a crime thriller, the streets are typically where most crime
and dangerous acts take place. The characters in the bank are a good
representation of the fear of the antagonists. The characters wear dark clothes to
add to the crime genre. Their costumes and props can convey the mystery of the film
and the plot.

Editing and Sound

This opening scene is a tense thriller, therefore the sound is a build up to one event,
there is evidence of diegetic and non-diegetic sound in this clip. We hear the gun
shots whilst still seeing them on screen. The music at the beginning of has a fast
pace and matches the general tone of the film. We see a lot of shots from the
characters point of view, edited to increase the tension and action. The transitions
between each scene are sharp and quick. Also we see eye-line match in this trailer
between the two characters in the car, we begin to learn of their relationship with
each other and an idea of the plot of the film. We also see the sequence of the
scenes. The director makes use of ambient light throughout.
Character Representation
By the use of their costumes and props, the audience have a very clear idea of what
the characters are like and we get a clear view of their personalities. It is easy for the
audience to pick out the antagonists and the protagonists. The use of masks and
other costumes help the audience learn about the characters and their relationships
with each other. We also see with their body language how they react with each
other. With the use of masks and the guns they hold, the audience can realise the
status of the characters, and whether their part in the rest of the film is important.
Camera Angles
This trailer contains a variety of camera angles and shots to vary the mood and
atmosphere of the opening scene. The opening scene begins with an establishing
shot, the audience have a clear view of the city as the camera zooms in to begin
with. We then have a good understanding of the location to help the audience start to
learn the plot. When there are 3 actors in the car, the director uses an over the
shoulder camera shot, this outlines the intensity of the scene and begins to build

Ifaz Chowdhury

tension. We see a good use of close up shots. We begin to see the personalities of
the characters due to the intimate positioning of the camera.
Mise-en-scene
There is a variety of props and costumes used throughout the opening scene. The
props used in the opening scene can portray the symbolism of the characters, as the
antagonists use guns and weapons, we see that they are symbolic for causing
danger and being a threat towards innocent people. The location of the production
matches the genre, it being a crime thriller, the streets are typically where most crime
and dangerous acts take place. The characters in the bank are a good
representation of the fear of the antagonists. The characters wear dark clothes to
add to the crime genre. Their costumes and props can convey the mystery of the film
and the plot.