I have decided to do an analysis of the opening scenes of my favorite movie – The Dark Knight- and my favorite TV show – Mr. Robot– to get the idea of how to keep audiences hooked to the screen with only watching the first few minutes of it. Since my project is based on doing the opening of a film, I think this would help me a great deal.
It first off starts with a wide shoot zooming in a dark building with a drawn out violin note; this helps creating an uneasy feeling to the audience, as well as it helps create atmosphere and suspense.
This medium shot slowly zooms on the mask to convey to the audience the importance of the person’s unknown identity. This creates a sense of enigma for the people wondering who this person is and what are they’re intentions.
There is this sign in the background that is a subtle detail that the director – Christopher Nolan – decided to incorporate to the film. The sign is confusing, which comes in line with the theme of chaos that comes hand in hand with The Joker. The effect of this sign is foreshadowing, The Joker is going to come and disrupt the equilibrium that Gotham City has had since the last disaster that occurred with Scarecrow, the previous villain; but in a much greater effect.
The dialogue in the scene the characters are talking about the Joker. They reveal everything that there is to know about him, but at the same time revealing nothing. What we know, according to the two guys in the car, is that The Joker is an amazing planner, he is feared by many, and that no one knows his identity, not even the people he hires. It creates this atmosphere of mystery that surround this person, making the audience more eager to know who this is, and whats the deal with them.
The close up of The Joker, with the violins in the background going form a higher note to a lower one that is a sinister impression of him, the audience already know what he is capable of due to the build up from the beginning. The camera is positioned in a low angle , not only to demonstrate POV shot of his victim, but also demonstrate his power he has over him.
The viewers don’t get to see The Joker until he takes off his mask 4:20 minutes into the film. Christopher Nolan managed to capture a sense of mystery around this character through dialogue of other characters taking about him, camera movement, and music. I would take that into consideration while making my film opening.
AS Media Studies 