The Dark Knight - Jonah

• Thriller openings
  
  
  
  
  The Dark Knight
  
  
  Mise en scene
   
  ·         Urban setting, realistic because it looks like London or any other large city. This makes the scene more thrilling as the audience can relate to the location.
  ·         The clown masks create iconography of suspense by turning the beloved clown into something of danger and menace. The masks are modified to make them scarier, scratches and marks on the mask reflect the antagonistic characters behavior.
  ·         The bank robbers are wearing mainly black jackets and jeans, this indicates they are not of higher class, but they are not lower class hooligans as they are dressed smartly which suggests these are not the average bank robber/ thieves.
  ·         The scene is set in the day and uses high key lighting,  which keeps nothing hidden on screen, the lighting changes depending on the setting, e.g. outside lighter then inside, creating mundane realism that the viewer can relate too.
  
  
  Sound
  
  
  ·         The soundtrack works parallel to what is happening on screen adding to the drama of the robbery and enhancing the viewers vision on  what is happening.
  ·         When the gun is fired and the robbers are taking control of the bank the soundtrack quietens so the screams and panic is heard more clearly. This is effective as the sounds of screaming are scary in its self, as it resembles fear.
  ·         All the way through the soundtrack is quite minimalistic, only a few instruments playing at one time and sometimes only one continuous note is played which is unsettling as it is not a natural organic sound, its spooky and enigmatic.
  ·         The music constructs a high tension mood for suspense by using high notes on stringed instruments and a high tempo.
  
  
  Editing
  
  
  ·         Cross cutting is used to connect the two characters on the roof and the characters inside the bank, this adds to the fast paced action as there two high action stories playing at the same time.
  ·         The cuts are very jumpy, jumping to one scene to the next keeping a high pace to create suspense.
  ·         Cuts are used when an action is preformed, e.g. the man with the shotgun – when he fires the gun it cuts to where he fired, and the man crawling away, this empathizes the danger of the weapon and makes for a more dramatic sequence of shots.   
  
  
   
  Camera work
  
  
  ·         Establishing shot at the very beginning slowly tracks into a building shows were the action is going to happen.
  ·         A lot of tracking in and out is used, this works effectively as it makes the viewer feel part of the action, adding to the suspense and intensity of the scene.
  ·         Medium shots and used most frequently, adding integrity to the realism of the scene.