3 opening sequences.

Analysis of 3 opening sequences in terms of:

- Location
- Characters
- Key Action
- Genre

Batman Begins –

The opening sequence of Batman Begins is very effective mainly due to it’s location, lighting and sound. Micro elements such as cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and edit are used to set the scene and represent the characters. Cinematography, mise-en-scene and sound helped the opening introduce the location to the audience as we see sunlight flickering through trees and soon after a tracking shot of a young girl running through a garden of flowers and a young boy chasing after her. We first hear a voice over of children’s laughter from a distance as the opening starts of with the flickering, however, as the children arrives into the shot, the laughter seems less of a distant. The location is set in a peaceful garden of flowers which was a memory for one of the characters childhood, the garden seemed perfect and colorful almost dreamlike. The lighting in this extract was natural as it was from daylight, although the sky started of bright, it got darker as the opening went on.

In the opening, we are introduced to two characters. One being a young male who goes by the name of Bruce Wayne, and another character, being a young female called Rachel Dawes. Micro elements such as mise-en-scene are used to represent these childhood friends to the audience by the use of their performance as they’re playing around in the garden chasing each other over a rock that they've found. However, later on in the opening, after waking up from his nostalgic dream in a prison, we see Bruce as an adult and he becomes represented as the protagonist of the movie, waking up in jail however confuses the audience as to if he’s an antagonist or protagonist, creating enigma. This is done by cinematography as Bruce was regularly used in shots of the ‘Rule of thirds.’ This makes the character seem more appealing and powerful which conforms a stereotypical protagonist. Editing also represents him as a protagonist by the shot reverse shot of Bruce and another imprisoned character, this build up tension and also allows the audience to see the differences between the two characters, as the other male is presented as tough and dominant with many fighting scars on his face, whereas Bruce is presented as decent and calm although when he did fight back, he was strong enough to overcome the antagonist of the opening sequence. 

A key action takes place in the opening which was of when young Bruce fell down the well, editing was used as we see Bruce fall in a slow motion, this creates a comical as well as emotional affect. As Bruce lands, shot from his point of view, we see a black cave, and a few seconds after many bats flying out of there. This enhances a sense of realism and the audiences involvement in action. This scene foreshadows of what’s to come in the future of the movie as Bruce then becomes ‘Batman’ although this made him develop a phobia of bats. 

The title isn’t clearly introduced into the sequence although they did show Batman’s logo made out of bats in a clear orange sky. This movie has a range of different genres which includes action, adventure and crime. The opening sequence represented the genres of the film by the violence that was used and to know how bats affected Bruce later on in the movie, it represents crime because of the location used in the opening sequence which was a jail in Asia.

Batman: The Dark Knight

‘The Dark Knight’ has a very effective opening sequence that draws its audience in because of it’s uniqueness and originality. Micro elements such as cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and editing are used to help create this be an effective opening. As the opening starts, we are introduced to the location by an establishing shot of Gotham city, this establishes the relationship between the characters and the location. A non diegetic ticking sound is heard in the background, this creates tension and gives the viewer an impression that something is about to happen in the scene. The music is very quiet at the beginning although it gets louder as the scene starts to unfold. As the location is set in Gotham City, it’s clear that it’s more of an urban setting rather than rural as we see many cars and tall buildings in the scene. As the opening goes on, it’s also set in a bank as there’s a planned robbery going on.

In the opening, we are introduced to many characters, although we don’t see the protagonist

of the movie just yet. We start of by seeing two males in clown masks hanging out a window sliding down to get on the other side of the road landing on the roof of the bank, they are represented as criminals as they are performing a criminal act which is trying to rob the bank, the use of mise-en-scene conforms this by costume and the props such as guns and big duffel bags for holding the money. The costume of these characters are pretty much simple but also clear of what they are meant to represent, they are all wearing different but similar kinds of clown masks, each one wearing a mask which has different facial expressions. 

The shot jumps to a low mid angle to a long shot of a man standing on the sidewalk carrying a duffel bag on one shoulder and holding a clown mask in the other hand. The shot then zooms in on the mask which gives the viewer an impression that the idea of a clown has importance in the movie. By using clown masks to cover up their identity, it creates enigma for the audience as well as tension and fear as one of the common fears of people are clowns, especially ones with the haunted faces, by using this, it makes the men seem more scarier and dangerous. 

The man puts on the mask as he jumps in a car with two other men wearing similar clown masks. It then cuts to a shot of the two males on the roof top of the bank, in this shot, sound is used to represent a specific character, dialogue is used as the two men speak about a character called the Joker, this shows the viewers that these men have been hired and told what to do by a more superior character. This gives a sense of mystery and tension as the identity of this person has been hidden more than the men in clown masks. 

A key action takes place in the opening which involves in finally meeting the antagonist everyone’s been speaking of. After all the men in masks got shot, and everyone in the bank is on the ground, scared, the Bank manager uses dialogue effectively as he says to ‘Bozo’ (main clown) “Think you’re smart, huh? Well, the guy who hired you will just do the same to you.” Through his performance, ‘Bozo’ shakes his head in disagreement. After a few more exchange of dialogue, we see a close up of ‘Bozo’ crouching whilst talking to the bank manager shot from a low angle which makes him seem more powerful and superior. As he takes off his masks, we see who is revealed underneath, The Joker himself, as he says “I believe what doesn’t kill you... makes you stranger.” We see a shot of another close up, without the mask, although we do see a male character with white, red and black make up paint. Through the use of mise-en-scene, make up and costume, this has made the antagonist appear untrustworthy, dangerous and shady making viewers feel unsafe.

The title isn’t clearly introduced into the sequence although Batman’s logo did appear in the middle of a blue fire explosion against a black background. This film is a mixture of a few different thriller sub genres; it has conventions of crime and action thriller, these sub-genres play a big part in creating tension within the film. We can conform it has conventions of a crime genre as they are performing a criminal act and we can also conform it has conventions of an action movie because of all the violence and props such as guns and trifles that are being used. 

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ uses a very effective opening scene which straight away sets the narrative and genre of the film. The four micro elements being cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and editing helps create an effective opening. We are introduced to the location of the opening in a dolly shot which tracks a car leading to an open space with a private jet. Soon after everyone gets on the plane, it cuts to a bird’s eye shot of the plane as it flies off, this provides a possible interpretation of what could happen on that plane whether it be good or bad. Non diegetic music is being played in the background which has a fast beat rhythm, this heightens the sensations of danger and urgency of the audiences. The lighting of the location was also quite dark which settles for an unstable mood, audience would be able to tell that something bad was likely to happen.

In the opening, we see three hooded henchmen. The CIA Agent on the plane threatens to shoot them before throwing him off the plane if they don’t answer his questions about masked mercenary named Bane. Mise-en-scene helps to represent the mystery of the characters as they all have a black bag over their head, this creates an enigma for the audience as they don’t know who these characters are. Viewers are introduced to the antagonist by a voice over of when he first speaks. The screen shot was on the CIA Agent although we could hear the diegetic dialogue of a character saying “Or perhaps he’s wondering why you would shoot a man before throwing him out of a plane?”. This already allows the audience to know what he’s thinking, helping viewers to empathise with him. After a few more diegetic dialogue being exchanged between the CIA Agent and hidden antagonist, we see an over the shoulder shot as the CIA Agent pulls of the bag of his head which reveals to be Bane whilst saying “No one cares who I was till I put on the mask.” This invites the audience to sympathise for him although it’s not necessary as he has already planned to crash the plane. Mise-en-scene helps present the antagonist that he is as Bane permanently has a mask stuck onto parts of his face which gives him a machinery robotic voice making him sound powerful and confident, cinematography also helps as Bane is shot from a low angle whilst talking to the CIA Agent which makes him look more superior and strong.

 A key action in this extract is when Bane kidnaps Dr Pavel before crashing the plane leaving everyone else to die. This gives the viewers an impression that Dr Pavel has or knows something that Bane wants. “Calm down Dr Pavel, now’s not the time to fear... That comes later”, says Bane with the use of diegetic dialogue, he is foreshadowing of what’s going to happen after the opening as there are going to be many more things to be fearful of rather than being kidnapped.

The title isn’t clearly introduced into the sequence although Batman’s logo did appear on thin ice as it cracks. This film is a mixture of a few different action sub genres; it has conventions of crime and thriller, these subgenres play a big part in creating suspense and tension within the film. We can conform it has conventions of a crime genre as Bane’s performing a criminal act as he’s kidnapping Dr Pavel, we can also conform it has conventions of an action movie because of all the violence and props such as the guns that are being used. This would be classified as a thriller too because of the exciting plot which viewers will find exciting and thrilling, this will keep them wanting to watch more.