Throughout our thriller there will be several possible locations where we'll be filming, such as a bus stop, Ketts Hill and a dark, dead end street or alley. The opening sequence of our thriller takes place in a location looking over Norwich with an establishing shot. The primary candidate
for where this scene will be filmed is Ketts hill, this is because you can see the whole of Norwich from here and in the winter it looks particularly dark,gloomy and isolated. The atmosphere created in this opening scene would be mysterious and chilling, these are both general conventions of a typical thriller.
The second potential location we have chosen to film in is a bus stop, this is because it gives general conventions of city life and an every day setting. Furthermore, we have a scene in our thriller in which a character is sleeping at a bus stop and the bus stop could be interpreted as the entrapment of his mind. This bus stop could essentially be anywhere, however a preferred location for it would be on a quite desolate road to show he's isolated and alone. When filming in this area we would have to pay careful attention to the lighting as it could be an issue because it is outside and very open. But, to combat this as we are filming in winter and at night there is going to be very little to no diegetic light, except from possibly the moon, allowing us to create our own non diegetic lighting with equipment.
For the chase scene in our thriller we are looking to film down an alleyway. This alley needs to be empty,rough and relatively long. This alley must connote how trapped the character is feeling and how vulnerable he is. As our thriller is a psychological thriller all of our locations, especially for this scene must connote this constant sense of isolation and paranoia. Also, our thriller is about a teenager fighting the concept of reality within his own mind, so the settings are vital in depicting this plot.
In thriller movies, sound is an important aspect of emotions being created to portray to the audience, arguably, at times, has a higher influence on the portrayal of emotions than that of the narrative. In certain films, tension is created through the use of sound and sound is an important aspect of the film production process. For example, in Skyfall, the chase scene exchanged between James Bond and Raoul Silva is fantastic in terms of creating tension through the use of sound.
The volume, pace and tone of the
soundtrack are very calm and quiet when Bond isn’t chasing Silva, or when he is
looking around for him. But, when Bond is (for example) chasing him the
volume/pace dramatically increase and the tone becomes a lot more dramatic and
threatening. For example, when Bond is unsure of whether to get onto the train
or not, the soundtrack’s pace is slower and more quiet. Where as, when Bond is
ordered to get onto the train the volume and pace dramatically increase, to
create suspense, and to make the audience ask themselves.. “will he make it or
not?”.
During the sequence the audience become aware of when things are becoming intense. By this we mean that as the pace and volume of the soundtrack increases, the action becomes more intense and as the volume goes from low to high the audience become aware something major is about to happen. The sound conforms with action-thriller conventions. In all action –thrillers there are always intense chases/pursuits between protagonist and antagonist. And the sound in this sequence conforms with this as like the action, the sound is fast-paced and intense. The sound from this sequence can be described as synchronous sound because it matches what is going on in the scene. Both the action on screen, and the sound are both very intense and suspenseful, combining to make a very intense sequence. The only sort of sound effect is the emphasis of the volume of the train. The sound of the train is emphasised to let the audience know that Bond is in trouble and as it gets louder, obviously, the train is getting closer. Although the audience know Bond will not die, there is still a feeling that he could.
In this final sequence of The Amazing Spider-Man directed by Marc Webb, an underscore is used to create tension. The underscore is played over a wide shot of Spider-Man standing precariously on top of a building overlooking Electro's circuit, an underscore is used as it compliments the camera movement and slight zoom on the shot which presents the connotation that something big is about to take place, and the desaturation of the shot conveys the thoughts that something significant is about to unfold and this is very much the calm before the store. The underscore is used to create tension and suspense for the audience to absorb and engross. The underscore helps the film to a climax, and is often used in the scene that is most significant and this is why an underscore is used. The underscore is a bleak and slow tune, which is quite dull and scary, it commends the colours of the scene beautifully to create this gloomy feel to the film. In conventions of thriller films, dark and eerie sounds are used to create atmosphere and feeling, this use of underscore is no different.
The next piece of sound we hear as an audience is a piece of echoed dialogue from Electro, this is before we see him, this creates the illusion that there is life outside of the scene that is being shown us an audience. The dialogue being echoed creates negative connotations to Electro and by this point of the film, we know, as an audience, Electro is the m
ain antagonist of the film and this is evident by that echoed speech. Dialogue between the two characters helps aid the plotline of the film and develops the audiences understanding of this further. Also, dialogue helps the audience and characterisation of the characters and helps establish clear relationships between characters. There relationship is evidently of one between good and bad, and this is made clear by lines by Electro, however, Spider-Man isn't as worried as the dialogue spoken and his response is fairly sarcastic and composed. Unlike many films, ADR is used in Spider-Man as characters such as Electro are created using CGI and thus require further recording. Although Spider-Man is played by an actor, due to his suit, in places ADR is used, the production company can get away with recording dialogue using this method as it adds clarity to the voice.
When Spider-Man and Electro come to blows, sound effects are used to replicate the sounds being shown in the fight scene, the fizz of the electrics being used by Electro clearly are sounds being created synthetically as it improves the authenticity of the film by making it more immerse through the use of sound effects. As both Spider-Man and Electro through each other to the floor, there is a few seconds of silence as it seems Spider-Man is left seriously hurt, this moment of silence is symbolising the shock and tension felt by the audience as Spidey appears to have been conquered, which would be a shock considering in the franchise of Spider-Man he is usually victorious.
The non diegetic sound of the car smashing into Electro has been exaggerated to really place emphasis on the cars entrance to the scene. It's significant as without it, Spider-Man would be killed by Electro, and so by increasing the non diegetic sound, it makes is clear to the audience that this car has high significance to the plotline and this is emphasised through the use of sound. Another technique used here is that of synchronous sound, as the pictures matches with the sound being heard, this is again to enhance realism. Synchronous sound also is vital for the direction of the film, if done poorly, the scene could be ruined, so it's vital to get this right, especially when its being amplified to increase significance.
When the conclusion of the fight scene is about to occur, an optimistic, more upbeat score is played as it foreshadows the conclusion of the scene, and the upbeat core also provides connotations of goodness and conquering evil towards Spider-Man, which shows the goodness of our superhero protagonist, and this music reflects that. To conclude the scene, this use of score gives the audience some hope and that's needed at points when all hope seems lost for Spider-Man. In terms of creating tension, this film does that terrifically well, with the right balance between shot type, camera movement and sound, its vital to what is being created with characters, plot and symbols. It's imperative to this scene and what makes it tick.
An underscore is played as Will Smith's character, Jay, is seen being approached by what looks to us, the audience, as tentacles towards his face, this is shown alongside the sound effects of buzzing. These sound effects present the idea of something flying, and possibly an alien who is looking to be the catalyst of Jay's demise and death. The underscore is upbeat and positive tone, despite the fight scene occurring, which is quit
e contrapuntal in terms of what is being heard, however, this is successful in building tension, as its quite uneasy as Jay is being attacked by multiple aliens and we've already seen Kay, his co agent, being tortured by a dangerous women.
After being thrown into a wall by the extra terrestrial beings, the sound of scratching is heard as Jay slides down the wall, this is a non diegetic sound that has been amplified by the sound editors to exaggerate the noise that was created to increase the impact of this moment, to make it more dramatic and increase the tension being created by immersing the audience and to make them emotionally connect with Jay which they would do as Jay is the protagonist and thus the audience are willing him to do well and achieve. I
t's after Jay curls off the wall that the underscore changes as it becomes more tense in terms of tone and more aggressive in pitch, this replicates the emotions that are being felt by Jay at the time he begins to approach the aliens, the fun hearted and jokey Jay has been switched and he is now more aggressive and focused Jay, he is still confident, but his approach to the situation has altered and that's evident to the audience.
The sound effect of Jay hitting one copy of the alien has been put in after filming as the CGI aliens wouldn't have been hit, meaning there is no simply no diegetic sound produced. the impact would be minimal, so to humanise the aliens, they require sound effects to ensure they are believable to the audience. This is something that continued throughout the fight scene as Jay takes on numerous copies of the aliens, and the sound effects used improve narrative, characterisation and the authenticity of the film as a whole.
After Jay has fought off the aliens, he falls into a pile of tubing on the floor, here, the diegetic sound of the tubes are amplified for comedic effect. The effect this has on the audience is that it portrays Jay to be a humorous character which instantly makes him more likeable as he is an underdog in the fight scene scenario and the fact he can't release himself from tubing to save the girl who is trapped up is comical and amplifying this sound adds comedy to a scene where tension has been built up, but despite the comedic element to the scene, there is a voiceover of a countdown being heard throughout this shot as Jay try's to free himself from the tubing, so despite this being a comedy moment, tension is being built by the countdown surrounding him.
This clip is another great example of how thrillers use sound to create tension. Tom Cruise's character Ethan Hunt is the subject of a motorcycle chase, to increase tension, different techniques are used in terms of sound to do this. To start the clip, we see a tracking shot complimented with the noises conventionally associated with a motorcycle, this has been increased in volume and pace, to present the fact that the motorcycle is the main focus of shot, and not that of the vehicles it is sharing the stretch of road with. By editing the sound so that the motorcycle noise is non diegetic really puts emphasis on the motorcycle and that directs the audience, the use of tracking shot puts the audience into the scene, so this combination works effectively for this shot.
As the scene progresses, we hear the sound effects of the gun shots, which are introduced alongside the non diegetic sound of the motorcycles, this is because the fact the production team cannot actually use bullets in fear of killing someone, so adding sound effects in editing enhances the scene and ensure safety whilst maintaining quality with in their film. Although you cannot see the bullets, the sound effects add comfort to the audience and creates the illusion that bullets are being used and this is in fact a real chase in which lives are at stake. The diegetic sound of glass smashing as a bullet shatters it also helps with this illusion, it's cleverly constructed by the production team to ensure this is a chase of the highest quality, and the introduction of bullets and weaponry means lives are at stake and this increases tension massively, also, the use of motorcycles allow more danger to be added to the situation, so tension is built and is helped being built by the use of sound.
As the scene develops, a score is introduced to support the high speed chase. Using an underscore here would be contrasting and not fit with the pictures, so by having a fast paced, intense piece of score being played alongside the pictures, it supports the scene and adds pace to what is an already intense, high risk scene, so this would add tension as it takes the stakes up higher, both men are riding for their lives and the audience are backing their hero, Ethan Hunt, in this chase, so by adding a score that is of quick pace, you add to the danger of the piece, which climaxes when the motorcycles are weaving in and out of cars as the danger is increased and raised beyond belief. It symbolises danger, and as the danger increases, that is matched by the score being played alongside the shot.
We then cross cut to a shot of a girl standing on the edge of a cliff, and the underscore is dramatically changed to that of a slower paced, tense piece of music to accommodate the wide shots of this scene, this is a real change of direction in terms of narrative, as we have cut away from a tense chase to a calming, almost sad setting, it poses a variety of questions to the audience. Who is this girl? Why is she on a cliff? Is she going to kill herself? These are all raised because of that underscore, if an upbeat piece of music was being played, the audience's questions wouldn't be so negative and suspicious, and from the high paced chase to this is an interesting change of direction. This snippet seems to be waiting for something to happen, and cuts back to the loud, monstrous motorcycle, maybe this is what Hunt is defending?
In conclusion, films use numerous methods and techniques to riddle films with connotations of tension and to enhance that emotional connection shared between audience and characters, and the proxemics between these two elements of films, without tweaks and important planning, sound can make or break a film and these are successful elements of when sound is used successfully.
A motif is a repeated item that appears throughout a particular film. The repetition of a motif helps the plot to advance and sometimes helps reveal the theme in that particular film. A motif is often something that is woven into a plot and in order to locate motifs, you have to be an active watcher of film, you must look for reoccurring patterns or items, colours, actions or dialogue we've seen before. Harry Potter is a franchise of films made from the series of books written by JK Rowling, and in the third film of the franchise; Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, a motif is repeated throughout the film in many visual representations.
In this film, a motif is repeated throughout the film that is linked to a dog or a relationship connected to a dog. In the beginning of the film, Dudley's aunt visits Harry in his home. She gets frustrated as the stupidity of certain individuals and delivers the line 'You know what, it's the parents fault, it's just like raising dogs, if there is something wrong with the female dog, then their is going to be something wrong with the child'. This seems like a crazy and irrelevant metaphor at the beginning of the film, but it's actually a highly interesting one to use as Dogs are highly intelligent animals who can be trained to fulfil a number of roles and tasks, so not only is it an irrelevant metaphor, but factually, it's incorrect, so there is a subtle introduction of this motif at the beginning of the film, and one that is carried on only two scenes into the future.
A couple of scenes later, Harry Potter leaves the house in anger at the mistreatment he has been the victim of. Potter is visually vexed at the treatment he has suffered, but when he leaves his home, the motif of the dog returns, as he is stalked and chased by a dark, black dog. This suddenly makes Dudley's Aunt's metaphor more relevant, as evidently the dog has a key impact on this film. The slight high angle on the dog puts the audience in Potter's shoes, and shows the danger and fierceness of the encounter with this dog, it engages the audience and provides connotations of danger and a sense of calmness before the storm that occurs later on. Amazingly, the term black dog has been used to symbolise depression in many pieces of literature. Reg Mombassa (An Australian musician) describes Winston Churchill of having a 'black dog' which followed him around, and the combination of 'darkness' and 'dog' seems an apt way of describing depression, its an illness that could potentially be an everlasting companion as dogs are historically referred to as companions of mankind. Furthermore, it could connote the idea of death, as a black dog is a character renounced in myths and legends, it connotes fear and danger but also this idea of death. Black dogs in dreams are always interpreted negatively and throughout the world dreams that involve black dogs are seen to seen to crush the sleepers chest. Could Harry be depressed or in danger?
This motif of the dog is continued subsequent to Harry's return to Hogwarts as he investigates the contents of his tea leaves after a lesson. An ominous shape of what appears to resemble a hound similar to the one seen chasing Harry previously in the film. The reading of tea leaves is a historical way of finding out fate and where your life is heading. It was used by mystics in the past to predict the future and often you were required to pay for tea leaves to be read. The fact Harry has a symbol of a black dog is no coincidence as it is relevant to the narrative and his fate. According to http://www.tealeaf.ca, the symbol of a dog can mean many things, including the 'thwarting of life chances'. This is evidently a bad reading for Harry as obviously his life is at a liability due to this mysterious, reoccurring dog. This is foreshadowing the conclusion of the film by making it highly obvious this black dog has significance to the narrative and this motif is obviously not being included by accident as it keeps being repeated consistently with high significance. The shot type used is a close up with a slight higher angle to present the dog clearly and thoroughly, but the dark colours of the dog presents this danger and mystery around this particular Dog, why is it being shown? What significance does it have?
As Harry participates in a game of Quidditch, the Snitch rockets into the air, as Harry chases it as it ascends into the thunderous and gloomy sky, Potter quickly becomes surrounded by Dementors, and when he looks into the clouds, one of the clouds seem to resemble that of the black dog. This symbolises the darkness and incoming meeting of Potter and the Dog, and it's going to be one that isn't enjoyable or friendly as this dog is being repeatedly shown to Potter during this sequence of his life. This means the dog is somehow linked to evil, and this why it is black, as the colour black connotes to the danger and mysterious nature and feeling behind the dog. The Black Dog is also a famous ghost associated with the British Isles. So perhaps Potter is being haunted by this famous spirit who is trying to be his downfall. As fans of the franchise are well aware, the Dementors are characters who torture and torment Potter throughout the films, and this is no different as once again they provide the messengers for evil towards Potter. The dog is shown, like the tea leaf scene, at a neutral angle, this is because despite there being connotations of evil, it has to be clear what the image is portraying, and a neutral, mid shot provides clarity and identifies the dog clearly to the audience, the dark colours provide more in terms of connotation than the shot type, as the slight darkness to the cloud makes it visible and clearly stand out, this isn't in Potter's mind, but is actually being presented by the Dementors to Harry and the audience.
The next clip we see of the dog is when Harry, Ron and Hermione explore the lumping willow area as they are chasing after Ron's lost rat, what should they encounter but a black dog. This dog proceeds to grab Ron's leg and drags him under the lumping willow. This is more of a visual motif than perhaps the other examples of the tea leaves and the cloud, they all do the same thing but in different variations, the contrast of colours is significant in this seen, because despite the dog being a dark and dangerous black, the grass in which it is standing upon is a luscious and beautiful green with presents to the audience the idea of life and growth. The grass symbolises the dog's goodness, despite his ugly and dangerous outside, maybe there is a goodness inside of the dog that appreciates life and is not meaning any harm, much like the character of Beast in Beauty and the Beast, despite his ugly, malicious image, he has a warm heart, and perhaps the presentations of the dogs image was an attempt to make contact with Potter and aide him in some way. The angle in which the dog is presented at is extremely interesting as it has been shown as evil throughout the film and that's certainly the suggestion to the audience, that this character or dog is out to harm Potter but firstly wants to psychologically damage him, in this scene, he is presented at a mid shot which shows him in a neutral position, the same as Potter, could this be a symbolic link linking the two characters together? Could the dog mean something to Potter? However, shortly after this, the dog attacks Ron and once more this dog is shown as vicious.
The final time the motif of the dog is seen is at the conclusion of the film, as another visual is used to present it. This time the audience are shown a zoomed in image of paw prints on a wooden floor. This is presented at a close up angle, complimented with a pan and a soft underscore to build tension. Here, the kids are inside the shrieking shack after they have finally found Ron after he was dragged through this tunnel from the lumping willow to the Shrieking Shack. Again, we don't see the dog or the dog's face, instead we just see paw prints of the dog. This shows the variation of presentation of motif as this dog is seen in many different visual and aural mentions, whether that be through dialogue, a hint, a flavour or a visual image. That dog is highly significant to the narrative and this film in particular as it ends up being Sirius Black, Harry's godfather who has escaped from the Prison of Azkaban, which as it said in the film, is one of the most secure prisons ever built. Due to Black's animagus form of a dog, he tries to make a connection with Harry through this form of himself as he is attempting to protect Harry. So this motif that's repeated throughout the film is highly significant to Harry and the narrative, the different variations of the motif presents the importance the dog has on the film and come to the conclusion that the dog is important as it is not only about the dog, but revealing the characterisation of Sirius Black and connecting him with Harry Potter and the fact Black is actually a good character, who is trying to aide Potter rather than kill him which is what the motif presents to the audience throughout the film.
To conclude, the variety of presentation that is used to show this motif throughout the film makes it highly engaging and interactive for the audience. It conveys one message and then tricks you into revealing another. This motif is all about characterisation of Sirius Black and this is done in many elements of representation, from visual to dialogue. It symbolisms so much from depression to companionship and its this that leaves the audience guessing throughout.
In the dark and gloomy 1940s, the world was left scarred and fractured after the destruction of World War II, and this was reflected and used in film. Film Noir was a popular genre of film at this time, due to it's gloominess and darkness, it reflected perfectly the feelings and emotions of society. But in times of world invigoration, it was up to film to help reflect and be the spokesperson to aid this process, and with the exodus of Jewish Film Noir directors, producers and cinematographers from Nazi Germany to the US, they were able to understand the loneliness and complexity of this historical period. Noir was about using and exaggerating feelings of darkness, gloominess and what some described as 'the period the American Dream died.' How were men and woman presented? What personalities and qualities did they have?
Directors such as Fritz Lang left Germany due to Jewish heritage which would have left Lang almost certainly dead in a concentration camp. Lang left Germany to pursue his filmmaking career. Lang used personal accounts to add greater authenticity and realism to his films. Lang was an example of a director who presented the roles of Males and Females in different ways.
The opening of a film is a highly important piece of the film making process. Not only does it draw the attention of the audience but also clearly establishes era and genre of the film which, as an audience member, it answers questions and also traditionally, you see a famous actor(ess) who is playing the lead in the film, and this usually draws connotations of heroism or villainous feelings towards this character through use of camera shots and movement.
Examples of different thriller films opening sequence
The Matrix- The Matrix is a sci-fi thriller made in 1999, the opening scene however contains conventions of Film Noir and shows a femme fatale in Trinity beating up member of the police force. It used groundbreaking special effects and the opening sequence was used to effectively show the world in which the Matrix was set and set up a film that got stunning reviews.
The Spy Who Loved Me- A 1977 James Bond film, its opening sequence contained a marvellously aesthetic ski sequence which involved a backward flip. These moves contains OO7 and when he opens his parachute, the Union Jack is shown to present Bond's loyalty to his country. Later in the sequence he exchanges dialogue with his love interest in which she says 'But James, I need you' to which Bond replies 'So does England'. An explosive start to a Bond film which proved a popular film in the trilogy.
Star Wars- The 1977 Star Wars is renounced at one of the best opening sequences in film history. The opening sequence involves a spaceship chase scene, and clearly establishes the genre, era and setting of the film. It started the franchise of Star Wars globally.
In the opening scene of The Dark Night (2008) directed by Christopher Nolan, the film is launched at the beginning of the titles as the Batman theme is played throughout the opening titles, this is clearly distinctive to the audience who associate that particular score with the trilogy of Batman films. This music is played a very low volume to create tension and creates a clear beginning to the film. To coincide with the films dark themes, the logos of Warner Bros foreshadows the opening of the film, which shows a bank heist before Nolan even introduces Batman. The darkness is a clear theme throughout the opening scene and the dark clouds behind the logo of Warner Bros connotes the evil that is yet to be created by the Joker played by Heath Ledger. Also within the title sequence, a cloud or smoke is presented to the audience, but as the smoke disperses, the bat symbol associated with Batman is visible, this is done to clearly set the scene that the audience are watching a Batman film and the newest of a trilogy. This is an alternative from writing 'The Dark Night' and in presenting the Bat symbol they provide a clear sense of beginning and build an anticipation within the audience.
The first shot is an establishing shot which clearly shows skyscrapers and tall, professional buildings. This presents to the audience where the film is going to be set; an industrial, modern city. Also, it clarifies time period and setting to ease the audience into the film. There is also a non diegetic, dull sound which replaces the trilogy music usually associated with Batman. This subtle change in tone
and intensity grabs the audiences attention and as it grows increasingly louder throughout the shot, it builds up tension and anticipates the audience as to what is to happen. Nolan uses non diegetic sound to full affect to increase the intensity in the film but also to symbolise what is going to happen in this opening sequence. After this establishing shot, a zoom is used to focus onto one specific window of the blue-tinted skyscraper. Shortly after the shot settles into place, there is a smash to the central window, this smash is amplified in editing to make it more powerful, effective and dramatic. Following this smash, there is a fast paced cut to a man wearing a clown mask in a nearby building. This character is observed to be wearing a clown mask, thus hiding his face and character from the audience, this makes the audience feel negatively towards this character, partly due to the fact he is holding a gun, and is conveyed to be the character responsible for the smashing of the window, which presents him in a bad light, also, the low key lighting and darkness when the cut is mad connotes the idea of evil and shadiness. The next shot is an over the shoulder shot which, thanks to continuity editing, shows us, albeit briefly, another character present alongside the man who is originally shown. After breaking the window, the two characters are seen to have a grappling hook pointed to another building, and after the destruction of a window seen beforehand, the audience becomes aware these characters are the antagonists. Their creepy masks are familiar to those used in Batman comics, that familiarity ensure the audience conclude that this is the work of The Joker, or his henchmen, as The Joker is the villain and a recognisable pillar in the Batman trilogy.
Following this, there is a mid long shot showing a person holding a similar mask to that of the attackers seen in the previous shot. The camera is seen to zoom into the mask as oppose to the person, thus conveying to the audience that the mask holds greater importance to the narrative than the
person who is behind it. When the cut is made from the over the shoulder shot to this mid shot, A loud clanging noise is present, which increases intensity and creates a sense of fear and anxiety amongst the audience. This music increases its volume, pitch and pace as the camera zooms into the mask, which creates anticipation and leaves the audience asking certain questions; who is this man? what is that mask? What importance does it have? Who are they?
As the camera stops zooming, a car is seen to come into the shot, and the man carrying the mask proceeds to wear it, as this happens, contrapuntal sound is used as the music becomes more upbeat and positive music, this creates a contrast and foreshadows that good will conquer evil eventually. Non-diegetic sound is used to emphasise the vehicles arrive into shot, the tyres screech and this indicates that the car was travelling at a high speed, also, it makes the scene more harsh, if no emphasis was placed onto the car, then the close up of the mask seems irrelevant and unimportant. The volume being created dominates the scene and draws attention back to reality and away for the almost dream like sequence of the mask. Cross cutting is a technique that shows a scene whilst another is happening, its a clever and effective editing style which adds depth, intensity and creates tension within the narrative as it shows a course of events that influence the shape and direction of the scene. Cross cutting is used to full effect in this opening sequence. We are shown the characters we saw traditionally as they begin to zipwire towards another building, the camera is at a slight tilt which connotes danger around these antagonists as they exit the building they are standing in. This cuts into a birds eye view of the city below, presenting the audience with a sense of perspective as to the height and danger these people are going through as they zip wire towards another building. Also, as an audience member, its interactive in the sense that it presents you as the forth person on the zip wire before cutting away to show the characters on the zip wire to a mid shot to give the audience a sense of realism and present the danger these people are putting themselves in to reach the other building. Match on action is used to great effective within this sequence of shots as the see the men onset their journey, then see them on the wire before another low shot showing the denouncement of their descent. A quick dynamic cut is used to replicate the intensity and tension being built with in this scene as an over the shoulder shot is used following the landing of the characters seen previously. As an audience member, the use of the over the shoulder shot puts us in the car with the people in masks.
This is where we hear our first exchange of dialogue, The people within the car are talking about the 'job' they are conducting and then reference the 'two men on the roof', the dialogue provides context to what we've seen up to this point, however, the most important line spoken is 'I know why they call him The Joker' this concludes the evilness of these apparent henchmen and shows the audience they are carrying out a plot for their master, who must be The Joker. This also presents The Joker as the main antagonist in this film.
The low-key lighting present in the car reflects the thugs darkness and creates a mysterious and ominous atmosphere within the vehicle, and the contrast of the blue sky presents the calm before the storm, and although all is well in this city, it is all about to be turned on its head by the job these men are about to conduct. This cuts to a discussion between the two men located on the roof of the building. 'So why do they call him the Joker?' this puts more focus on The Joker and shows the spotlight is firmly on him and his entrance. 'I hear he wears make up', this gives the audience a physical presentation of how The Joker is looking and fans of the trilogy will be excited as The Joker is the main antagonist to Batman throughout the series, and fans will be keen to see the next chapter with in their battle to be on top, to see the battle of good vs evil and this is presented here. After these discussions regarding the Joker, we see a man with a bag enter the building presented to us at a low angle to connote power and significance, could this be The Joker?
After a tracking shot of the robbers running into what becomes apparent is a bank, a quicker cut is used back to the men of the roof. 'A silent alarm' shows clear expertise in the role they are carrying out to aide this particular robbery, also, the amount of wires and electricals present . After this brief discussion we cut back into the building, this quick exchange of cuts builds tension and anticipation of what is being constructed by the villains in this opening sequence. After the alarm, we see the same bag that's been shown throughout the sequence, this conveys the significance of what is inside it. The next shot is a mid shot of the Bank manager who looks calm as he takes off his glasses, his suit shows to the audience he is of the upper class and isn't feared or worried regarding the break in of his bank. A slow cut is used show the entrance of the metal drill penetrating the metal door, this slow cut helps the audience see the difference between the frantic nature of the killers on the bottom floor and their mission to kill and get supremacy, whereas their is a more skilled, reserved nature present within the robbers who are breaking into the bank, the mixture of slow and quick cuts show that many things are happening at once and shows the fractiousness of the killers who are strategically robbing this bank before the police or Batman become present.
After the line 'Nobody move', the bank manager fires a shot at one of the thugs, this shows the bravery of the man and his desire to stop evil. This also symbolises the power The Joker has over his henchmen, because despite their killing and work, they will definitely be killed by him as he seeks power and wealth. There is a quick cut that shows the man being electrocuted at the vault as the antagonists plans seem to be falling apart and this is carried on by the series of shot reserve shot exchanged between the bank manager and the robbers, as a more neutral angle is used to present the bank manager, as although he is fighting evil, he will be killed by the villains as they seek power and control over the bank, the neutral mid shot is used because although he is showing tremendous bravery in attempting to combat the villains, he is ultimately to late to start fighting back and has let several of his workers be assassinated by the villains.
Interestingly, as the bank manager is shot in the leg, he shakes but there is no blood present, this is to ensure that the age certificate of the film stays a 12A, so young comic book fans can see the next instalment of the trilogy in cinemas and the companies involved in the film maximise profit. A shot of the character in the mask who shot the manager is shown and as he is shown, the Joker theme tune is present, this is climaxing The Joker's incoming entrance and excites the fans who want to see his first appearance in the film.
We cut back to the men working on the vault, and once again the motif of the bag is present as a close up shows the contents of it being rolled out, this adds another layer to the narrative and it becomes evident the villains are about to break into the vault and steal all the money present with in, the dialogue exchanged talks about 'the boss' and how there should be 'one less share', this shows the ruthlessness of The Joker and also portrays to the audience the greed present with in these villains as they are willing to kill each other for a larger stake in the money. As the vault open, we see a close up of one character spinning the vault to open it, as this is happening, it is clear that the other man draws a gun and shoots, but we never see the shot entering the victim and this is again to ensure the age certificate remains at 12A. The character on the floor of he bank is seen to be calmly strolling around the base of the bank, in control and power of the situation he has created. Another masked man comes into shot and loads his gun which is met with a soft underscore to build intensity and tension to the scene, this is when the elusive Joker first speaks and this is met with the volume of the underscore increases to reveal his identity and this to the audience is exciting as he is a figure stone of the Batman trilogy and this really kick starts the film.
The opening sequence in the Dark Knight is really interesting as it doesn't feature Batman at all, its an intense bank heist which obviously builds up the narrative and acts as a trigger point, it clearly presents evil and catapults the audience into the film, its clear they are watching a Batman film but also clear that they are watching an action thriller, and this differs to other films who ease the audience in, this was a film that was hugely anticipated by fans of the Batman trilogy and that excitement is built with a big budget, explosive bank heist to make the mouths of Batman fans water.
The opening sequence of our thriller takes place in a location looking over Norwich with an establishing shot. The primary candidate
The opening sequence of our thriller takes place in a location looking over Norwich with an establishing shot. The primary candidate
