Opening sequence of The Dark Knight

In the opening sequence of the film there is gunfire and there is crime committed everywhere, for example there is breaking and entering and it shows that they are attempting to rob a bank. The so called robbers are all wearing clown masks to keep their identity hidden; this is very common in thriller films.

The sounds that are used are sounds of glass breaking to show that there is danger in what they are doing and it also adds to the chaos there is. In addition there is also a sound of a gunshot to show extreme exaggeration so that when the audience is watching the sound will be emphasised.

 The people in the bank are screaming when they realise that they will become hostages in a bank robbery. Their screams show the audience that they are terrified and unsure at what they should do as from looking at their faces you can see that they do not look ready or expecting the robbery at all.

They use sound affects to show the feeling of urgency as the sound gets quicker and starts to build up on itself.

The first opening scene is with title screens from both Legendary Pictures, Warner Brothers. The screen in the background is blue flashing lights. Also they have shots of a women’s eye and a man in a mask all like they were in a magazine. Then there was also smoke that turned into the shadow of the symbol of bat man.

Camera shots that were used are establishing shots, when they zoom in on the glass that the bank robbers smash. There is also an aerial shot  when you see the two men in clown masks going on a zip wire from one building to another, this shot is used to show the danger that they are putting themselves in and it also builds a tension to see if they will fall or not.

All of the clowns have guns which show danger. However clowns are linked in with childhood toys to contrast each other.