Opening Scene Analysis | The Dark Knight (2008)

The first sound we hear is something similar to a heartbeat. This sound carries the connotations of nervousness or an element of tension. Some music is faintly heard in the background during the company logos and slowly fades into when the opening scene begins. This non-diegetic music is followed by some diegetic atmospheric sound of car horns and traffic. This helps tell the audience that it is just a normal day in the city. However, the style of music adds an element of doubt in the audience, that it is a normal day, as the relatively fast tempo of the music presents the idea of tension and/or suspense. This is a common theme within thriller films and opening scenes of those films. The sound of the window breaking carries the connotations of danger. This is what gives the audience the clarification that something is happening and that it is not a normal day. It helps plant them straight into the suspenseful action. The dialogue between the characters helps tell the story of what the audience are seeing. It also helps introduce the character of The Joker to those who may have no knowledge of the characters in the franchise. Giving this information to the audience at the beginning of the film is extremely helpful to allow the audience to enjoy the film because there are no key points that they won't understand. The conversations also help link scenes together, "I know why they call him the Joker", "So why do they call him the Joker?".  The gunshots heard when the characters enter the bank present the idea of danger and when he shouts. "Hands up, heads down", it is confirmed to the audience that this is, in fact, a heist. The music builds up through these scenes and further helps add the element of tension and suspense. The fact that the tempo of the music if fairly fast also helps show that these characters are 'on the clock', so to speak.

At the beginning of the opening scene, we are drawn into focus of a grated plate on the side of the building. When the window is then smashed, it causes the audience to become surprised and almost, left behind as what they thought was going to happen didn't. This adds the element of suspense which, again, is a standard theme within the thriller genre. The clown masks being worn by the different people help to show that these characters are in some way linked to each other. This helps the audience gain an understanding of what is going on in the opening scene. The guns being shown help add the idea of danger and causes the audience to be on the edge of their seats. However, the technological equipment that is shown helps separate the members of the team. Seeing this separation helps the audience piece things together that this is a team of people. When the characters are entering the bank, the man in the office is given a large amount of screen time. This helps highlight the importance of the character and suggests that this character may have a certain role later on.

The opening scene starts with an extreme long shot of the city building rooftops. This helps show where the scene is taking place. As this is a Batman film, we can assume that this is taking place in Gotham City. Having this extreme long shot also helps show the audience that it is taking place during the day. This, combined with the music and the smashed window, further helps create the element of tension. Why are they doing this during the day? The over the shoulder shot is used to highlight the point of interest that the character is focussing on. In this case, it is the building on the other side of the street. This creates an enigma in the scene as the audience don't know why he is doing this, or what the building is. It is not until later in the opening scene that we find out, We then see a mid shot of a character who, unlike the other characters we have seen so far, is unmasked. This also adds an element of enigma as the audience will be wondering who this man is and why is he unmasked? Because it was the only unmasked character at the time, it also helps suggest whether this particular character has any importance. The is further supported as there are following tracking shots of the same character when he exits the car and enters the bank. Close-ups are used to show important parts of the scene. For example, the grenade is shown closely. This helps create the idea of tension and enigma within the scene as the audience don't know whether it is going to explode or not. There is another close-up of the man in the office mentioned earlier. This helps show the emotion on his face which appears to be confidence. It is at this point where this character takes upon his critical role in that he shoots one of the heist operators and begins firing at the other two in the room. Shot-reverse shots are used to show the fast paced sequences happening during the opening scene. This helps add tension. There is a mid shot of the bank vault where we are shown the large sum of money that they are stealing. This helps tell the audience that these people are extremely successful. Or perhaps it's more so the intelligence and the success of the previously mentioned character known as the Joker? The company logos are shown to be in a dark colouring. This helps set the tone of the film and the style of characters and story that it is trying to tell. The use of zooming pinpoints the audiences area of focus. This can help highlight importance or, in the case of the window smashing, confusion. Mostly standard, fast-paced cuts are used. This helps show that the characters are having to operate quickly and creates the feeling of suspense within the audience. The use of zoom on the man in the office helps show the audience that he is thinking of what he can do to solve the situation. It is later shown that he thought the best idea would be to shoot the criminals. The use of the cuts between scenes is important during this part as it shown an element of downfall in the criminals plan. The man in the vault is shown to be electrocuted and at the same time, the other characters have either been shot or are being shot at by the man from the office. This, again, helps add the element of tension and suspense. The audiences will be on the edge of their seat wondering whether the courageous acts of this bank employee will save the day. However, this is not the case. Due to the man being shot by the same character that was heavily highlighted earlier, it helps further prove this idea that this particular character has the most importance during this heist. It is not until the end of the heist where all the other operators have been killed and that it is revealed that this heavily highlighted character is indeed the Joker himself. This can create an element of audience satisfaction in that any audience members who had theorised that that character was the Joker, their theory was proven to be correct. Audience satisfaction can be an important element in the success of the film in that if the audience members can guess what different plot points will be and they will receive some self gratification.