The opening to the famous Batman film is absolutely genius. It instantly grabs the attention of the viewers. They first show the Warner Bros. logo with a very eerie silence and blue symbolizing a very cold effect. The Legendary Pictures sign, again given the same effect, follows this. A DC comic is then shown with all Batman comic storyboards in play. Giving the audience the insight of what will appear in the film. Again, repeating the blue filter that is meant to send shivers down the audiences’ backs. The silence continues. A huge black/blue cloud then shrouds the screen, confusing the audience until the huge black Batman logo shoots forward, remaining very hidden as it merges with the clouds. A crane shot then moves forward to show the audience a long shot of buildings, zooming into a particular window, until it smashes. The symbolism of the one broken window almost foreshadows the impeding chaos and disorder that the Joker's presence will bring to Gotham. There is no sound up to this point until the diegetic sound of the window smashing ‘sets free’ all sounds and the music gradually gets louder. The first villains are introduced and the audience recognizes this through stereotyping. They are in frightening clown masks and carrying weapons. Many camera angles are then put into action. First the zoom in on the main villains mask, this is to get the audience to recognise this particular mask, as the audience will be greeting new members of the villain’s team throughout the robbery. It switches to the first people zip-lining out of the window and the camera follows accordingly then instantly looks down to give the audience the fear of heights and the determination of the crooks. A long shot then reveals them in action across the buildings. A hand held camera is then placed inside the villain’s car, giving the effect that the audience is actually participating. The camera is then handheld, following the villains as they head into the bank. Many clean cuts are then used to distinguish each villain’s role in the ‘job’ of stealing the bank. This gives the audience the best view after following them as if they were to pick which role they would take up. An ordinary ‘hero’ is shown to give the audience someone else to follow, helping pick up the intensity in the film. When he is shooting at The Joker, the camera is on a track as he walks closer it moves back. Symbolizing he is growing in confidence, trying to stop the ‘bad guys’. When he finally gets shot, The Joker turns his head as if it were a tilted frame, showing his twisted nature. When they open the bank, the lighting changes to a ‘sickly green’ expressing that they have won at a disappointing cost. Also the green shows the betrayal side of the plan, creating chaos and greed, for money. Close ups are then used on the faces, this is very important to the scene; you see no facial expression other than the scary clown masks. Keeping them secret adds to the eerie nature and worries people. It also lets people imagine what corrupt people are behind the masks. It is also a way to keep characters non-important. Normally if the audience sees the face of a character in the beginning of the film, they will be mislead to believe that these could be the protagonist or somebody to follow. With the identity concealed, the audience knows not to get attached. This theory is used on the joker, the audience is introduced with him only holding the mask, someone to follow, his voice is only heard at the end of the robbery keeping him very mysterious.
The opening is very effective, action is filtered through and the audience has people to engage with almost instantly, keeping them active and intriguing them to get involved with the plot. We have tried to do this with our opening; the villain comes out and seems to disappear. We have tried to confuse the audience, so that they wonder what he has done. A chase scene immediately follows, exciting the audience and the audience due to the engagement loves the ‘heroes’. The audience wants to know what has happened and wish the villain to be captured.
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