JH: Technical Analysis: The Dark Knight

JH: Technical Analysis: The Dark Knight:

Duration:	Camera Techniques:	Mise-en-scene:
15s	Medium shot of credit	Colour scheme dark and blue reflects the genre of the film being thriller/action.
13s	Fade from black, medium shot of credit.	Colour scheme dark and blue reflects the genre of the film being thriller/action.
13s	Fade from black, medium shot of credit - DC. Fade to black	Colour scheme dark and blue reflects the genre of the film being thriller/action.
12s	Fade from black. Medium shot of batman logo – zoom.	Colour scheme dark and blue reflects the genre of the film being thriller/action. Fire used to promote the genre as well as the logo being a bat.
20s	Establishing shot of skyscraper, slowly zoom to a medium shot to create suspense. Medium shot of window smash.	Cityscape and buildings reflects the realism. Lighting and colours are now bright to ease the audience.
3s	Medium close up on the antagonists from a side view firing a gun through the window	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre.
6s	Cuts to high angle medium long shot of antagonist panning left whilst firing the grapple.	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre. Grapple typical action prop
12s	Cross-cuts to a low angle long shot of antagonist. Slow zoom to add suspense	Antagonist dressed in dark rough clothing. Holding a clown mask. To highlight the genre.
3s	Cross-cuts back to a medium shot of antagonist using zip line	Antagonist dressed in dark rough clothing. Wearing a clown mask. To highlight the genre. Zip line reinforces the action genre
2s	Close up of antagonist mask from side eye level angle.	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre.
4s	Camera in medium long shot zooms following antagonists through window then peds down to display the height to add tension.	Props include zip wire. Location is shown to be a populated city which adds emphasis to the tension. Grey and dull colours.
5s	Extreme long shot pan in bird’s eye of zip wire. To highlight the height of the situation.	Props include zip wire. Location is shown to be a populated city which adds emphasis to the tension. Grey and dull colours.
2s	Medium shot of antagonists landing on the roof. Low angle shot.	Props include zip wire and masks. Location is shown to be a populated city which adds emphasis to the tension. Grey and dull colours.
6s	Cross-cuts to a medium long shot from within the car focusing on the antagonists conversation	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre. Car lighting is very dark, reflects their actions.
8s	Eye level static medium close up of antagonists driving the car to display the conversation	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre. Car lighting is very dark, reflects their actions. Darkness juxtaposes their white masks.
6s	Cross-cuts to antagonists on roof display dialogue, and steady cam tracks them whilst they prepare their kit.	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre.
7s	Medium long shot tracks antagonists from car into building	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre.
5s	Medium shot pan of antagonists entering the building. Tracks after pan	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre. Gun shots and gun highlights the action/thriller genre
2s	Medium long static shot of bank managers reaction	Normal office props. Non-verbal language displayed is surprised at the robbery.
2s	Cross-cuts back to tracking medium long shot of antagonists.	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre. Gun highlights the action/thriller genre
8s	Tracking medium to long shot on dolly of running antagonists to the till.	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre. Gun highlights the action/thriller genre. The till highlights the conventions of a bank robbery.
3s	Medium close up of lady as the till being confronted. Slight camera movements, other than that the shot is static.	Normal office props. Non-verbal language displayed is surprised and scared at the robbery.
2s	Cross-cuts to an over the shoulder static shot of the antagonist breaking a security code.	Props used include masks and a security code breaker which is typical of the thriller genre.
3s	Static close up on antagonists mask whilst breaking the code.	Props used include masks and a security code breaker which is typical of the thriller genre.
2s	Static close up of bag opening	Bag full of guns used as props.
3s	Medium shot tracking the antagonist picking up bag	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre. Gun highlights the action/thriller genre. The till highlights the conventions of a bank robbery.
3s	Cross cuts to steady cam of antagonist threatening a hostage with a gun.	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre. Gun highlights the action/thriller genre. The till highlights the conventions of a bank robbery.
3s	Cross cuts to medium shot steady cam of antagonist threatening a hostage with a gun.	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre. Gun highlights the action/thriller genre. The till highlights the conventions of a bank robbery.
5s	Static close up on antagonists face. Focus changes on a medium shot when antagonist is shot	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre. Gun highlights the action/thriller genre. The till highlights the conventions of a bank robbery.
1s	POV steady cam of dead antagonist on the floor	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre.
3s	Swish pans track the antagonist in a medium long shot collecting the kit.	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre. Zip-line is shown again.
4s	Tracking movement in a long shot of antagonist running downstairs	Use of clown masks and in this shot the lighting becomes darker which accompanies the increase in tension
5s	Slow zoom movement on protagonist.	Non-verbal language is surprisingly calm. Unconventional.
3s	Static medium shot of antagonist giving each hostage a cooking grenade	Props in this scene consist of masks and weaponry such as grenades which highlights the thriller aspect as it increases the tension of the scene.
4s	Tracking shot through a door of antagonist swish pans to the vault forming a POV shot.	Vault in the scene raises the antagonist’s actions as a robbery.
3s	Slow zoom medium shot of antagonist giving each hostage a cooking grenade	Props in this scene consist of masks and weaponry such as grenades which highlights the thriller aspect as it increases the tension of the scene.
3s	Static medium shot of antagonist pulling the pin	Props in this scene consist of masks and weaponry such as grenades which highlights the thriller aspect as it increases the tension of the scene.
6s	Ped up and slow zoom medium shot of antagonist drilling through the vault	Tool used is a drill. Reinforces the effort of a bank robbery.
3s	Medium shot zoom on antagonist.	Props include clown masks which mask the identities of the antagonists to reinforce the genre. Gun highlights the action/thriller genre. The till highlights the conventions of a bank robbery.
5s	Close up on protagonists face. Slow tracking to the left.	Non-verbal language displayed is calm which is unconventional given the circumstances.
3s	Medium shot of antagonist then a pull focus to the protagonist with the gun	A prop now for the protagonist carries a gun which eases the tension and causes a climax.

Analysis ended at 3:25 in the intro

• Soundtrack:
• In the opening the whole extract undergoes a crescendo between two layers of sound. At the start of the extract the diegetic sound is minimal hearing only movements which is similar to the non-diegetic soundtrack which is quite and shallow. Further along into the extract with the introduction of non-diegetic dialogue, the soundtrack then gains in dynamics and volume as accompanied with the increase in actions and a higher cutting rate. This allows a tense build up before the robbery commences. When the robbery starts the soundtrack has now grown a lot in volume and the diegetic gunshots reflect the genre of the opening. Despite the sound generally growing in volume throughout, there are a few climax moments such as where the clowns get shot where the tense bass line fades for a moment. Then the soundtrack picks up again along with the action.
• Instruments consist of electric bass, strings and drums to create a tense and vibrant thriller soundtrack.
• What have you learnt from the analysis?
• In conclusion this opening of a thriller film is highly gripping to the target audience, through many of its techniques. In my opinion the most effective technique is the build up of tension and climaxes through the use of tense soundtrack and quick cutting rates between varied angles of steady-cam shots. In addition to this the use of tracking makes the narrative easier for the audience to follow and the mise-en-scene is used to the right effect through masks to reinforce the edgy mood of the film. One technique that seems vital in order to establish the correct genre of a film is mise-en-scene and i thinks the inclusion of props and masks in our horror film can be constructed similarly as in this extract - especially the shot of the antagonist holding his mask combined with the low angle slow zoom to build tension.