Previously, I have been studying conventions commonly used in thriller openings. Therefore I have decided to choose a specific opening sequence to a film to analyse which is from the film called “The Dark Knight” made in 2008 directed by Christopher Nolan. Below I have attached the link to the sequence that I viewed on YouTube. I specifically looked at the first one minute and thirty seconds of this clip as I believe that this was an appropriate length of time in order to study the conventions of the opening.
The very first thing the audience see is the production company details and in some cases the distribution company details may be featured as well. “The Dark Knight” was produced by “Warner Bros” which is a very well known and highly respected production company. It is very important that these details are featured at the beginning of the film as the audience needs to know who the film was created by. This is a standardized process used as credit must be given to the companies who were vital to the making of the film. The audience have come to expect to see the names of the companies as it is a standard thing that they are featured. Below one will see a screen shot I have taken from “The Dark Knight” of the logo of “Warner Bros” that is displayed before the film begins.
Secondly, after the production and/or distribution company details have been shown, as the film begins to play the first shot we see is an establishing shot. This is a common convention that is used in films as it sets the scene for the audience. In “The Dark Knight” the establishing shot is an aerial shot of a cityscape. This shot allows the audience to take in the location and helps set the scene of a busy diligent city. The tall buildings seen could be offices which may show the audience that this could be a key place in which the film is going to be set.
Next, after the establishing shot has set the seen for the audience we are introduced to the main characters. This is also a common convention used in all films as it is extremely important that the main characters are introduced at the beginning so that the audience will know from whose perspective the film is going to revolve around. In “The Dark Knight” the camera zooms in closer to one of the buildings windows and then takes us inside to see two characters. Immediately we assume that these characters are vital to the plot of the film. We are lead to believe that perhaps they are villains as they seem to be trying to escape from the building. They succeed in escaping by sliding along a zip wire to the building opposite. This also suggests to us that they are villains as they are not leaving the building in an ordinary manner, it seems like they are trying to leave as quickly and discreetly as possible without anyone from inside the building knowing that they were in there. Other films may introduce their characters in a number of various ways, however I feel that this is an effective way to show to the audience who the ‘bad guys’ are at the beginning of the film.
A key feature that is crucial to any film in order to help set the seen is the mise-en-scene, for example props. The main prominent prop seen in “The Dark Knight” is the masks that are worn upon the villain’s faces and is also seen in someone’s hand after the shot of the villain’s escaping has occurred. The masks are perhaps worn to hide their identity so they cannot be recognized. However, the way they look may be seen as preposterous as they almost look like the faces of a clown which is something childlike, this is contradictory to the situation that is occurring as breaking out of a building is far from a situation that a child is likely to be in. The masks may be something important to the rest of the movie because they are shown to the audience almost immediately.
Overall, from analyzing various different conventions of thriller openings I have found it very helpful and useful to me because now I am able to pick them out easily when I have watched an existing opening to a movie. Therefore I believe that this will help myself and my group when we begin to create our own thriller opening as we will understand the conventions of thriller openings, why they are used and how to use them sufficiently to our own advantage.
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