the dark knight; batman opening scene analysis

Batman: The Dark Knight

In the opening scene of Batman, there are many genre indicators that suggests that this is a action film, such as gunshots and the bank robbery. The gun shots and the sound effects are the main indicators that this is an action film, as the majority, if not all of action films involve gun shots with really loud sound effects. The bank robbery is also a big indicator as they have caused a lot of tension and a riot like setting with a lot of screaming and shouting throughout.

There are many questions that the audience would be asking throughout the scene, such as who are these people? and would also probably be wondering the most about why this one person has been so selfish and just killed all of his team which they were meant to be working together, this would be the main question that they would be wondering as it is one of the biggest scenes of the whole film, and they would want to know the answers so throughout they know what's going on.

In the first 5 minutes of the film we find out that they use masks to hide there identity, this suggests that already something isn't right and dodgy because the film hasn't even properly started yet and they are already being secretive and hiding who they are, this also shows that throughout the film we will find out who they are, and what there purpose is for the whole film, and this will make the audience wonder what is going on and who is who. Also we find out that one of the main characters seem to be selfish and not a team player, this is because we see him shoot the rest of his so called team and who he is meant to be working with, although he is greedy and selfish because he wants all the money for himself

The music and sound is effective at the beginning of the scene because it seems very dark and mysterious, its very low beat as well and this suggests that shows something bad is about to happen and makes everybody wonder what its going to be. Half way through the scene the music starts increasing majorly and this makes the audience feel the tension as it speeds up, it feels like its getting closer and closer to something big. Also when getting closer to the jokers face when he was revealed under the mask, the music drops heavily, this is effective because it shows that this is bad what has happened and this is a negative character.

Throughout the scene, there are different shots that were presented such as Ariel shot, wide angle shots and medium shots. The Ariel shot was right at the beginning and this showed the height of the building and how dangerous it is that the zip wire was but this shows the audience that no matter the risks and the danger that occurs, they want to do it for the money and they think it will all be worth it. This really creates a mood for the audience because while they are going across from building to building, they must feel a little anxious of what could happen if they did fall. The wide angle shot was shown when it presented the area and the setting, this also zoomed into the mask in his hand, this must mean that they wanted to clearly state to the audience that the masks will be a significant aspect of the film. Finally the medium shots were effective because it gives a good view of the background and also the characters, this means that you see the bigger picture but at the same time you also see the character as the main focus.

Mad max: opening scene analysis

Mad max : opening scene analysis

Throughout the opening scene of mad max there are many genre indicators that were shown such as explosions and chasing cars, this has a huge effect as it tells the audience the genre of the film is action film and because the beginning of the film is so packed with explosions, and all the violent scenes really draws the audiences attention as they would straight away want to watch more because if the beginning of the film is so good than they would think that the rest of the film would be just as good or even better. Another indicator that it is a science fiction film is because it is set in the future and evil characters are involved in a deserted area.


The audience must be wondering a range of questions throughout the opening scene, this is such as why is he being captured? This would probably be the biggest question that they would wonder because of it is so random and so sudden that somebody is being captured and nobody knows the background behind on what is happening, they are also probably wondering who is he? as out of no where characters are just appearing and this is all jam packed right at the beginning of the film the audience will be wondering and this will make them carry on watching so they answer there questions. Another question the audience are wondering would be where is it set? This is because it looks like a deserted area, which is most in the middle of no where and its the most unusual place to have a action film set, but it still works and makes the film very effective.


Right at the beginning when the clip starts playing there is no music playing, this is effective because it creates tension as created a specific mood and feels like you're actually there with them and moving along with them, this also makes it all feel much more realistic then usual when you have music playing behind which is projected. When the characters are getting chased near the end of the clip the beat of the music speeds up and creates more of a tense mood as it makes the audience worried if they are going to get caught or what's going to happen next because they don't actually know.


There are two camera shots that stood out to me while watching this scene, and these were the medium shots and the long shot. The medium shot introduced us to the characters and really gave us a chance to see them properly instead of having a quick glance of them all and then having to wait until throughout the film, this means also that we know for the rest of the film that we know who is who, and we've had a good realisation on who is the good and who is the bad. The long shot was my favourite, this occurred at 1:00 into the scene and this showed one of the main characters with the surroundings as well, this was effective because it clearly showed the audience the settings that this will be set in and overall was just a very good shot, also about this shot that was effective was how the camera followed the lizard up to the character and slowly got closer and closer in, this was good because it made it very tense for the audience as they didn't know when it was going to change scene.

Analysing opening scene - 28 weeks later.

Analysing shot types in a film opening - 28 weeks later.

The opening scene of 28 weeks later use a range of effective shot types such as long shot, close up shot and high angle shots. These all have a different effect on the film.

The long shot was the most effective when Don was running through the field away from the zombies and the camera angle captured him right in the middle and then all the zombies running behind and coming from all directions although they were out of focus which made it more effective because it clearly shows that they are at a distance and still got far to travel until they catch up with Don. This will make the audience feel very wary for Don and make them feel very tense and worried as they don't know if the zombies are going to catch up with him, or he's going to get away, or what's going to happen atall, however at the same time the audience may not feel sorry for him because they realised that he has betrayed his family. As he is meant to be the stereotypical hero, that if anything happens to his family he will be there to save them, but in this case he wasn't and he just ran away from them, In this shot you can also clearly see his facial expressions of guilt, this suggests that he feels bad for what he has done and that he left his family behind to save himself, he probably feels very selfish as well because of this but he felt like he had no other choice. At this part of the scene as well with the long shot when the camera angle was coming in from the sky, it was most effective because you could really tell how fast that they were moving and how scared he must of been, when editing they sped up the scene but this was beneficial as it clearly stated the distance between the zombies and the man, this was really good as well as it felt like we were moving with him and we were involved as much as he was as we was around him the whole time. Overall I feel like this was the most effective shot out of the whole opening scene because of the different ways that it had an effect on everything.

Also another shot that was very effective was the close up shot right at the beginning, one of the first scenes that we saw really had an impact on the facial expressions by the woman and the man. This clearly showed the fear in there faces. One of the main things that were most effective about this was the pause that they had on the clip where the woman saw that she was being betrayed by her partner, she looked more scared and it looked like that had more of an impact on her than the whole situation that was happening with the zombies because of the man was meant to be the love of her life and her hero, but he chose to choose himself and attempt to save himself then look out for his family, this must of made the woman realise how much of a unreliable person that he actually can be and if they survived this would clearly show that he didn't love her as much as he may of put on and this would make her never trust him again, this would also of had an impact on her in years if they survived as it would make her never trust anybody again in the love aspect of life. These shots really bring out the facial expressions to the point where you feel sorry for them as you can really clearly tell how upset and frightened they are and it makes you think and put yourself in there shoes and also you understand why they feel and look like that because they realise its life or death. The part where it slows down on the woman's face has a big effective because it really emphasis to the audience what she is feeling and thinking.

The last shot that i found was effective was the high angle shot mixed with a close up shot, this was shown when the man was running away outside and the woman realised this and was screaming to him at the window, this was effective because it made the audience and the watchers how high up she was compared to him and how he got away so quickly from them and everything else that was going on inside compared to outside. This was also a very good shot as it was different to the usual shots and showed us from a different perspective, it wasn't from inside where the camera would usually be, It was kind of like we saw it from Dons point of view and what he would see, this has a big impact on the audience as if they saw from what he would see, this could give them a vision on what he was thinking at the time this happened. 

Overall, I believe that having different angles around the whole scene has a huge effect because if the scene was shot all from one angle, it would get a bit boring because we would see it from a different perspective, like from the point of views of the characters for example.



Opening Scene Analysis of The Woman in Black.

The opening scene of woman in black clearly presents the film as a horror and a film that's not suitable for children, this is shown through a range of things such as the music, the introduction and just overall clearly states that it is a dark, creepy film.

The music right at the beginning while the little girls are playing with there dolls really catches the audience attention because it creates a lot of tension and makes the audience want to carry on watching even tho the music makes it sound like something major is about to happen, and overall really gets your adrenaline going. Also throughout the scene there is no talking apart from right at the end bit that you hear the mother of the children screaming as she would clearly be devastated seeing her children just jump out of a window for no reason, this might make the audience feel sorry for the mother because of she didn't know what was going on and  must be a massive shock for her and would be very upsetting. The no speaking involved is very effective because it forces the reader really get involved with the scene that's going on and have to concentrate very well because the storyline isn't been thrown at you with speaking and its all visible.

Right at the beginning of the scene the camera is based on a group of little girls that are brushing there dolls hair and just having a general tea party, however dolls are usually one of the main items that creep people out and there are many people that are scared of dolls, and in this case the producers have purposely used them to make sure that even at the beginning of the film tense. Later on in the opening scene it is shown that the three girls jump out of the window because they saw the woman in black, this gives the audience an overview on what the whole film is about before it actually starts and this means the audience will understand what's going on and have a general understanding because the film could be very hard to follow with otherwise.

genre conventions.

I personally don't enjoy action films and I don't really watch them because fighting and explosions with loud noises isn't something that I enjoy watching, I find the comedy and romance films much more interesting and enjoyable. Action films mostly attract young boys, and teenagers because of the things that happen in them, teenage boys think is really cool and because it would be similar to some of the action and fighting games they play on there Xbox's and PlayStation which suggests that is what they enjoy watching and doing therefore this is going to attract them if it has explosions and fight scenes involved.

Genre	Conventions/genre indicators	film titles
Action	explosions, fight scenes, chase sequence hero villain	casino royale Indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull die hard mission impossible

My influences and Interests :)

My influences and Interests

My favourite film is pitch perfect 2 because I enjoy the musical side of films and this involves a lot of accapella and this film is also on the comedy side and I love the comical scenes. This is also my favourite film because it involves a range of different characters that bring the movie together. the scenes are never the same which makes the moving more interesting.

My favourite director is Elizabeth Banks, the director of pitch perfect 2, she is my favourite because she has a range of different skills. Elizabeth is an American actress, producer and director which makes her see a film from different points of views. she is known in roles in such films as; Role Models, The Next Three Days, Pitch Perfect, The Lego Movie, and The Hunger Games films.


Comedy is my favourite genre., this is because it draws me into the movie. Comedy is not a science, it's art. Therefore there are no rules and it can be very subjective. What one person finds funny another might not. There is no simple answer to why something is funny... Something is funny because it captures a moment. Another reason why comedy is my favourite genre is because its so unexpected, you never know when the jokes are going to be and the subjects of the joke. My least favourite genre is horror, this is because they are predictable, you can always have a guess at what's going to happen next. I think that all horror movies have the same or similar plots which makes them boring and not interesting.


The movie that I am anticipating is pitch perfect 3, which comes out in 2017. I am most looking forward to it because I want to see where the movie left off, and how it will carry on. I also want to see where the characters have got to and the relations they have with the other characters.


The visit is the last movie that I watched in the cinema, I did not like the film. This is due to the fact that it was too unrealistic and predictable, this is because from the start of the movie I could already tell that the grandparents weren't actually the real grandparents because the way they acted was suspicious. The movie didn't seem much of a horror because it wasn't scary it was more creepy and weird. The actors that played the 'grandparents' - Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie fitted the role well and made the movie better because it was well acted but at the same time was still poor quality.