The Dark Knight Rises (2012-Chistopher Nolan)-Research into Thriller Openings, All Scene's-Jess Smith

Mise en scene
Editing
Camera
Sound  

Scene 1:
~The opening of the film begins with slow fade into a birds eye view (figure 1) which zooms in a fast pace to what seems to be ice. 
~The frame is very dark, almost pitch black, however because of the recognizable Foley sound of ice cracking in a parallel way, the audience can just about see the lighter colours of white and light blue coming through. 
~Before there is a cut to another shot some non- dietetic sound interrupts this almost blank frame.
 ~The off screen dialogue is clear to be a males voice and his words are spoken in a low volume, natural tone.         
              

Figure 1

Scene 2:

~Between the opening birds eye view shot the screen goes into complete darkness (figure 2) but quickly and fade's back up into a wide, low angled medium shot of a male standing behind a wide desk talking into a microphone (figure 3). It is now clear to the audience the non diegetic dialogue which 

stared towards the end of the opening shot was him. 



Figure 2

~This male character is presented in a way that makes viewers believe he's a well respected, powerful man. This is because of his up-right, strong body language he shows as he stands proudly behind the wooden desk with his hands placed at each                                                       side of it. His facial expressions were also very serious and formal.  

       





                         

~The man has a very serious tone to his voice and he's talking in a reserved way, making the audience question him. 

Figure 3

~This man is also wearing a smart three piece suit which implies he's a well dressed individual, however the suit is black and he is also wearing a black tie which could suggest he is at a funeral. 

~After listening to the on screen diegetic speech hes making it is apparent that this wide angles shot is set at a funeral and this idea is supported by the large, framed picture of the male behind him. The serious male quoted "it will be a long time until someone inspires us the way he did", suggesting he was a very liked, well respected person who has lost their life, creating enigma for the audience as they don't know him or how and why he died.  In addition, there is also a frame to the right of the male with a picture of the same man and both frame are also coloured black, connoting this is a very dark, sad time. 

~The setting of this shot has many pieces of decoration, such as two large flags on a pole (one being the United States of America flag). There are also tall, wide cream pillars in this shot, either side of the male talking and the photo frame, which are both positioned in the centre of the frame to catch the audiences attention, which can imply its set in a smart, grand building.


~The lighting in this shot is mainly bright and it has a range of colours included in the frame, such as dark and light blue, white, red, yellow, grey, brown and black. 

~Overall this shot is typical for a thriller film and is very effective because the audience don't know how it is that has died or why he has died, therefore it creates enigma and make the audience keep watching so their questions get answered. 
     
Scene 3

Figure 4

~The camera then cuts to another shot of a high angled long shot of two males holding onto another male who is laying down, facing the outside of the plane in a very dangerous position (figure 4). 
~In this dangerous shot there is on screen dialogue and it is in a very load, angry tone of voice and is shocking to watch as someone is being spoken to like that. Creating further enigma for the audience.  
~There is also the background ambient sounds of the load plane noise and the force of the wind/air entering through the open door. 
~There is a contrast in colours in this shot as the actors are wearing dark colours on their top half with their jackets however the main two both have light coloured trousers, matching the light colours beaming in from outside the plane from the grassed area below. 
~Due to the body language of the two characters with their back's to the camera is looks as though they're holding onto the male laying on the floor, of the plane by his back and are going to push him out of it, however until they do this they need to have a strong, focused grip. The audience still haven't seen their facial expression yet, therefore are still unaware of why this is happening. 
~The prop used in this shot is a black gun which can be hard to see as it's not placed in the centre of the frame, but I think that is a clever idea because it makes viewers pay more attention and brings the thriller aspect to the opening.
~The overall shot creates a great sense of enigma for watchers as to why this man is being hung out of a plane window, making it a good thriller scene. 

Scene 4
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Figure 5

~This last scene is a low angled long shot of the inside of the plane and included 4 characters this time (figure 5).
~There is a continuation of on screen dialogue, parallel to the action on screen. 
~The overall lighting is quite bright in this shot, however there is a lot of dark coloured clothing bringing it down, such as the man we've already seen and this new character with a black bag over his head.
~There are also two men behind the covered man who are dressed in an army costume and look very strong and powerful, presented through their body language and harsh facial expressions. 
~The decoration in this setting is almost non existent because a plane this size can't have a lot in it if there's going to be many people inside. However they do have bright, modern ceiling lights which brighten the shot and it shown because of the low angle of the camera. 
~This scene also consists of on screen dialogue and is shared between two people, one being under the black bag, therefore is an odd, rusty, blurred tone, in comparison to the clear sound of the male nearer the camera with his mouth unblocked. 
~The man with the black bag over his face is kneeling down on his knees, portraying a desperate image of himself, suggesting he's vulnerable and the antagonist, however this is all unknown and just an assumption because this is only the opening sequence and we haven't seen the facial expression of this covered character, creating a huge amount of enigma.  

What inspired me?
I like the way they used the beginning shot as a dark, almost spooky image because it instantly made the film a thriller genre. However I would have preferred to hear more off screen sound.
~I like the way the narrative is presented because it doesn't give too much away. 
~I also think it's suitable for my groups target audience as they include fast pace action movement, something younger people like to see as it doesn't bore them. 
~At this moment we don't know whether it conforms to Todorov's theory, however I believe it will go through each stage.