Batman: The Dark Knight - Opening Sequence Analysis

My detailed breakdown of the opening sequence of Batman: The Dark Knight (2008) - Click HERE to view sequence.

The Dark Knight is a 2008 British-American superhero film directed, produced, and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the second part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins.

The opening sequence features a bank robbery featuring 'criminals' of Gotham city. Themes in the sequence include Game Theory vs. Fair Division, as well as more basic themes such as Morality vs. Evil.

The Joker is introduced as an intelligent and cunning character, this is shown through his organisation of a complex and ingenious bank robbery. Furthermore, The Joker is portrayed as ruthless and greedy through his insistence that each mobster should kill his partner to increase each member’s payout. We see the cowardice and intense greed of the mobsters of Gotham when they agree to the Joker’s scheme. The Joker prevails as the only remaining member of the robbery. This highlights his superior intelligence in comparison to Gotham’s other criminals.

Each criminal sports a plastic clown mask – hiding expressions. The area is well lit and the crime is carried out in broad daylight to show the criminals have no fear of other authority in Gotham such as Police. This kind of no fear attitude of criminals is common in all superhero films. The clown masks portray the criminals as conformists and anonymous, these masks also insinuate that the criminal’s work for The Joker as the Jokers image is similar to that of a clown.

Extreme long opening shots act as establishing shots and again show the scale of the crime and more-so give the fictional Gotham City a sense of identity. The aerial tilt and opening long shots also manipulate the use of IMAX cameras deployed in the main action sequences. 

The age demographic of the Batman franchise has traditionally been fairly young. However, the Dark Knight aims to appeal to a far wider audience, this is reflected in the opening sequence with the use of gritty scenes of death as well as the far darker portrayal of The Joker. The film will appeal more to males due to the dark and gritty atmosphere of the film; the main protagonist and antagonist are also male characters.

Overall, the film's opening sequence features violence, action, and a tight, clever and sophisticated plot. It meets the needs and wants of every wide demographic.

Star Wars: A New Hope - Opening Sequence Analysis

My detailed breakdown of the opening sequence to Star Wars Episode IV (1977) - Click HERE to view the sequence.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first film released in the Star Wars saga and is the fourth in terms of the series' internal chronology. Groundbreaking in its use of special effects and science fiction and fantasy storytelling, the original Star Wars is regarded as one of the most successful and influential films.

The opening sequence begins with an iconic title crawl explaining the context of film. A rebel ship is shown trying to escape through space from an enormous imperial star destroyer. The sequence ends with a battle on the rebel ship in which the rebels appear to lose. Finally, the main villain, Darth Vader emerges.

With the opening shot of space it shows the visually stunning, for the time the film was released, as well as the enormity of the imperial starship, which stretches further and further across the screen. The pure size of the imperial starship expresses it to be extremely powerful and thus shows the rebel starship to be an underdog with massive opposition, creating a David vs Goliath situation.

This one-sided fight onboard the rebel ship further extends the portrayal of Vader's men as extremely dominant. From the smoke and wreckage of the battle emerges the villain Darth Vader. His entry at the end of the fight shows him to be the leading and prevailing antagonist. 

Two spaceships are the setting for where the scenes are unfolding. The rebels are all equipped with helmets, grey uniforms and they also all hold small pistols. The Imperial Storm troopers sport immaculate, futuristic white body suits. The interior of the rebel ship is exclusively white and grey. Darth Vader is wearing an all black body suit that looks like a customized storm trooper uniform, with a cape.

Having the location of space would have stunned audiences of the time; also it demonstrates that the film is set a long way in the future. The rebel uniforms appear far inferior to the storm troopers full body suits. Moreover, the small rebel guns look insufficient in comparison to the futuristic storm trooper equipment.

The establishing shot of the opening sequence is an extreme long shot of the planes of space. Other shots from distance of the chase follow. The heavy use of medium and long shots in the ship are used to get the audience a clear view of the events occurring in the fight. Long and extreme long shots are prominently used to show the scale of space. This would have thrilled audiences of the time who wouldn't have seen such ambitious special FX.

The setting of space was exciting, and interested people in 1977. People caught word of the groundbreaking special effects and enthralling story and the film soon spread across the world. The films were particularly popular with young males due in part to the plucky male protagonist (Luke Skywalker) who would rise from humble beginnings to save the day. Furthermore, the action and science fiction elements interested young people. Star Wars quickly became and has ever since remained a bona-fide pop culture phenomenon.

Se7en - Opening Sequence Analysis

My detailed breakdown of the opening sequence of Se7en (1995) - Click HERE to view sequence.

The thriller Se7en was written by Andrew Walker and directed by David Fincher in 1995. Kyle Cooper designed this particular opening sequence. His previous works includes Iron Man and Spider-Man.

The opening sequence works as a prologue for the film in that it introduces the character of the killer (played by Kevin Spacey) and sets the atmosphere for the rest of the film. In just over 2 minutes, Kyle Copper and David Fincher start to hint at and present Se7en to be a disturbing and horrific experience for the viewer.

Se7en is a psychological thriller with horror and neo-noir (a genre of film that combines elements of traditional film noir with modern themes and visuals) elements that serves to make the film an unique and memorable experience for the audience.

In the opening sequence we see a collection 

of about 70 extreme close-ups that has similar characteristics to a montage. This functions to simultaneously hook the audience in with small detail whilst distancing the audience by not showing any wider shots that would then give a clear view of the main character.

The editing is fast paced and consists of several dissolve transitions, which are used to create a sense of disjointedness. Cooper creates a stylish texture effect, which gives the entire sequence a washed out look. Also, Cooper over layers different shots to show the main character doing a number of different activities.

The music is gritty and really reflects upon the overall disturbing tone of the film. The music used is Nine Inch Nails, which is an American industrial rock project, which is associated with dark and gruesome imagery.

The sequence is filled with hints about the characteristics of the main character. For example, the word 'God' is being cut out of a dollar bill. The character believes he is God in the film, which is hinted through the cutting out.

Overall the opening sequence of Se7en was ground breaking; the New York Times deemed it as "one of the most important design innovations of the 1990s".

Forms and Conventions of Title Sequences

A title sequence is the method by which a film credits production and cast members utilising visuals and sound.

The opening credits of motion pictures list the most important members of the production and they are either superimposed on a blank screen or over the action. There may or may not be accompanying music. 

The aim of an opening sequence may be establish character, setting, genre, mood or atmosphere.

A typical title sequence will have the following names on display:

• Name of production companies
• Director
• Producer
• Executive Producers
• Top billing actors
• The Title of the Film

The History Of Title Sequences

A Title Sequence is the method whereby a film and or television programme present their title, key production and cast members, using visuals and sound.

Opening credits usually follows this, which is generally nothing more than a series of superimposed text. 

At the time when cinematography was invented, simple title cards were used to start and end silent films. This was used to identify both the film and the production company involved, and act as a signal that the film has started or finished. 

Analysis

Titles In Silent Film

Words and lettering played an enormous role in films and the silent era. Film titles first started appearing in the earliest silent films, along with letter cards, which provided the context of the film.

This is the main title from D.W. Griffith's "Intolerance" (1916), where the director's name is featured in five ways.

Film titles and letter cards had to provide essential information to the viewer.

The Birth of the Title Sequence

People such as Saul Bass arrived on the scene in the 1950's, at a time when the studios were starting to struggle in their fight with the growing popularity of television. At the time, independent filmmakers made headway by doing things differently, giving a breath of fresh air to title sequences. This is the era in which the discipline of film title sequence design was born. 

This clip shows the opening title sequence of James Bond "Dr. No" (1962). Maurice Binder is the creator of the famous gun-barrel sequence, which became iconic for the James Bond franchise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3saLfYCO_G8

 

Other famous title designs were from "To Kill A Mocking Bird" (1962) and "Almost Famous" (2000).

The Digital Area, And Modern Trends In Film Title Design

In the mid-1990s, a new generation of design-education was born. With the introduction of new technology it allowed title design to be more creative and as a result countless design ideas were created.

The revolutionary title sequence for "Se7en" (1995) was named by New York Times Magazine as  "one of the most important design innovation of the 1990's"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRKGxpHDtGg

.