The micro elements of the opening titles of The Dark Night were all very helpful in creating the feel of the rest of film, which was very tense and suspenseful.
Firstly, sound was an important contribution. There were two different soundtracks used in the sequence, the first was when the studio logos appeared and the music slowly built up into an orchestral piece with added drums to add suspense. However, as soon as the main titles appeared, the soundtrack changed to a piece with a much faster pace. The music started to build up and when introduced to a new piece of information, e.g. pictures of faces, it got much louder, with what sounded like strikes of violins. Overall this had a huge impact on the audience because due to the fast cutting music, we have been introduced to this intense film that’ll have us at the edge of our seat.
Secondly, the use of mise-en-scene instantly told the audience exactly what type of film they were watching. For example, as soon as the Warner Brothers logo appeared. It is usually a happy yellow colour, but not in this film. It was black, which automatically suggested that this film was going to be much darker and sinister. Lighting was hugely responsible for the whole feel of the film, throughout the titles, low key lighting was used which again indicates what the rest of the film will be like: dark and full of suspense. Next was the use of props. We are shown a picture of Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale) this, without actually saying anything to the audience, emphasises that someone knows that Wayne is Batman. We understand this to be dangerous and instantly, the feel of edginess is created and a sense of the unknown as we are not aware of who the character is that knows the secret. This automatically shows what the rest of the film has in store. Also in the sequence we can see a number of different objects including newspapers and blueprints, leaving us questioning why exactly they are there and again, who’s using them. The names of the actors have been incorporated into the newspapers, the effect of this is that the feel of the film is never taken away, whereas if the names happily popped up on the screen it would contradict the scene and we would not know what to feel. Lastly within the titles there was a recurring bat which has been used so that the viewer never loses sight of what they’re watching, yet it adds intensity and excitement.
Editing is also important, a fade is used right at the start of the film. I think this has been used to make the audience feel like they have just entered into the world of Batman. The opening titles begin and fast cuts have been used of the shots, fitting with the sound. This intrigues the viewer as the effect of this is the feeling of excitement and unease, which are two feelings that normally contradict each other. Towards the end of the titles, the shot cuts to Batman's mask which tells the viewer that this is where the story begins, however they are already feeling extremely uneased.
Finally, camera angles and movement. A technique used frequently during the clip that has a lasting effect is panning, it is used to act as though someone is looking through files/blueprints that instantly creates excitement and a sense of rushing, even at such an early stage of the film. Also, close up shots have been used throughout. This is to ensure the audience is exposed to a tremendous amount of information that will all become vital later, but at the moment, it seems completely unimportant to them, which I feel is a very clever method. The names of the actors in the film appear to the screen in a canted angle, these angles are used to create tension and unease, hence why they have been used here.
In conclusion, I can see that all the micro elements of The Dark Knight Rises have been used for the audience’s benefit. It was to ensure that they feel tension from the start of the film and to make them feel nervous and feel a sense of unknowing of what the rest of the dark film has in store.
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