Analysis of 2 opening sequences

How does the beginning of ‘Batman Begins’ introduce the movies characters and themes through mise en scene?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6prDFbjn_Q
Mise en scene is representation of everything in the frame, ‘Batman Begins’ uses a variety of mise en scene elements in the opening scene to introduce their theme and characters such as colour, facial language etc.

In the beginning sequence, the representation of the icon symbol of a bat is presented, this is clearly the logo for ‘Batman’, and he is therefore already introduced into the film. The use of black in the logo indicates, danger, mysterious and disguise, which all involves ‘Batman’ to be the undercover hero. The starting scene also uses low light, to create distinct shadows and make a sharp contrast with darkness and light. However, the rapid change from low key lighting to high key lighting shows a variation in setting and time. The change in colour reflects a change in mood, which goes back to a happier time, to a change of mood, the close up of the boy in the well indicates fear which matches the close up angle of the crack in the well and the constant fluttering sound coming from it signifies that something of the ‘unknown’ is going to happen. The icon of batman is re enforced again to signify that the boy is interlinked with the whole plot of ‘Batman’ from the beginning.

The meaning of the opening scene is extinguished straight into a close up angle of an older man, signifying that the boy in the opening sequence was in fact him and that it was a flashback into his past. The flashback used in the opening scene introduces the central protagonist into the story, showing the audience that his character is an important part as the opening is mainly based on how he’s inter linked with ‘bats’. The facial language used in that shot explains that it was a nightmare and that looking back to it is painful in some way. Low key lighting is used on one half of his face to hide the full impact the nightmare had on him however, the other part of his face is in high key lighting revealing some of his expression. The setting has changed which is exposed by the shot of metal bars demonstrating that he’s in danger or in a bad place such as a prison.

The appearance of the protagonist and the people around him give an immediate indication to where they are, in addition to the period the film is set it. The over growth of the characters facial hair shows that they have been at the same place for a long time without any luxuries. The sudden conflict of two prison mates which is related to the protagonist shows the audience the main theme and genre of the film which action, the opening scene immediately already has a fight which shows the audience there is still more to come. The facial expressions used in the frame by the other character on the scene indicates anger towards the central character which could be because of his race, status or what he did to be in prison, this could’ve created him a bad reputation.

The positioning of the characters show that he doesn’t have people who he can rely on; he’s more of an outsider in the prison as it might be because of his race. The distance of which everyone has of him represents the type of relationships that he has with everyone there. The loneliness of the central character brings the audience’s attention to him in the frame, which is the main goal of the positioning.

Overall, Nolan uses the elements of mise en scene to introduce the vital protagonist by using flashbacks to show the audience how he is linked in with the whole idea of ‘Batman’. The theme is established by the positioning of characters and their actions, their conflict shows that the main theme of the film is action and violence. Using mise en scene helped the audience feel more interacted with the character and understand why certain elements represent a deeper meaning into the plot of the film.

‘Compare and contrast the opening sequences of two working title production films’

A working title production film is a British based film production company which produces films which are based in Britain. It has been a very successful in producing some of the top films in Britain. For example, Billy Elliot, Four Wedding and a Funeral, Elizabeth: The Golden Ago and many more. I will be comparing and contrasting the opening sequences of two popular working title films, which will be ‘Love Actually’ and ‘Notting Hill’ in my essay.

The opening scene of ‘Love Actually’ rapidly establishes the theme of the film to be about love, the narration in the background emphasises the actions which are visible, and therefore the title of the film is linked in with the actions and the narration, as ‘love actually is all around’. On the other hand, the opening scene of ‘Notting Hill’ is vastly the opposite, the theme isn’t established in comparison to ‘Love Actually’, however, one of the central protagonist is identified as the whole scene is made up of close up shots of this one person, in addition to the soundtrack in the background, the lyrics is a reflection of her, as it talks about one woman.

The major difference between ‘Love Actually’ and ‘Notting Hill’ is the content of the opening sequences. ‘Love Actually’ displays various storylines and various characters, therefore not having a minimum of 3 central characters. However, in comparison, ‘Notting Hill’ focuses on the introduction of the two persistent protagonists of the film.

The setting is established in both opening scenes, ‘Love Actually’ used mid shots to set the scene of London, showing the audience where the film is set, being a city. However, on the other hand in the opening scene of ‘Notting Hill’, the back voice of the protagonist explains step by step of all the places in the setting, therefore letting the audience to be aware of what is in Notting Hill. This is all shown by using the tracking shot which follows the character through each thing being said whilst using a bird’s eye angle to capture places in which he is not placed, to ensure that the audience knows what he is talking about.

Tsveton Todorov’s theory is incorporated to a point in the opening sequence of ‘Notting Hill’, the equilibrium and disruption is conquered slightly as it builds up later on in the film, as the meeting of the two protagonists has a clash further on in the first half of the film. On the other hand, ‘Love Actually’ doesn’t introduce the theory into action in the opening sequences of the film unlike ‘Notting Hill’.