Analyzing the Opening Narration of The Batman (2022):
*My analysis specifically concerns the narration from the 5:19 mark and onwards.
Opening Scene | The Batman | Max:
https://youtu.be/761uRaAoW00?t=320
Analysis:
Starting by looking at the use of "mise-en-scene" in the opening narration of The Batman (2022), there are multiple things to consider when the film builds its themes and distinct tones. First of all, the most notable aspect of this scene is the dark tone it builds using a mixture of highly contrasting lighting, and the setting of Gotham during Halloween. We have The Batman's enemies established, with criminals wearing extremely unique and unsettling costumes, able to blend into the crowd on Halloween. The aspects of mise-en-scene that this sequence utilizes creates a dark and gritty tone that reflects the crime-ridden and depraved state of Gotham. Moving more towards the cinematography techniques used in the scene, we see an abundance of wide shots of the cityscape and mid- to close-up shots of the various criminals and Batman himself. The effect these techniques create are unique in their ability to bring such a large-scale and lively setting down to the small-scale, focusing on the hive-mind of criminals that terrorize Gotham. There's a significant amount of movement in the camera as well, mostly during the wide-shots where we see the camera pan across the cityscape in order to display the city's scale and intimidating nature. This is coupled with shots that have a hand-held level of movement when on the ground-level, allowing the viewer to feel more engrossed in the scene's reality.
In terms of editing, the scene cuts often and the shots whilst elaborate, are often short leading to the audience being able to characterize Gotham as busy, a lot of events are happening throughout the scene and this shorter shot duration reflects that well. The editing of the scene lends itself to the use of more motion blur and a greater abundance of the shot-reaction-shots used during the fight scene between Batman and the painted-face criminals in the subway station. There's a significant lack of more subtle transitions like fade-in/out's and each cut lends itself more towards cutting-on-action which reflects the violence displayed in both Gotham and the scene itself. As for how the scene utilizes sound, the most prominent feature of the opening sequence is the cold and tension-building narration that the Batman himself gives over the scene prior to his fight with the subway criminals. The narration serves multiple purposes for the audience, it both builds out the world of Gotham, and quickly establishes Batman as an intimidating force that criminals fear. This creates a distinct theme of blind justice that both this film and the entire Batman franchise thrive off of to create their iconic style. Finally, the diegetic sounds of the rain also serve as moody background noise that establishes a gloomy and intense tone to the fight and narration scenes.
How Does This Scene Compare to My Film Opening Project?:
As for how this scene relates to the opening of the film I'm creating, I intend to create a similar moody and gritty tone in my narrations of the events on screen. I admire the ability of this opening scene to build out the world of Gotham, and characterize it so well, and want to create that similar depraved and downtrodden tone in my film opening. As I'm making a film-noir, establishing that crime-ridden and flawed-society is integral to the subject matter I'm trying to confront. Whilst I obviously don't have access to the resources to film those kind of wide-shots of a bustling city to build out my world, I intend to use what I have at hand to do the same, creating a fake missing persons poster that will characterize the world and provide context for the events that happen on screen.
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