Cinematography

The Dark Knight

The audience is first introduced with an establishing shot of the building which the robbers plan to breach from. The camera slowly moves closer to suggest that an event is about to take place within the building. There is then a medium shot of the robber preparing the zip line towards the bank. The low angle could suggest that the bank is inferior to the bank robbers as they are presented with a low angle shot. It cuts away into another bank robber who is waiting on traffic lights as the camera zooms into the robber's mask. Due to the amount of time that is presented with screen time, this could connote that he is a significant character in the film. There is a close-up of both bag and mask which could suggest to the audience that a heist is about to begin as there is a medium shot of the jeep that he enters which could have space for a crew. There is another medium shot of the other pair who are preparing for the heist with the two using the zip-line as transport towards their destination. There is another establishing shot showing the premise of where they are stealing from. The tracking shot follows the two onto a rooftop. A medium shot is then shown to show the pair landing. There is then a cutaway onto an over-the-shoulder shot giving the audience the perspective of the bank robbers. This shot is mainly used in conversation as demonstrated with the driver and the robber on the passenger seat. There is then a close-up of the passenger seat robber as he is preparing his weapons for the robbery that is bound to happen. There is a wide shot the pair on the rooftop also getting ready for the heist. The next shot is of the medium shot of the crew on the ground who have exited from their vehicle and are on foot which could suggest to the audience that they are about to engage the bank. A tracking shot is then used to present the ground crew entering the building. There is then a medium close up of the crew entering through the doors to suggest that this is their destination with a tracking shot of the last one exiting to stay continuous to the previous tracking shot which had the bank robber with long hair in the centre of the shot. This could connote that this character has a big role as previously mentioned. There is then a medium shot of a worker of the bank looking around after the gunshots to signify the damage that the bank robbers are causing. The damage is also signified with the background characters that we see through the window running away with the bank robber taking down one of the security guards that were present from the window. There is a tracking shot of the same character who is taking the security guard hostage to present a seamless transition into the perspective of the bank robbers as they run through the bank. There is a wide shot presenting the bank robber who is holding a pistol towards the direction he is going into with the other robber as the one wielding the gun intimidates the hostages. There is a close up of the device that one of the pairs from the rooftop are using to ensure the success of the heist. There is an over-the-shoulder shot with the robber behind the other mysteriously pulling out. There is a close up with the bag that has a device that could make the audience look in suspicion as to what how they are going to pull off the heist. Soon after, there is a wide shot presenting both ground crew members scaring the hostages. The next shot goes back to the over-the-shoulder shot which has the character behind the hacker shoots him down. There is a medium shot of the dead body lying on the rooftop. There is the horizontal panning of the crew member getting the bag and moving out. There is a tracking shot showing the robber go down through the stairs. The next shot involves the medium shot of the banker as it closes up on him as he removes his glasses which could suggest that he is about to try and take on the robbers since wearing glasses would mainly make people look weak or vulnerable. There is another close up of the robber who is trapping the hands of the hostages. The next shot has a tracking shot of the other robber opening doors into a vault as the camera pans onto the vault door.There is another shot of the robber ensuring that the crowd doesn't attempt to trigger any alarms or try to prevent the heist from happening. There is a close up of the grenade that the hostage is holding to show the audience the situation that the hostages are in. There is a medium close-up shot of the vault being breached by the robber to show the audience that the heist is in an important phase as the camera zooms into the drill. The next shot has a medium shot of the robber holding a gun out towards the hostages. A close up of the same banker is shown as he slowly turns towards the banker with the gun. The medium shot of the same robber is shown as his body collapses just as he was shot. The shot then changed to a wide shot of the broken window that the banker shot through. A medium shot is shown of the robber as he is fleeing for cover behind the desk. The wide shot is then shown of the banker who pumps back his shotgun and walks aggressively towards the camera. The medium close up of the bank robber breaching the vault is hen shown with the drill being ineffective which pushes the robber back. A medium shot of the armed banker is being tracked showing him moving around the bank. The medium shot of the robber taking cover is then shown to show his inferior position on this shoot out. The shots transition between the banker and the robber fleeing away from him as each shot misses. A tracking shot is then following the robber to where he is trying to run to. The wide shot of the banker changes into a close up showing the expression of the banker as he is giving out dialogue. There is then a close up of the robber as he is now taking cover with another talking to each other. There is then a wide shot of the robber shooting at the banker which results in a critical injury as shown in the wide shot which pans down as he lies down. It then goes back to a close up of the shooter looking sinister at his victory shot. There is a medium shot of the robber who was shot down get back up and criticise his partner in crime and it goes back to the close up. It transitions onto the other robber where the shooter goes to as they both talk about the mysterious Joker character. There are close ups and over the shoulder shots through out the entire scene of the two talking. The segment ends with a close up of the robber shooting down the other robber who breached the vault. There is a medium shot of the other robber who shot down the banker walking patiently through the bank as it goes to a wide shot of the robber stealing the cash. The tracking shot follows him into the  vault where the stacks of money are positioned. The close up shows the audience the amount of money that the robber is stealing for the crew. There is another close up of the bags being dragged into a pile showing the audience that the money has been taken into the bags. A close up of the character's sudden movement could suggest tension between the crew members that remain alive in a stand off where the armed robber look to be in a greater position. The over the shoulder shot shows that this is another dialogue event between two characters as this shot used a lot in this opening. There is then a wide shot of the bus breaching through the walls of the bank to show the getaway vehicle that the last crew member would get in to transport the money into their preferred location.