Analysis of The Dark Knight Rises Opening

The Dark Knight Rises

I am analysing the opening of the film 'The Dark Knight Rises'. I will be looking at the Camera Angles, shots and positions as well as Mise En Scene, Sound and Editing. 

The film was created by Christopher Nolan and released in the UK on the 20th July 2012. It stars Christian Bale, Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway alongside Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
The story unfolds when Bane, a terrorist leader plans to destroy Gotham. Pushing Bruce Wayne to 'rediscover himself to 'Rise' and save his city' (imdb).

Mise En Scene
The first scene of the film takes us back to the 'Dark Knight' at Harvey Dents funeral. Its here you are introduced to Gary Oldman's character Gordon. By adding this scene into the film it makes you think the death of Harvey is going to be significant throughout, however theres a chance it could just be reminding you.
Three men are seen in the back of the car, they are all wearing different coloured trousers and tops. The man in the middle is shown in a black top, perhaps suggesting the character is of a dark background. He is also positioned in the middle of the other two men during the car journey and when they are stood at the airport.
The airport comes across as significant as its where you are introduced to the character Dr Pavel who you later learn is important in the rest of the storyline.
Bane (Tom Hardy) is then introduced on the plane, part of Hardy's costume is a mask, this becomes significant throughout the film as you learn that it can potentially harm his character Bane.


Editing
At the start of the film, there are no opening credits, or any information about the film included, for example to actors names and the name of the producer. However this has been done because the Batman series is well established this is because the same the actors are in the movie, this then meant the titles weren't needed.
Fade in has been used at the start of the opening sequence, you see this when the Batman symbol starts to crack into the screen, and it fades to black to then go into the funeral, the effect this has is that it follows the sound bridge that came before.
Cross cutting is the used when the plane gets attacked, from this you are shown different action shots, for example the pilots loosing control. By the camera flashing back and forth the action set ups that have been put back together have started to create tension because you as a viewer doesn't know whats about to happen, this also makes the film more exciting as you want to find out.

Sound
Sound has been used throughout the opening of TDKR. At the beginning of the opening a sound bridge is used over the cracking of the screen, here you are listening to a speech being spoken at the funeral of Harvey Dent. By hearing this you wonder why your being told about him again, but it suggests he might become significant.
Dialogue is also used. One of the things you here is "The masked man", this suggests that the person that is being spoke about is known by having a mask, you then find out that this man is 'Bane'. Bane as a character then becomes important in the rest of the opening sequence and you later hear him say to one of the other masked men "Nows not the time to fear, that comes later", to me as a viewer it suggests that something bad is going to happen further into the film.

Camera Angles

Aerial shots are used in the opening of TDKR, Nolan uses these shots frequently as it is part of his style. You first see an aerial shot of the plane flying over the mountains, this shows the plane in the air. You see the plane over the mountains twice and each time it shows you in different areas. You also see an aerial shot of two planes, this is when a bigger plane comes and flies over the CIA plane. As well as this you see an aerial shot of Gotham City.
Zoom is also included in the film, you see this when the camera zooms in on the CIA agent, this shows his interest in what the man is saying to him.
The camera then zooms in on Bane when his face is being uncovered, this then means you are seeing who this person is for the first time.
When in conversation about Bane, you see the CIA agent and the other man talking, however over that mans shoulder you see the man in the long black top. Even though he is out of focus, you still get the idea that this man might be significant, as he is the only masked man that is still being shown.
A two shot is used when the CIA agent is reaching out to take Banes mask off, this is significant as it will be the first time your going to see him. You also see that the agent is apprehensive about what hes about to do as you see him pull his hand back. 
Low and high angle shots are used on Bane, both show his power and dominance over people. The low angle shot shows him to be looking down over the CIA agent and the men he was with as they fell to the bottom of the plane, this shows his power over them as they are suffering due to the plans he's put into place. The high angle shot then shows Bane to be talking to another masked man, here you see him placed above the man talking, it is here you see Bane's influence on other people.
The aerial shot of Gotham isn't the only thing that introduces you to the city, a pan is used to sweep across the scene to also show you where the film will be located.
After you see the city you are then taken to Wayne Manor, here forward tracking is used on the waitress. By tracking here she seems like she might be an important figure in the film, however you don't learn anything else.