The Dark Knight: Camera Work Camera work plays a key role in establishing Nolan's style in the opening scenes of The Dark Knight. The different shots Nolan uses give the audience a deeper understanding of the direction the film is going. We are introduced to the film with a compelling shot of Gotham City, as the camera zooms in on a particular building. This helps establish the location and setting, as there are several skyscrapers and it is daytime. The next important shot in the opening scenes is when the camera zooms in on the lower back and mask of a man, standing on a street corner. Nolan uses this shot to signal to the audience that this man is involved, he is in the center of the frame so he will be important. As is common in Nolan films, the main male characters are driven by the need to get the job done. . If audiences have seen Nolan's other work, they will begin to assume that this man will be more important to the film than just a guy who manages to rob a bank. This idea evolves in the film with this character, the Joker, as he is definitely motivated by the desire to finish what he started. This shows when he gets worried at the end of the film when the townspeople's boat fails to blow up the convicts' boat and vice versa. The last most important shots of the opening sequence are the point of view, close-ups of the bank manager and the Joker as he takes off his mask and reveals himself. We first see the bank manager's face in close-up from the Joker's point of view. Nolan uses this to show the fear on the manager's face, especially when the Joker sticks a grenade in his mouth. We then cut to a close up view of The Joke from the bank m...... center of the card......rals, they are neither purely bad nor purely good, meaning the audience can easily identify them with them. The mise-en-scène, particularly the lighting, in both The Prestige and The Dark Knight, plays an important role in Nolan's style. In The Prestige, the contrast between the well-lit stage and the dimly lit backstage shows us the reality of Angier's life and his facade. In The Dark Knight, the shadows on the Joker's face when he takes off his mask give the Joker a sense of mystery and confusion. The camerawork helps establish Nolan's style while giving the audience a deeper understanding of the films. Nolan's close-up shots show emotions on faces, which shows the audience characters in conflict, like Borden when Angier is drowning. The close-ups also help with Nolan's tendency to place the audience directly into the mindset of the characters, especially using point-of-view shots.