What Is The Tone?
The tone is dark and edgy. The bank robbery/hostage scenario is fast-paced and tense, and the backstabbing plot adds chaos and urgency. The characters we're seeing are unpredicatble, evil. They're working in high stress, having to pull off an incredibly risky operation before the police arrive. One of the bankers attacks them with a shotgun, killing one and aiming for the others. These factors combine to create this sense of urgency and tension.
This is a very dark film. In comparison to the other films in the series, it is certainly the darkest. The 1966 batman movie, directed by Leslie H Martinson, features normal lighting, Batman and Robin in colourful tights, and over-the-top cheesy music. The batman films directed by Tim Burton featured darkness, smoke and lighting effects, even grotesque villains such as the deformed Penguin and evil Joker. But even then, the films have all followed the comic books and their target audience has always been 'Family'. Batman Forever was designed to be more child-friendly and mainstream, as a response to Burton's 'dark' film being 'inappropriate'.
This version of Batman, which was introduced in the film Batman Begins, is the certainly the darkest. There are a number of murders, references to torture, the Joker's moral-psychological-terrorist games, among other extremities. The villains of this film, the Joker and Harvey Two-Face, sport a Chelsea Grin and severe burns, respectively. The amount of violence and gore in the film clearly targets a mature audience and most of the themes are designed to appeal to young adults and onward.
An example of 'campy' batman from 1966:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoUpF7rvfnk
An example of Burton's version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vBh2pT9KgQ&feature=related
An example of Nolan's version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQHfoz9Be7U&feature=related
Mood Of The Opening?
The mood is paired beautifully with the tone, giving the audience a heart-pounding start to the film. At first there is a level of confusion as the facts are only just tipping out, but before long the viewer learns of the dangers that some of the characters do not know of, namely the backstabbing. The complex plot and tense situation make the audience uneasy, as they cannot tell what exactly will happen next, making this scene comparable to a thrill ride at some amusement park.
How Is It Created?
The atmosphere is created by use of music, of cutting, and character design. The music that plays in the background is a mixture of electronic and orchestral instruments. The electronic parts making either distant whining (like feedback from a mic) which grows in volume and raises in pitch, or sudden, jerky blasts of dissonant chords. This is mixed with the orchestral aspect, where the music is fast, with very short, staccatto notes on a violin. There are also percussion instruments that come in and leave very quickly, these are also fast and loud. The combination gives a sense of urgency and chaos, being both fast and unpredictable, which reflects the scene in front of us.
The cuts between shots are suitably fast as well. They also flick back and forth between simultaneous occurances - the men gliding to the roof, and the men driving in the car. This is what shrouds our understanding of the whole picture for a time, which gives a sense of an uneasiness. When the man behind the desk pulls out his shotgun and attacks the clowns, the cuts become faster, flicking to the man in the vault who gets an electric shock, before flicking back to the clowns. The shots alternate between the man with the shotgun and Clown C, who is desperately trying to get away. At this point the music gets louder and faster as well. This is underlying the chaos of the scene.
The main characters in the opening are the clowns. They are inhuman - having been covered head to toe, even their hands are gloved. Their postures and voices are menacing and threatening. The others in the scene are the hostages, who are all cowering behind desks for fear of the clowns, and the man who pulls a shotgun on them. He is enraged, firing to intimidate his opponents, and yelling at them. At one point he yells "Yeah!" as he fires, showing some amusement at showing them his power. These characters and their relationships convey the threatening atmosphere, and their actions give us urgency and chaos.
Fantastic. You have clearly identified the tone and the mood and explained how the audience is made to feel through the use of film techniques. Now move on to thinking about a few of those techniques in particular: section C. I've put a post up on my blog about how to approach the three levels for each one with some more ideas of things to include-- have a look at that and the handouts and ask if you have any questions! Definitely think about comparing this film with others in the Batman series and even the comics.
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