Batman (1989). Analysing Mise en scene, Camera angles and Lighting

Batman 1989 is a classic film based on the best selling DC comic called "The Batman". The entire movie has been filmed in a fictional place called Gotham City, where Batman is the saviour and fights crime on his own. I will analyze mise en scene, camera angles and lighting step by step.

Mise en scene

• Batman (Bruce Wayne) always asks his butler Alfred to do things for him and also relies on his advise most of the time. This shows that Batman is dependant on his butler very much.
• Jack Napier (later Joker), in the beginning of the movie is very dull and quiet and boring. On the other hand, after the incident in the chemical factory, he turns Joker and his personality changes as he becomes more loud, lively, dresses colourfully and his sense of humour also increases. This conveys a message to the audience that Jack has dual personality problems.
• In the scene in the museum, when Joker's goons are ruining every picture, he suddenly stops one of his men from destroying one specific picture and orders him to keep it intact. That picture is a very dark and satanic picture which gives off negative energy to the viewers. This picture is focused because it reflects Joker's feelings and thoughts.
• Batman working alone, staying in the dark most of the time conveys a message to the audience that he likes to be lonely and alone and there is possibility that he also might have a bitter past, which we find out later in the film.
• There are a few dialogues which Batman and Joker use are quite similar. One specific one was when they went to Vale's apartment. Although both of them came at different times but said the same thing, "....nice place, lots of space....". This shows that Batman and Joker are quite similar in one way and their aims are also similar but they walk different paths.
• Although everyone in the film is using guns and grenades, Batman on the other hand uses special gadgets of his own which makes him stand out.
• At the very end of the film, when Joker starts giving out money to the people of Gotham, everyone thinks Joker to be a hero although he has been killing people. The director has tried to convey a message to the audience which is, money can buy anything.

Camera Angles
Basic camera angles such as, low angle, high angle, establishing shots, long shot, tracking shots etc. have been used in the film to describe different characters, situations and the effects of the characters.

• Establishing shot of the Gotham City in the beginning of the film
• Close up shot to the pictures from Vale's portfolio and the Joker likes them. As the pictures were disturbing and expressed sorrow and disaster, the close up shot stated that Joker also likes inflicting pain on other people.
• High angle shot on Batman when he breaks through the top in the museum. This shot made Batman look more superior and a dominating character in the film.
• Another example of high angle was when Joker was giving out money to people, the shot stated that he was dominating the people of Gotham by buying them out.

Lighting
The whole movie has mostly been filmed either at night or in the evenings.Very few shots were taken in the day time but still maintained a dark and gothic effect using low lighting method. The entire point of using low lighting method was to create suspense and mystery amongst the audience. Significant focal lighting or bright lights were used at some point to convey messages to the audience.

• Bat-cave, Batman's car and even his appearances are mostly at night or are very dark, which tells the audience that although Batman is a hero but he also has a bitter past or moments which he regrets and his life is very dull and he likes it this way.
• At one point, when Batman is dressing up before goes to face the Joker, there's light focused on Batman's face which gives the audience a hint that Batman is the only hope Gotham has got against Joker.

Overall, I thought it was very good film as it was made at the time where special effects were not yet introduced in film-making. The lighting style of the film interests me the most and I think I will try to implement this idea in my trailer.