The two scenes I have chosen from The Dark Knight are the two boats scene as well as the Batman and Joker scene. In the boat scene the Joker is making  chaos about which boat is going to get blown up, whilst the person who blew up the ship has to live with the guilt. The other scene I have chosen is where Batman is talking with the Joker who is hanging upside down. I will discuss how the Director builds up tension through lighting, camera angles, costume, music and character action. The music gives you a feeling of what is going to happen. Christopher Nolan, (the director) has chosen music as the main way to build tension. The main Prisoner throws the detonator out the window and says “I’m going to do what you should’ve done ten minutes ago.” He has shown that even the worst prisoner still follows the rules. He has put a dent in the Joker’s plan. He shows the first symbol of people rising up against the Joker. He has redeemed himself by throwing the detonator out the window. Although he committed a crime he is showing he is redeemed. Before the Prisoner throws the detonator out the window, there is music that build up tension and makes you think he’s going to turn the key. In the boat scene, the Joker is trying to prove that everyone in Gotham is out for themselves. They are willing to commit a crime to live. The boats names are Spirit and Liberty. The names are fitting as  the Joker is showing that he is destroying the Spirit in Gotham. The Joker is a very different  villain. The Joker says he’s an “agent of chaos”. The Joker doesn’t want money, power or Batman dead, he just wants chaos.

In the boat scene, the Joker has planted explosives in the boats. One boat carries civilians and the other carries prisoners. If both of the boats don’t blow up the other they will be both blown up. The use of lights coming from both boats show the innocence of both boats. Although one carries prisoners who were convicted of crimes they still have no control of what the Joker does. There is a long shot of the two boats in the water. At this, you don’t want to take your eyes off the screen. You want to see which boat will act first. The camera moves to inside the boat and shows the passengers of each ship wondering what they should do. The costumes of the prisoners were orange jumpsuites and civilians wearing normal clothes. This makes the costume design easy. The music is building up tension to a climax. The action in both cabins is everyone looking at each other’s reaction to what is happening. In both boats there is chaos. If I was in either boat I would be able to keep my cool; while trying to figure out what to do.  The Joker wants the boat of normal people to blow up the boat of the prisoners. The lighting and long shot camera angles create suspense to help the viewer understand  the decisions the ferry passengers make will determine if anarchy reigns and order is lost. I have been in the same place as the people in the boat have been. I was playing a game when I was little, the aim of the game is to catch a team of people who have a colour and stay away from another team. In my case, I had to choose to go after a person who I could catch or I could run back to my base to stop being caught.

During the scene when the Joker is hanging upside down, Christopher Nolan has the Joker swing in and out of the light. This is showing two sides  of the Joker. The Joker is unpredictable and Christopher Nolan has broken what is normally done with lighting. In most films characters are either stepping into the light or out of light. They stay there, but with this film, Christopher Nolan has use unusual lighing effects. This is when Batman is talking to the Joker and the lighting is used very skillfully. Batman has half of his face covered to show that he may look like the good guy but he commits crimes doing it. The light is used smartly. The camera shots have the Joker in front of Batman and it adds to the Joker’s jacket hanging behind him, looking like a cape. This jacket was chosen carefully to make it look like a cape,  and his costume is bright with red lipstick that is smeared around his mouth that goes up into a smile. I once acted in plays and I had to wear a costume to make it real. The actions taken by the Joker in this scene is when he is hanging upside down. I relate to Joker when I  had to look like a character but still be the villain. In my case, I had the same skills but we changed the colour.

The director’s purpose is to show how important Law and Order is for society to function. This is shown in the boat scene as the Joker can make the walls of Gotham come crashing down. The Joker understands that Law and Order are important so he wants to create anarchy. His first attempt is to show that the ordinary citizen is immoral. But he fails at this so he goes and corrupts those people in power. He does this because he wants to give an idea to the public and wants people to follow his idea. The Joker has shown this idea to show people that they don’t need to follow the rules. The director is trying to show that Law and Order are important. The Joker has set this boat scene to show that everyone in Gotham is out for themselves and will kill other people as long as they are safe. They are very selfish.

I think overall Christopher Nolan, through the Joker, has shown what he wants throughout these scenes. In these scenes the Joker really shows that he wants chaos from the city Gotham.