TV Crime Drama Analysis

                       Gotham First Five minutes

Gotham starts off with establishing shots being shown at a fast cutting rate, this shows some level of intensity but at this moment we are not sure why, it then transitions to a jump cut of a girl running on the top of a building and the cutting gets faster but it hasn't revealed the girls face yet so it gives a sense of mystery. They show the face using a mid shot because she is doing a cat like pose. When they show the face it’s still a mystery of who it is unless you are a fan of DC comics and Batman. It then cuts to a high angle shot of her looking down into the street ,its then followed by another establishing shot of the dark crowded street of Gotham.

She then Leaps down into the street and the camera shot changes to a close up and the camera follows her like it is on a tract, it goes to a close up of her pocket to show her pulling out a knife, this shows that she is not an ordinary young girl she is violent and armed. She then walks past a lady carrying groceries and slashes it open and snatches the milk anonymously. She also pickpockets a man’s wallet but she gets caught, from this i can infer that she does not have much, she is poor and the only way to fend for self is to steal.

When she is caught by the man she escapes by scrambling up a ladder and then a close up of the man to show his frustration and confusion of how quick she escaped from him. The camera follows around showing a range of shots from overhead to establishing shots. The cutting has slowed from before now she is checking out her stolen rewards. She uses the milk to feed stray cats and then drinks some, from this you can infer she is like a stray cat, she is alone and when time comes to flee she is quick and agile.It then shows her climb up a ladder to a balcony and she sits and waits, a young Bruce Wayne enters the alleyway with his parents jump cuts are used to show the conversation between him and his parents then they are stopped at gunpoint by a man in dirty clothes and Bruce and his parents are wearing suits; this mise en scene show the class difference and what part of the city they are in.

Jump cuts are shown to up the intensity of the robbers demands and the cutting increases again, he gets what he want then he kills the parent he then aims it at Bruce a young child. The camera shot changes from a close up of the bloody bodies to a barrel of a gun like you are watching it through Bruce’s eyes. The Robber puts his gun to his side and runs and the scene ends with a close up of Bruce Wayne’s hysteric face as he tries to wake his parents and then followed by a shot of the girl’s shocked face who is a young Catwoman.   

An establishing shot of a police station is showed then you see a longshot of the inside of the station and a suspect in cuffs, he breaks out of the somehow and grabs the police officer’s gun and shoots it in the air holding her hostage a close up of the gun shows the severity of what might happen as the police in the station take aim and ready to fire at him. A long shot creates tension because you can see all of the police officers aiming at this man who is not all there shouting “ I want my pills”, it then jump cuts to a mid shot police detective calming him  down as he tricks him with decoy pills and then subdues him. When he is captured police continue to beat him this shows how unlawful they can be and how corrupt they may be.

In this scene most people are in suits and police uniforms non diegetic sounds are heard like the gunshots and diegetic sound is heard by the chatter of police officers and convicts. Diegetic sound is also heard in the first scene with dialogue from people the girl wonders past and non diegetic sound is heard from the street cars and later in that scene when cat meows.