Representations in the Dark Knight clip

In the room the lights are dark on one side, and light on the other, the side with the Joker being the dark side. This connotes that the Joker is evil, and that the Commissioner and Batman are good.

The Joker has clown makeup, which can be seen as quite scary, signifying he is a character to be feared. The scar for a smile makes him scarier, and connotes that he is dangerous.

When talking to the Commissioner and Batman The Joker tries to make them feel anger and regret, which signifies he is manipulative. The Joker is connoted to be insane, through his evil laugh, and his strange calmness in the at 3:17 when he is grabbed by Batman. He never seems to be at, flinching or moving his body in some way which can be seen at 1:49, This supports the connotation that The Joker is insane.

Batman is dressed in black, which conventionally signifies he is an evil character. However he uses the dark for good, bringing justice from the shadows. This mixes up the usual representations of darkness. Batman is very violent towards the Joker, but his actions are justified because The Joker is a psychopath. The audience is able to forgive Batman because The Joker is not being cooperative, and Batman is in a race against time so he must turn to violence.

The non-diegetic soundtrack at the end of the scene is very dramatic, building big tension, showing just how evil The Joker's plan is. The soundtrack starts at 3:44, as we are about to hear The Joker's scene. This tone gets louder and louder, which makes the scene get tenser and tenser, and really signify the race against time.