James Bond:
~Directed by Sam Mendes
One of the most famous Spy films in the world, the James Bond movie production has years of experience with hooking an audience within the first few minutes. A lot of the stereotypes associated with Spies originate from the franchise itself! Casino Royale- black and white, tension building; a murder intercut throughout. Quantum of Solace- Crazy car chases through a city! I have chosen the James Bond: Skyfall opening. With action, mystery and classic spy drama this opening is one that could really help my partner and I with the production and filming of our 2 minute opening.
The beginning logos were simple, no non-diegetic sound, no fancy transitions (as can be seen in Kingsman). Each logo was brutally cut together, one after the other. The screen cuts to black after each one, slowing down the pace and spacing the opening apart. The 2nd logo even slowly fades to black, adding tension and the want to watch more.
Lighting and Mise-En-Scene are the biggest contributors to the Skyfall opening, adding to the overall feel and atmosphere of the film.
A long shot creates the films establishing shot of a simple corridor. As I said above the Mise-En-Scene works perfectly throughout this scene. Take this still:
The corridor itself is perfectly designed to blend in. It is dark, muddy brown and not attractive. Nothing is in the corridor that could possibly distract the audience from James Bond- he has their complete attention. As is very well displayed in the still, the camera is unfocused on everything in the shot. Adding a sense of mystery with the audience; where is he? What is he doing there? As you can see there is a single back light- the window. This casts reflections and shadows on everything, again adding mystery, but also a sense of tension. It doesn’t seem to be an inviting place for someone to visit. I think this was such an interesting way to introduce Bond into the film, everything about it reflects his character; a man hiding in the dark, strong and independent.
Non-diegetic sound plays a huge part in James Bond and always has done. As soon as Bond steps into shot, the trumpet theme plays for a split second; telling the audience that this ‘shadow of a man’ is James Bond. The soundtrack can identify him immediately.
Bond proceeds to walk up the corridor and sound kicks in. Diegetic sound echoes out in the form of his footsteps along the bare wooden floor; non-diegetic sound fades in with violins and high pitched instruments to create tension and suspense. Bond is given a sense of place and importance. Adding all this together with the Mise-En-Scene leaves a mysteriously scary aspect to the film, with this ominous figure in a dark, silent corridor.
This particular aspect of diegetic sound is something my partner and I need to take into consideration. We will be thinking about re-creating sounds, to emphasize movement and actions carried out by characters.
Walking up the corridor-Bond steps into a beam of light, in a close up, emphasizing his eyes and hard gaze. He is the centre of attention, the main character- everything around him is hazy, blurred; almost manually making the audience focus on only him.
The moment he lifts his gun marks the change in tempo and feel of the film. The camera switches to an over the shoulder shot; revealing what he is looking at. A door stands ajar with a single light present inside the room on the other side. This hints that someone is/ was inside to turn the light on in the first place. This is an easy ploy to hook the audience so they ask themselves questions such as- why is the light on? Is someone in there? Is he in danger?
A tracking shot takes him closer to the door, non-diegetic sound is adding to the suspense and inevitable action about to commence. The violins get louder and his footsteps become more pronounced, showing his caution to enter the situation behind the door. A mid- shot is used to finally show James Bond in his full- a suit, sparkling watch, very smart, professional, simple and compact hand held gun. These little details already indicate his occupation and character.
Non-diegetic sound starts to become up beat; indicating the beginning of action and building of tension. An eye-line match is used for a point of view shot, showing the audience what has taken place. Lighting again plays a key part in casting shadows on the man’s face and body (One single lamp). He is also dressed in a suit, Mise-En-Scene is used to try and get the audience to make a link between Bond and this man.
Using the point of view shot, Bond looks at the other agent. The room is dark and aesthetically boring, the director doesn’t want the audiences’ eye to wonder. The bright lighting suggests that the man should be the key focus
The director uses a pan to speed up Bond’s movement. There is then an abrupt cut to a wide shot revealing the rest of the room.
The lamp is knocked over- a subconscious link to a possible fight. The draws on the bottom right are opened unevenly; maybe someone was looking for something? The shuttered windows are slightly closed casting shadows everywhere; reflecting a sense of mystery. Lighting is used to emphasize the man in the chair. He also wears a suit. It then quick cuts to this shot:
Bond and the man in the background are individually highlighted by lighting, this is again emphasized by the lack of detail in the room and shadows cast over everything else. This is another example where the director has insured that the audience are focusing on the correct points. There is then an eye line match to the laptop.
Eye line shots are used throughout this scene as Bond picks up the laptop and checks underneath it for a hard drive (which is missing). In the wide shot of him picking up the laptop, he is the only thing moving in the room- the focus is again on him. Everything else, including the man in the chair, is still; Bond’s movements seem more important. Non-diegetic sound starts to increase in tempo as the problem starts to unfold.
A mid-shot of Ronson (The guy in the chair) reveals his gunshot wound; the lighting is hazy and dim with the occasional beam of light hitting random places. This sets a mood of sadness and tension. Bond proceeds to lethargically stop helping Ronson and walks to the door, all using a mix of tracking and eye-line match shots. As Bond gets the door, the original lighting of the film is restored, almost pulling the opening into a full circle again. The dark lighting could indicate the the end of this dramatic opening and as Bond enters the new atmosphere light shocks the audience- indicating the moving on of the scene.
Having analysed this scene there are a two things that run throughout. 1) Eye-line match; regularly used to show the audience new pieces of information. There is going to be a scene in my film opening that revolves around a man drinking some coffee- to pass the time. And eye-line match could be used for the jump cut of the coffee slowly being drunk.
2) Sound; famously one of the best qualities of James Bond. From comparing Kingsman with Skyfall, I can gather that violins are always used to indicate upcoming action- which I will need to take into consideration for my opening. The Bond franchise also seamlessly tells the audience where they are via non-diegetic sound. For example, at the end of the clip Bond steps into what appears to be Indian traffic and very Indian music starts to play over the action- telling the audience that the setting is now India. A clever technique from the sound department.
