Shot Size/Angle

Shot 1

The close up on James' face when he first spots the dancing girl is from the girl's point of view. This shows us that the girl has instantly caught the attention of James and when he advances towards the camera turning it into extreme close up we are shown that James wants to meet the girl.

By placing the camera at James' eye level and at the girl's point of view, the facial expressions emphasise the reaction of James towards the girl. We can see his head turn rapidly and stare at the girl with a lot of interest. When Bond advances towards the camera, the shot is now an extreme close up which clearly emphasises the facial expression of Bond. This positions the viewer to also take an interest of the relationship created between the two and the viewer wants to see if it develops into more. This exposes the generic romanticism in Bond films but also suggests that there will be a significant emphasis on romance in this film.

This creates the romantic sub-genre of the film and helps us to understand the emotions that Bond is feeling. We can see by the expressions on his face that he is interested in the girl and the viewer is made to empathise for Bond because he is in a difficult situation, whether to continue with his job or to go and impress the girl

Shot 2

We are shown a long shot of Bond falling with a back drop of of the dark night sky and sand falling after him. The long shot is used to establish the strange situation that Bond is in and also because it is showing a sequence of landscapes that Bond is falling in. The long shot shows us this particular backdrop of a night sky with sand falling.

The sand falling creates the idea that Bond's world is being turned upside down and the gravity is making the sand fall with Bond. The viewer is immediately made to consider what has caused this falling. We are made to wonder if this is a dream or it is actually happening. Has Bond been pushed down a hole or has his world mentally turned upside down with the introduction of this girl.

The long shot and the falling sand makes the viewer empathise for Bond because he is going through troubles and neither he or the viewer knows what is causing him to fall.

Colour/Lighting

Lighting and Colour is used in the opening in two different instances. We are shown Bond at night and Bond during the day. We see James at a wide panning shot when he is roaming the desert at day. We can see that during the day, Bond focuses on doing his job and catching the bad guys. We are exposed to colours such as strong oranges and yellows and a deep blue for the sky. The haze of the sand is also significant because it shows us it is set in the desert but also gives the viewer an idea that both Bond and the viewer don't have much idea where they are and that they must look through the haze for guidance.

At night, we are exposed to dark blues and blacks. In the darkness is when we are shown the dancing girl. This suggests to the viewer that it is at night where Bond 'goes out to play'. In most of the scenes at night, Bond is just a silhouette which suggest that at night bond is another man. He is always in full awareness during the day and is very cautious of his actions but at night when the girls come out, he almost forgets his job and chases girls. A classic Bond ploy, work at day, play at night! 

The director's purpose in using colours and lighting in the opening was to show the viewer how Bond changes according to the time of day. It also adds to setting the tone and atmosphere because during the day the brightness of the sun and the haze of the sand exposes the viewer to an environment that they are not familiar with and makes them feel slightly uncomfortable. The element of mystery end eeriness is again introduced, particularly at night where we can't quite see Bond and the actions are hard to pick up. Again, the director is instantly capturing the full attention of the audience and making them think from an early stage of the film.


The use of colour captures an uneasy emotional response of the viewer. Yes, they have been introduced to James, who, hasn't changed from all 20 Bond films before him. He is still the same savvy guy in a tuxedo who hops from girlfriend to girlfriend, but it's the mystery of the unfamiliar setting that the viewer is exposed to in dark colours which doesn't help the viewer to familiarise themselves to the setting and when we are shown the desert in light and bright colours we are not shown a normal desert, we are shown an aminated desert. The semi naked dancing girls are back in Bond intros which we haven't seen in a long time. Although we are shown them in the darkness mostly, this tells us that the film has a bigger influence on romance than ever before in Bond films.

Music

Tracks Used


"James Bond Theme" 
Written by Monty Norman
Arranged by John Barry
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii1tc493bZM


 The use of the James Bond Theme at the start of the opening immediately strikes the viewer with powerful brass which creates the action genre and sets the mysterious tone. By using this familiar track , the director is trying to get the viewer's attention and I think for most people hearing the James Bond Theme at the start of the new movie gets them somewhat excited and all their attention is at the screen. By setting a mysterious tone, the viewer is instantly made to think and analyse what is happening which, again, captures the full attention of the viewer.


"Another Way To Die"
Vocals by Alicia Keys and Jack White
Produced by Jack White
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii1tc493bZM


Another Way to Die kicks in when we are introduced to James. The tone of the music is somewhat cool and savvy with powerful vocals and a smooth rhythm which introduces the viewer to James who is represented as a cool and very likable person. The use of piano introduces the reader to the romantic genre of the story. The use of the track introduces us to both genre tone and also introduces us to the character. It doesn't so much relate to the setting because i think the director tried to use visual effects to introduce the setting and general plot.


Title opening music has always been a significant part of Bond openings. This music is quit generic to most of the other films in the series, I think the only difference is this music is a bit more of a pop genre. Perhaps the director is trying to strengthen Bond as a character and the savvy tone of this song really shows us how the director is trying to immediately introduce us to Bond and the viewer is instantly positioned to make an emotional likable connection to him. People also like to see that he lives on the edge and the lyrics 'another way to die' seems like dicing with danger is standard issue for Bond.

Genre/Atmosphere Shot by Shot

The establishing shot of a silhouette of James in the centre of a sun with a black background sets an instant mood of mystery because we cannot actually see the face of James. The shot also contains some visual editing because there is also heat waves which shows us, as well as the sun, that it is set in a very hot place. The camera then zooms into james' face which is half in shadows which suggest that there are two sides to him. We are then zoomed out to a mid shot of James drawing a gun which introduces us to the action genre and he then fires a shot which with visual editing turns into a dust which introduces us to the desert setting. At this point the lighting is very dark which adds to the mysterious mood.

The 007 music also sets the mood because the trumpets and common melody, automatically make people relate to James Bond, The International Man of Mystery. We then see a tracking shot of james' bullet which travels through the desert and we are shown hazes of dust in a barren desert. The use of colours such as blue and black create a mood of suspense, darkness and also suspicion with James all alone in a dark desert firing bullets. We are made to wonder what to expect and are instantly made to think.

The scene then turns to daylight where we are still shown birds eye view shots and strange camera angles and transitions, still of James with a drawn gun on his own roaming the desert. The colours now are all orange and bright which shows us the heat of the desert and also makes us feel uncomfortable with a setting that we are not used to. We feel like we should know what is happening but we don't, so we watch on. Immediately the director is capturing our attention, building to the climax of a small but tense opening. A close up of james' face shows him spotting something. We wonder what it could be.

The scene turns to night again with blue and dark colours. We are shown a huge, larger than life female figure. The genre now turns to romance, which is a big part of Bond films. He solves the crimes with the help of a girl then dumps the girl. Bond takes a liking to the girl who appears to have minimal clothing on and is trying to attract him. The girl seems to sneak up on Bond and then we are shown bond falling. We wonder why he is falling and the mysterious mood is continued to be built.

We are then shown a montage with mysterious camera angles and shots of about 30 of the girls and then it cuts to about the same number of bonds falling. Again, this is very mysterious and the viewer is still made to think very hard. James is still falling and then he, and his gun falls through a giant eye. This suggests to us that whoever made him fall is watching all the actions he is doing alone in the desert. Perhaps this person has relations with the girl? It is a mystery. We are then shown Bond land in sand  and stand up and fires a shot which explodes, resembling an atomic bomb mushroom cloud. Looking at this explosion at the whole of the film, the film has a lot to do with the use of nuclear power and weapons and through this explosion the viewer is introduced to the idea of nuclear materials. The shot then fades out and the opening has finished.

The music "Another Way To Die" adds to the mystery and also the strong Alicia Keys Vocals and fast paced tempo shows us the action genre and the use of piano resembles the slight touch of romance used.

This opening, compared to other Bond openings has a great emphasis on setting. I think the director has tried to emphasise the setting because this is a very different setting to most other Bond films which are generally set in cities. In other Bond openings, such as Casino Royale, there is an emphasis on introducing the viewer to plot but here we are exposed to the setting and a slight part of introducing the character

Genre/Atmosphere

The tone of the opening is setting the viewer up for a lot of action. It is quite fast paced and there are is a lot of quick short shots flashing out at the viewer. The music adds to the tone because the song (another way to die by Alicia Keys and Jack White) includes a lot of brass which adds the the classic 007 tune and also adds to the likability of James and how the viewer is positioned to see him as a cool character.


The mood of the opening is cool and sophisticated. The mood of the opening adds to the introduction of James, who, to any movie buff, needs no introduction. We are also shown the haze of a desert which hints the viewer to assume that the film is going to be set in the desert and we are also shown the desert at night and normally at night is when we are shown the girls which shows the viewer the mood at night where James goes "out to play" so to speak.


The tone and mood is created with the music which, again, has a lot of brass music which is kind of laid back cool and sophisticated and the classic 0007 tune which highlights the secrecy of Bond. The dust haze effects and the lighting shows us both the mood of night time and hints us to the setting.

The Final Decision!

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2011/01/24/quantum-of-solace/
I have decided to use Quantum of Solace for my close reading assessment on the basis of it being a movie on a series so I can comment against other openings in the series. The use of colour in the opening is also quite significant to set both the tone and the setting of the film.

The opening shows Daniel Craig as James Bond in a desert like setting. He is roaming the desert surrounded with intricate effects . We are also introduced to a female figure who Bond seems to take a liking to (surprise, surprise!). Throughghout the opening Bond fires many shots and the sand of the desert does some very interesting things such as sinking and exploding.

This opening fits into the film as a whole because it is in the desert and the rest of the movie is basically set in the desert and it shows us the girl who Bond attracts and is attracted to. It also shows a bit of action with bond firing shots which he does in the film.

The film as a whole appeals to me because I love a good James Bond movie and action movies. I also enjoyed the use of editing and visual effects in the opening.