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.
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.
This is good but try to avoid being vague: wherever possible, be more specific and explain what you mean (what is the director making the audience think about with colour? why?). Add a few more ideas (look at my blog post on the analyse aspect) and then move onto your other two film techniques. Think about that Everything is a Remix clip-- what number in the sequence of Bond films is this one? What number actor is playing James Bond? How is this different and why? Is it still familiar? Why?
ReplyDelete