Sunday 28 March 2010

Opening sequence analysis - Casino Royale




Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

The establishing shot is a long shot of a building, with a car stopping outside, a subtitle reveals that this location is in Prague, Czech Republic. The entire pre-title scene is shot in black and white, this is representative of the the hostile atmosphere between the two characters. When the two characters are talking, shot reverse shot is used frequently. A number of mid shots and close ups are used during the assassination scene, to create a sense of fast paced action.


Sound

The pre-title scenes use a mixture of diegetic and and non-diegetic sound. With strings  added over the scenes of dialogue, to add to the tension and hostility between the two characters already evident from the dialogue. The strings are played in a legato style, to give the impression that the tension is building towards a moment of action. During the assassination scene, brass instruments are added, these are played in a staccato style, to represent the fast paced action. 

Editing

Cuts are used frequently. In the scenes of dialogue the camera alternates between the speaking characters frequently, shot reverse shot. A cut is used to move to the assassination scene, cuts are fast paced and frequent during this scene, this keeps the action fast paced, which in turn shows that James Bond feels no emotion towards killing the contact.

Mise en Scene

Both characters in the scenes of dialogue are well dressed, which suggests high status within MI6. Areas of the office are disorganised, which suggests that the agent Bond has to kill is unreliable.


Characters

Bond is shown in detail, both speaking and in action. The agent Bond has to kill is also shown in a fair amount of detail, he is shown to be unreliable in both the dialogue and mise en scene.

Locations

Prague, Czech Republic. Bond assassinates “The contact” in a public toilet.


Narrative/Plot

The plot from the pre-title sequence shows Bond gaining his “00 status” by carying out two assassinations.


Visual Style

Using no colour as a visual effect is not often used in mainstream cinema today, so in that sense, the visual style is fairly retrospective. 

Genre

Action/Thriller

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