Title Sequence Analysis.

Skyfall Title Sequence Analysis.

Skyfall, latest instalment of the James Bond franchise is an action thriller and is clearly seen through the title sequence.

In the opening we can see a long shot we can a man falling deep into the water as the camera tracks along with him until we can see a clear shot of his face.

This then fades to and from black and cuts to a close up of somebody else grabbing his hand and pulling him. But then quickly cuts to an extreme long shot of Daniel Craig getting pulled down by a really big hand which makes the audience feel like there is automatically something strange occurring and creates tension and uncertainty. This happens in-sync with the music to make it more visually appealing to watch. In addition to this, Daniel Craig’s name is placed in the middle of the screen to show their importance in the film, the font is also in white which compliments the surroundings.

That shot then cuts to a POV shot of Daniel Craig’s legs as he sinks deeper into the ocean. There is also a vignette affect around the edges of the screen to make the viewer focus on the middle of the screen and focus on the fact he is sinking, which creates further tension even in the opening sequence.

This then cuts to a high angle extreme long shot of Daniel Craig being sucked into what looks like a hole at the bottom of the ocean. As we are unable to see exactly what it is creates further uncertainty and makes you more intrigued to watch more of the film. The colour blue represents seriousness and shows the audience that the genre of the film is going to be some sort of action thriller rather than a comedy.

The next shot is then of a wooden cut out target of James Bond wearing his typical, traditional suit. However, he has a wound on his right shoulder which is the first time another colour except blue, black or white has been used within the title sequence. Red is a very emotionally intense colour. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. It has very high visibility, which is why stop signs are usually painted red. Red is used to indicate courage which is what you’re supposed to think of when you see James Bond.

This then cuts to an over the shoulder shot of a woman’s head turned towards the light with the majority of her face been covered by the shadows which indicates suspicion and mystery. Along with the music and powerful voice of Adele again indicates that the film had an action genre.

In the next shot we can establish more of the ocean and can see guns and knives showing us that the film will, at some point, have death in it. Also, as the colours are dark and mysterious, we can see a light in the middle of the screen which could imply that there is still hope and could be interpreted as James Bond being able to live on. The camera then keeps tracking on through the depths of the ocean and we can later see gravestones appear also connoting death. However, with them being at the bottom of the ocean could indicate that they have been forgotten about and that they are unimportant.

The location then changes to a red tinted forest area as we get a close up of a branch from a tree. And we can also see a mysterious dark figure emerge in the middle of the screen, creating mystery and suspicion as to what it could possibly be. There is also a water affect still on the screen however the water would have to be red? The director would want you to think about that then make you come to the conclusion that it could possibly be blood, which connotes danger. Also, the contrast between black and red which connotes anger and death, which is what the typical James Bond film is about.

We then get a camera zooming into a suspicous looking eye wth a pale red tint on the screen, giving off an unnatural effect, which then opens up into another shot implying that is what he is potentially thinking about. This shot happens to be of James Bond in what looks to be an abandoned building with dust and dirt along the ground. Bond then quickly reacts to something and fires his gun, however, we are unable to see exactly what he is looking at.

This then fades to a shot of what looks to be the ocean with a thick orangey/red coloured thick liquid making the audicence very confused as to what it is. This liquid then begins to form a skull in the middle of the screen making the audience scared as usually skulls are symbols of death.

This then cuts to a mid shot of a woman holding and pointing a gun at the camera with the camera zooming into the barrel of the gun. The camera then appears to go inside of the barrel and open up like an iris into a place which has obviously been set on fire due to the flames burning on the ground. The flames then appear to be the

wooden cut out targets of James Bond featured in the beginnig of the title sequence implying that James Bond could potentially die within the film, or that somebody is out to get him.

Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction and sucsess which is not what is happening here as we can see somebody being set on fire, giving off  juxture position.

The next shot then transitions to a silhouette figure in a black and white evnironment. Silhouettes simplify the image, you're not distracted by details and it makes you concentrate on what is happening on the screen which should in turn allow you feel the moment and feel like you’re there. There is also low key lighting used and produces sharp contrasts of light and dark areas which creates shaddows which are commonly used in thrillers. Again in the next shot of the sequence, we can see James Bond’s figure outlined in a hall of mirrors, usually used to diorientate and confuse people.

In following medium close-up shot we can see a high key lighting and chiaroscuro used, however, the colours used are very minimal and dull like the greys, whites and black besides the red wound in the right side of his chest, which is conviniently placed in the middle of the screen to make the audience see it very clearly. In the very last shot we can see the names of the producers and directrors as the camera dollys-in towards Daniel Craig’s eye. The names are left until the very end as they are the most important in making the film. This is done so their name stands out from the rest.