James Bond- Skyfall
Skyfall is the 23rd James Bond film produced by Eon Productions and released in 2012. It features Daniel Craig in his third performance as James Bond, and Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the film's villain. It was directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan, and features an Academy Award-winning theme, sung by Adele. It was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Columbia Pictures.
To open the scene, the directors adopt a few seconds of the James Bond theme song, therefore suggesting to the audience that Bond is present in the room. Sam Mendes uses low lighting through the use of mise-en-scene, to make Bonds figure seem ambiguous. This is also done via a long-shot down a hallway, that's taken through a blurred lens. This is effective because it draws interest and attention to the main character. One typical convention of an action thriller is low key lighting as it makes the audience feel on edge, which is something that the genre aims for. As Bond walks closer towards the camera, Mendes uses the mise-en-scene once again by brightening the lighting that hits the characters face. This suggests to the audience that Bond is someone of significance, and the audience should pay attention to him.
Instead of using sound to build tension, Mendes takes advantage of the complete silence, this creates suspense as the audience would be hesitantly waiting for a sudden burst of sound to occur. Another typical convention of an action thriller I saw in the first scene was the employment of a close-up shot that was focused on Bonds' face, this is used to allow the audience to see the situation from the perspective of the character, which makes them feel as though they are on the scene, and it encourages the audience to empathise with the character.
Mendes also uses mise-en-scene through the costume of the character. Bond is dressed in a smart, tailored suit, therefore implying he is someone of significance. It could also suggest that he is strong and masculine and will win against any bad guy, this is typical within an action thriller. As the scene continues, Mendes adopts a gun as a prop that Bond uses to search the dark building. This is effective because it causes tension, due to it implying Bond could walk into danger at any given time. It's also unusual for the audience to have easy access or be familiar with guns, due to the strict laws in the UK, therefore making this an exciting prop that makes Bond look increasingly masculine and aspirational. Guns are also a typical prop used within action thrillers as they promote violence, fights and crimes, all of which excite the audience and bring chaos to the scene.
As Bond walks towards a doorway, there is a sense of enigma due to it being a mystery as to what is behind the door. Mendes adopts a hand-held camera shot to makes the audience feel as if they are on the mission with Bond, this is effective as it brings the action thriller to life. Similarly to the start of the video, Mendes uses dim lighting to bring the sense that something bad is behind the door. As bond enters the room there is still complete silence, Mendes employs a mid-shot to show the audience the dead bodies that are lying on the floor. This could be an example of the mise-en-scene as the bodies are used as props to subliminally tell bring an element of suspense, surprise and anxiety, all of which are key characteristics of the action thriller genre.
As the character scans the room for signs of what happened before he arrived, Bond picks up a laptop. He is instructed to see if the hard drive is still intact, this is a common characteristic of the action thriller genre as technology is usually associated with distinguishing the good guys from the bad. It's a common convention of an action thriller for the bad guys to get a hold of a piece of information that they are not supposed to have, and it is up to the good guys to retrieve it. Within this scene, camera shots seem to be less significant and mainly focus on showing Bonds' surroundings to the audience, however, this makes them feel part of the mission. As Bond walks out of the building, fast pace music through non-diegetic sound is adopted to exemplify Bonds chaotic surroundings as he sets off to his next mission, this brings excitement to the audience.
From analysing this opening scene, I have found that all aspects of the mise-en-scene (props, lighting and costume) play important roles in the building suspense, surprise and anxiety for the audience. Additionally, I have also found that neglecting to use sound is often more effective than fast pace music. This is because it builds the tension due to the audience not knowing when something is going to happen, therefore making it a useful element of surprise.
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