Portfolio Project: Opener Research

Source: outoflives.net & MGM Pictures

 As my media class starts our next project, creating a 2 minute film opening with a title sequence, I've been tasked with doing my own research on film openings for various pictures and how they build the world and characters for what is to come in the rest of the film. My team and I have decided to create a sick spy crime fiction opener so I'll be analyzing some films within that genre such as....

JAMES BOND: Casino Royale (2006)

Source: MGM Pictures

This opening begins the story of the newest version of James Bond, played by Daniel Craig. It is an homage to the original Casino Royale film, calling back to the old days of noir films with its cinematography (static and framing characters using their surroundings), the sharp low key lighting which highlights the characters and gives them a dramatic look, and most importantly the black and white coloring. We are considering having a meeting between the main villain and main character of our story be our opener, so there's a lot of things we can learn from this scene. 

 

   

Source: MGM Pictures

The angular cinematography and framing of the characters establishes a feeling of suspense and focuses your eyes instantly to the character on screen while giving context to the setting. There's not a lot of moving parts in each shot which gives the cinematographer the ability to set up each one its own individual art piece. There are also a few tracking shots which are smooth (as opposed to handheld) to not break the sinister mood present. The lighting as well is very focused and sharp, consistently leaving faces half lit as to make the characters feel untrustworthy and mysterious. These two techniques will definitely help define our film as a modern noir and bring the same mysterious vibes as this scene from Casino Royale. 

Source: MGM Pictures

There is also a fight scene which veers from the noir style of the interrogation sequence. It serves as a flashback to Bond killing a contact who works for the man whom he is meeting with. The camera work leans more towards a modern action film with lots of handheld motion following the two characters fighting in a bathroom. The lighting is much different from the previous scene as well, including the fluorescent overhead lights featured in the public bathroom. 

Overall, even though this opener is in black and white, the lighting and cinematography techniques at play will help us greatly with our project.

BULLET TRAIN (2022)

Source: Sony Pictures 

The opening for Bullet Train is significantly different than the one from James Bond yet still falls under the umbrella of spy crime fiction. The extra element at play here is the comedy. The banter between some of the characters and situational humor is something that we are definitely going to incorporate into our project. The cinematography and lighting in this film is much different from the James Bond film as it takes place in urban Japan where multicolored neon lights line the street and the train. Most of the shots are on a dolly or handheld, tracking characters as they walk through the train which follows the norms of an action film.

  

This film's comedy will be a great inspiration for us when writing our script and we may even utilize similar graphics used in the film that introduce the main players of the story.

JAMES BOND: Spectre

Source: MGM Pictures

Spectre's opening sequence is so iconic as the entire four minute scene is a oner, tracking Bond as he goes from a Day of the Dead festival on the ground all the way through a hotel to the rooftops where he then prepares to take down an enemy who he sees through the window of a neighboring building. This sequence is so elaborate and well planned as it is able to introduce us to the setting properly then show Bond's process of how he sneaks into the building to get to where he needs to be. It is very interesting, however, as the camera is, at different points, 20 feet in the air, eye level on the ground with Bond, inside, following him into an elevator, then goes through a window to follow Bond again, before moving to an overhead shot and lowering to follow Bond in an over the shoulder shot. This is such an impressive opening and sets a very adventurous tone for the film. 

One thing I will also be borrowing from the Bond films is the big band jazz that makes up the score. I want to either find (through my school's subscription to Epidemic Sound) or create (on the digital audio workspace Logic Pro) a track that embodies the same high class and mysterious vibes that is often associated with James Bond or any spy film of a similar caliber.