Casino Royale

Casino Royale

After watching the opening sequence above showing the titles to the film, it is easy to establish the genre of the film as an action/crime thriller due to the typical conventions such as weapons, blood and gambling being crime related and the shooting scenes that are editing onto the sequence show action and as this is a sequial to previous James Bond movies, the audience have the pragmatic understanding that the films fit into this genre.

The beginning of the title sequence starts with a long shot of James Bond who is easy to recognise due to previous Bond films and he is also the first character we see exaggerating his importance in the film as the main character. His costume suggests he is of a high status as he is wearing a sophisticated black suit with a white shirt and bow tie, showing his sophistication. He is holding a gun which is a typical convention for action thrillers and also relates to crime as it is a weapon. The editing which follows this shot is an old fashioned technique called an iris in, where the images around the shot of Bond, begin to spiral in on him and represent a gun barrel which are typical to the James Bond movies. As the iris in takes place, it emphasises Bond's independence and isolation as he is alone on the shot and the idea of a gun barrel getting closer to him suggests he is a target to others involved in crime. As Bond fires the gun, a non-diegetic sound effect is used of a gun shot to emphasise the power and danger of the shot.

 

The editing which then follows is the image of blood trickling down the screen, suggesting Bond's opponent was shot by him which also tells us he is professional at using weapens and targeting the correct people, showing his high status in the film. The music in the clip fades in and begins to play as this edit takes place and it is a dramatic style of non-diegetic music which fits in well with the idea of action thriller. The music continues throughout the title sequence and builds tension as the sequence progresses, the song used is a version of 'You Know My Name' performed and co-produced by Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave fame, and was arranged with David Arnold's orchestration especially for this title sequence.

 

As the blood continues to wipe down the screen, details of the production company fade in on top of the edit in a clear white font which is easy to read. The shot above shows this happening, along with the use of editing approaching the shot by using the theme of casinos and cards, the shapes of the hearts off the cards begin to spiral round the information. These shapes continue to spiral and more are added such as spades from playing cards which are typical conventions to a casino, fitting in with the title of the thriller well. The next text we are presented with is the main characters actors name, 'Daniel Craig' showing his importance and success as his name is shown before the title of the movie.

The colour scheme of the shots are red and black which suggests danger as red is usually associated with blood and black is usually associated with the antagonist of a thriller. The editing continues for the next few shots with the playing card symbols spiraling round key information on the film, until it gets to the main title shot.


 After the shot above, the colour scheme changes to a more colourful scheme however still keeps the red and black continuous throughout. The editing continues on the screen through a pan shot of special effects which were produced through a computer software. Bond appears on screen again and is within the special effects so there is contrast on reality and computer. A close up shot is used to show Bond's hand as he places a 'bullet' in the shape of a spade into a gun and this then changes into a mid shot of Bond sat casually showing his familiarity with the weapon.

The background shot represents the theme of the film as it is a Jack which is usually seen on a playing card, which are used in casinos. Bond is shown in a long shot using a gun representing the film as a crime and action thriller movie. There are then many shots of guns firing arrows or darts across the screen in slow motion and one hits a person and they dissolve into pieces. The opening sequence then continues with animated action scenes between bond and another person in a sophisticated suit like Bond suggesting his importance too. Every person that Bond fights in the sequence of action, dissolves showing his power and destruction to others.

The editing continues to combine the conventions of the genres casino and crime by having targets that are associated with guns and shooting, slowly spiral and fade into casino roulette wheels. Low angle, pan shots are used to show the opponents of Bond lying on the floor injured or dead with the symbold of playing cards stuck in them representing bullets or perhaps daggers.

The action continues and shows Bond's skills in the sequence as he avoids bullets and danger suggesting he is not easily defeated. At the end the graphics in the background continue through editing and the music begins to slow down in pace as we see a silohette of Bond walking in slow motion towards the camera, until we are presented with a close up of Daniel Craig's face showing little facial expression although looking very powerful and serious. The opening sequence finishes through the use of a fade as sections of Bond's face turn to black and then the whole shot fades to black as the music comes to a dramatic end with upbeat drums and then silence.

Tension is created throughout this opening sequence, through the use of slow motion on the action and editing as it builds up the adreniline of the fight scenes and the audience are left in suspense. The music also builds tension as it is of a similar pace throughout the sequence until the end where it gets faster and louder with more drum beats, then as we are presented with a close up of James Bond, the music fades to silence which has a powerful effect on the audience and leaves them curious as to what will happen in the rest of the film.

Titles in the sequence

Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Productions LTD. presents

Daniel Craig

Ian Fleming's James Bond 007

Casino Royale

Starring Eva Green

Mads Mikkelsen

Giancarlo Giannini

Caterina Murino

Simon Abkarian

Isaach De Bankole

Jesper Christensen

Ivana Milicevic

Tobias Menzies

Claudio Santamaria

Free running stunts by Sebastien Foucan

with Jeffrey Wright

and Judi Dench as M

Associate Producer Andrew Noakes

Production Executive David Pope

Camera Operator Rodger Pearce

Second Unit Assistant Director Terry Madden

Script supervisor Jean Bourne

Publicity and marketing Anne Bennett

Promotors Keith Snelgrove

Assistant producer David G.Wilson

Sound recordist Chris Munro

Electrical supervisor Eddie Knight

Stills photographer Jay Maidment

Makeup supervisor Paul Engelen

Hairdressing supervisor Christine Blundell

Wardrobe supervisor Dan Grace

Visual effects and miniture supervisor Steve Begg

Supervising art director Simon Lamont

Property Master Ty Teiger

Construction manager Stephen Bohan

Post production supervisor Michael Solinger

Unit production manager Jeremy Johns

Second unit production manager Terry Bamber

First assistant director Bruce Moriarty

Casting Debbie McWilliams

Stunt coordinator Gary Powell

Special effects and miniature effects supervisor Chris Corbould

Main title designed by Daniel Kleinman

Second unit director Alexander Witt

Costume designer Lindy Hemming

Editor Stuart Baird A.C.E

Director of photography Phil Meheus B.S.C

Production designer Peter Lamont

Music by David Arnold

'You Know My Name' performed by Chris Cornell written and produced by Chris Cornell and David Arnold

Executive producers Anthony Waye and Callum McDougall

Based on the novel by Ian Flemming

Screenplay by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade and Paul Haggis

Produced by Michael G.Wilson and Barrbara Broccoli

Directed by Martin Campbell

These titles are presented in the colour white to enable that they stand out on the title sequence background and the majority of them entrance through a transition such as fade in and exit through a fade out. The fonts are simple to read and are of a small size apart from the ones at the start before Casino Royale, where they are larger to express their importance.