Skyfall Opening Scene Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4gdhsVKTcs

In this opening sequence we see a lot of gender representation, most notably in the first few seconds we see Bond fall into the water being pulled down into the darkness by a woman's hand, in this shot we see that the hand is much bigger than him. This is a representation that classically in the bond films although the men have the power they are easily controlled by women and their desires. It suggests that women are the corruption of men, this is shown by him being taken into darkness. Although you could argue that since he is drowning the female hand is actually his saviour from death.

In this shot we see cardboard cut-outs of Daniel Craig in the style of a target, the target has a wound on his right shoulder which is significant to the film as it is the symbol of his struggle for ideal health and is represented through  a new start for Bond. It is interesting that they show him as a target since this is how the villain considerer the character. The target comes towards the viewers making the sequence more interesting, it keeps their minds active as to what is going on as throughout the opening credits each mini scene is foreshadowing future events in the movie. The shot zooms in to the wound on the target, this is like we are seeing inside the hero's story. In the sequence the protagonist (James Bond) is dressed formally in a full suit and tie suggesting that this character has the capacity to make important decisions. In this case the fact that he is wearing a black suit (tuxedo) is typical for the hero (meaning Bond) to wear as he does in most films, it is the stereotypical looks for his character, the black for the protagonist is bold and dominant showing death to his enemies as well as confidence in his decisions. 

Dark and gloomy colours used in this shot are giving a sense that it in the past or a nightmare. The use of a dark blue connotates sadness and upset. The use of knives coming down from the sky shows the masculinity of the trilogy with each knife representing a past James Bond character which we then the shot pan over and zoom in where CGI is used to transform the daggers in to gravestones. These weapons are also naturally symbolic of betrayal deceit. 

The backing track to the scene is non-diegetic characters in the film wouldn't hear it, it is purely for audience reaction. The sound is the Skyfall theme song made especially for the film, the track acts as a narrator to what is going on the the film. This music gets much more intense as the credits come to an end awaking the audience for the rest of the film, it makes them want to see more of the film as it is immediately left on a cliffhanger. Additionally the increase in volume and intensity of the soundtrack suggests a disturbance in equilibrium  since both the opening credits and music is representative

in foreshadowing the events in the film. Visually this is through featuring locations of the film in the opening sequence for example the Chinese dragon foreshadowing his journey to China as well as a scene of a mansion with two deer's outside, this is foreshadowing the finale in the mansion where he was born 'Skyfall'.On the initially seeing this it would not become clear to viewers that these are the locations they visit however it then makes it seem recognisable later on in the film. 

Later in the title sequence we see Bond in an abandoned warehouse shooting down his own shadow, this is symbolic of his mental state throughout the film, fragmented and unsure of what it true. This on the other hands could be interpreted as him shooting his former self, something which he has to do in the film in order to become stronger and be 'reborn' as a better secret agent. 

The use of props is significant also to this film, one example being, the pistol with a silencer is a representation of Bond himself, these weapons add to the masculine theme of the feature.

The use of colour changes towards the end of the credits, this is going with the idea of tension mounting in the storyline. The colour goes from a dark blue to a red symbolising danger, aggression as well as passion. These are all things that fans and typical viewers would expect from a James Bond film. 

The fact that all these scenes are dark and blurred goes back to the idea of them being passed demons that have come back which Bond needs to deal with.