By Iman.K.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmqrtbEuhNQ&feature=related

Introduction…• Die Another Day (2002) was directed by Lee Tamahori, and is the

twentieth spy film in the James Bond series. • The film received mixed reviews. Some critics praised Lee

Tamahori's work on the film, while others claimed the plot was damaged by excessive use of CGI (computer generated imagery). Regardless, it was the highest-grossing James Bond film up to that time.

• ‘The movie departs from the usual Bond formula in several ways. Die Another Day begins with an action set-piece which, instead of a comic ending, ends with Bond captured by the North Korean army, after which he is tortured for fourteen months, depicted in a stylized manner through the title sequence.’ – Source http://jamesbond.wikia.com/wiki/Die_Another_Day

How does the title sequence introduce narrative???

• The title sequence introduces the narrative through a series of short, separated clips, that outline what is to come late on in the film without giving away how or why. The most relevant of these clips being the repetitive images of scorpions whish suggest a poison or death threat, that possibly would not be suspected immediately (the scorpions small size could be deceiving, the same way the enemy of this bond film is a woman), Bond being held against his will having his head pulled out of water showing that he is taken captive and loses control – he seems unable to fight back in this clip which contrasts the generic belief that and can ‘overcome anything’, and a close up of female legs walking calmly in thick, black, leather boots, surrounded by the scorpions.

• The shot of ‘fiery women’ also gives away much of the narrative, suggesting that women play a dangerous role in the film. This is made clear in the tilt down shot that begins at Bond’s chained wrists above his head to the shot of him being caressed by his captor a woman, who becomes made of the same fiery imagery as the women from the previous shot, and she holds up a scorpion.

• This shot is extremely significant, as it encompasses elements of all the shots we’d seen previously – the woman, bond restrained, and the scorpions, so that we can see how they relate to each other.

• Later more of the narrative is revealed when we see a woman made of ice melting, and as we zoom into the droplets of water we see the reflection of bond attempting to break free, and then a few shots later we see the cuffs bond was earlier being held in, empty, suggesting to the audience his escape, again not revealing, how, followed by clips of it raining on the fiery dancing female figures we now associate with the enemy.

How does the sequence introduce character???

• The title sequence introduces character using a variety of different elements. • Cinematography is extremely relevant when introducing the female character, starting with an

eye-level close up shot of her boots as she walks, suggesting power and control, as it gives the idea that you cannot look her in the eye, as she demands a certain amount of respect from all those she comes into contact with, that she is not threatened by.

• The mise-en-scene in this clip is also extremely relevent as the idea that she can walk comfortably around scorpions also shows she has control of the situation she is in, and that she does not run from danger, or threats.

• Her character is also introduced to us through the edited features of the piece such as the fiery bodies of dancing women, that suggest that the women in the film will represent some kind of danger to Bond made clear when we see him restrained by the hand cuffs with her taunting and caressing him and holding a scorpion to his face, during which shot the image changes between the ‘real’ them an animated version with her made to look as though she is made from the same substance as the dancing female bodies from the previous shot.

• The sound also plays a strong role in introducing her character at this point as the soundtrack playing has the spoken lyrics ‘Sigmund Freud, analyse this, analyse this, analyse this, this, this, this, this…’ almost as though these were the taunting words of the character herself trying to convey that she has no interest with conforming to the norm, or the safe, or what other people understand, and also suggesting her mind works differently from that of a ‘generic’ human being. Another relevant lyric ‘I’m gonna avoid the cliché’ reiterates this point.

How does the title sequence establish location???

• As there is no set establishing shot , or even exposing long shot of the surroundings, we know nothing about the location of any part of the film, except for where Bond is held captive/the woman’s domain.

• Even this we are shown extremely little of apart from, a shot of a wet concrete floor and concrete walls, suggesting they are being held below ground somewhere which does not receive any attention, made clear from the lack of furnishings.

• We do however get the impression that it is a large space with many separate rooms and corridors as it’s a corridor we first see the boots in, and later we are shown shots of a character heating a metal bar in one room, and towards the end we are shown a shot of Bond, alone and presumably captive in another room, all of which are made from the same damp concrete with little lighting, re-enforcing the idea that they are being held below ground.

How does the sequence capture the audiences attention – Establish tone/atmosphere???

• The tone and atmosphere of the scene are set by many things. • Firstly, the mise-en-scene has a great impact throughout the entire sequence. The

dim light, and grimy, dank location all effected the atmosphere all give the impression from the start, that this would not be a glamorous film, and contributed towards the feeling of danger and a threat to the safety of the protagonist (in this case Bond).

• The sound also had a large impact on the initial tone and over all atmosphere of the title sequence, as at the beginning of the soundtrack the string instruments and clapping beat begin to build the tension in the opening sequence, but then as the lyrics are introduced, it changes to a more hypnotic sound, so generic and repetitive that the audience pays little attention to anything but the few lines that differ in the soundtrack, and are therefore more focused on the imagery shown on the screen.

• The editing adds to the atmosphere as the length of time and speed at which we see each clip affects how much the audience reads into what they see, and means that different clips have different effects, some stronger and others less of an effect.

How does the sequence use titles, and how are they integrated with the footage???

• The sequence doesn’t use the titles for any particular effect, or in any particularly attention grabbing way, but instead simply fades them in and either cuts them out with a cut between clips, or fades them out again.

• They do however affect the viewing as they are always next to a key part of the clip, not over it, and in a way almost centre the audiences attention to the correct part of the screen…

Fin