Film Opening Analysis - Quantum Of Solace

James Bond film opening analysis

The film starts with very quiet music while the mis-en-scene depicts an establishing shot of a mountain which zooms in quickly as if the camera is flying above the sea. This shot cuts to parts of a fancy car in a shot reverse shot sequence, which can only be visible every now and then when the light shines on it. This creates a mysterious atmosphere for the audience. The music quickly gets a lot louder, and as it does, the car begins speeding and is now clearly visible as it is out in the open. This will make the audience feel suspense. The shots are very quick and an there is a lot of sudden camera movement in order to make the audience feel like they are in this position, and to make the action seem more realistic. One example of this is when the camera is inside of the car, and is vigorously shaken about when the car crashes into the wall. This would probably be what the audience would see if they were in that car, so it is getting them involved and feeling like they're part of the experience which they may find enjoyable.

The fast pace, non-diagetic music begins again, and gets louder and more tense. It gets faster when the car is crashing into things, and when something intense happens such as a gun being fired, the music tends to become higher pitched.This is all to keep the audience on edge and intrigued.

When all the enemies are lost, the music stops and then starts again, but this time its very quiet and relaxed. During this the camera zooms out from the car to show another establishing shot of the whole town. This informs the audience that the location of the film has changed so that they can keep up with it. The music becomes very mysterious when the car drives into a deserted looking tunnel, and once again stops when it is revealed that there has been a man in the boot this whole time. Right at the end of the opening, the sentence "It's time to get out" will created enigmas for the audience such as why is this man tied up, and what has he done? These will make the audience eager to find out more.