Discuss how the director (Sam Mendes) engages the audience in the opening sequence of Skyfall (2012).

Discuss how the director (Sam Mendes) engages the audience in the opening sequence of Skyfall (2012).

Sam Mendes engages the audience in the opening of Skyfall through the use of Camera Work with Long Shots, Close Up, Pan and Low Angle. Editing with the use of Long Edits and Jump Cuts. Sound with Non-Diegetic, Quicker, Quieter and Diegetic. The Clip is the first 2 min of Skyfall were Bond is investigating  an apartment were a vital piece of evidence.

Mendes uses many Camera Movements such as the Long Shots which is used in the start of the clip when Bond  first appears in the scene. It is used so that you can make assumption who the character is however a bond fan would know who it is even though the camera is slightly blurred. This makes the audience feel anticipation as they  won't know who he is or whether he is a villain or a hero and this will mean that they will be on the edge of their seats. The Director also uses a Close Up of Bond after the Long Shot so that you can see Bonds eyes , the effect of this on the audience is that you can see that he is in an intense moment in the clip and the audience will feel that he is in danger and want to see what happens next. Mendes also uses a pan in this scene where bond walks down into the room and the camera moves to show the fall room. The effect of this is that it allows us to see the full room and then creates tension within the audience as they know that something is wrong but no one knows what's going so it puts the audience in suspense. Also within the clip the Director uses a Low Angle shot during Ronsons death scene as Bond attempts to stabilize him. The effect of this is that it make Ronson look weak and also Bond looks weak as we learn later that Ronson dies so it makes Bond look weak to. The effect of this on the audience is that it makes the audience feel empathy towards both Bond and Ronson as they feel sorry for Ronson as he's dying  and fro Bond to be in this position. Therefore Sam Mendes uses a variety of camera movements to engage the audience.

Mendes also used many editing techniques to engage his audience throughout Skyfall. The first of these techniques were to use a Long Edit this is used throughout the scene as Bond searches for the Piece of information from the apartment. The effect of this is that it creates tension as you anticipate the next cut  however in this instance the audience will be on the edge of their seats as they know that something big is about to happen as it is the start of a Bond Film but are not sure when the next cut is coming. The next piece of editing he used was the Jump Cut which is used to show the Hard drive that is missing this is a vital piece of the Narrative of the film and Signifies this. The effect of this is that it allows the audience to see the importance of the object in the narrative, and it helps the audience see what's going on as they overlay the dialog to. Therefore Sam Mendes uses a variety of editing techniques to engage the audience.

Mendes also uses a good variety of different sounds in the clip, this is important to help engage the audience. He uses two distinct ways of adding sound to a clip Non- Diegetic and Diegetic Sound. His first use of Non-Diegetic sound is when the soundtrack begins quite but slowly builds up as the scene goes on. The Effect of this is that it creates tension so that the audience will be on the edge of their seats and will be paying attention. Another example of Mendes using the soundtrack to build tension is when Bond is investigating the apartment and the music began to get quicker and build tension as he began to look for what was lost. The effect of the music doing this makes the audience look around the screen with bond in time with the  music. An example of Non-Diegetic Sound in Skyfall is when Bond has to leave Ronson to most probably die and the soundtrack goes from loud to quiet so that you can hear both Bond and Ronson breathing. The effect of this is that it creates empathy for both Bond and Ronson as the audience are not sure whether to support their hero or support Ronson who is clearly dying this makes them pay attention towards the screen as they are not sure how it will end. The example of Diegetic sound is through the dialog between Bond and M who is back in base, the are taking through ear pieces but we can hear them as they amplify the sound so that you can hear. The effect of this is that it allows the audience to experience what Bond is hearing and decide what they would do if they were put in this position. Therefore Sam Mendes uses sound in a variety of ways  to engage the audience.

To create a true character and scene that can be believed the director and actors must apply Mise-en-scene. The first part of Mise-en-scene that must be used is Lighting Mendes uses this to his and the films advantage, Lighting is used in most of the scene to create a darkness surrounding Bond this could symbolise his past action and the weight in which they carry, which is one of the main features of this film as Bond goes through what is in essence a mid life crisis. The effect of this light on the audience is that they see the surrounding being dark so they think that he is in danger and will feel empathy towards Bond. The next part of Mise-en-scene that needs to be shown is the Props used Bond is carrying a Gun and aiming it for most of the scene this signifies that Bond is a Spy and is a trained killer this has a dramatic effect on the audience although the lighting suggests that Bonds in danger the sight of the Gun means that the audience will feel less inclined to think this and their mind will be put rest. The step in Mise-en-scene is to make the sure that the location fits the scene in this instance the scene is an apartment in Istanbul. The effect of the set they have chosen is that with the lights give the effect of a dark low apartment in Istanbul as there is a lot of Turkish designs and also the window shutters are made of the wood and looks old much like the ones you see in Turkey. The effect of this on the audience is that it makes them feel as if they are there with bond it is a way of submerging the audience into the world of Bond by creating a set that is authentic. The Final step in Mise-en-scene is the signifiers of the genre such as the Gun, Laptop, Wounds and Suspense. All of these allow an audience to be able to recognize what genre the film you watching is, the most important of these is the Gun for the action genre as you know that at some point that that weapon will be fired towards another. Therefore Sam Mendes uses Mise-en-scene to engage the audience.

In conclusion, Sam Mendes engages the audience in the opening of Skyfall through the use of Camera Work with Long Shots, Close Up, Pan and Low Angle. Editing with the use of Long Edits and Jump Cuts. Sound with Non-Diegetic, Quicker, Quieter and Diegetic.