Analysis for the opening of Skyfall

Shot types & Cinematography

The establishing shot is of the protagonist James Bond, who is played by Daniel Craig, drowning. The director used a low angle shot following this is a tracking shot and then a mid shot is used to reveal the protagonists face.

A close up of a woman’s hand coming into the shot and pulling James Bond deeper into the water. This shows that there are people out to get him.

We see a cardboard cut out of James Bond. And blood is pouring out of his shoulder because he has just been shot we know that there will be violence in the movie and are expecting some gunfights.

A medium close up of woman is seen, this could be highlighting a relationship between James Bond and the woman shown in the shot. The shot then pans out to reveal the rest of the woman’s body.

There is an extreme close up of James Bond’s face . His eyes really stand out in this shot because his face is made to looks darker and less saturated where as his eyes are much more saturated so the colour stands out more.

This shot of knives falling from the sky and then turning into gravestones is foreshadowing events to come later in the film. The villain called Raoul Silva is stabbed in the back with a combat knife by James Bond.

James Bond is seen shooting his own shadows. From this I can see that he could be inflicting danger to his self, he could be the cause of his own problems.

There is a lot of scenes inside a temple because some of the main scenes in the film are set in a deserted temple area so the opening is showing us places the film will be set.

Mise en scene

Editing & Lighting

The opening uses a long lasting shot that lasts for 12 seconds. This is to establish where the film will be set and what is going on at the beginning of the film. The very first shot of the opening sequence if of James Bond falling deeper into the water, the director made this shot to make the feel audience as if they are present with James Bond.