The document provides an analysis of the opening sequence of the James Bond film Spectre. It summarizes the various scenes and shots used. The sequence begins with text that hints someone thought dead may return. It then shows Bond undercover at a Day of the Dead parade in Mexico, where he spots a suspicious man. Bond pursues this man by climbing out a hotel window. The opening leaves viewers with questions about Bond's mission and hooks them into wanting to watch more.

1. SPECTRE
OPENING
SEQUENCE
ANALYSIS

2. Introduction
■ Spectre is the 24th instalment of the James Bond film series
■ It is an action, thriller, spy genre film
■ The main protagonist is James Bond who is played by Daniel Craig
■ The plot of the film is ‘After carrying out an unauthorised kill,
James Bond uncovers the exsistence of a sinister organisation
named SPECTRE. As M battles political forces to keep the 00
section alive, Bond embarks on a personal mission to discover the
connection he has with the group's leader and thwart their global
surveillance network.’ – IMDB

3. The Dead are Alive
■ The film opens with a black screen with text
saying ‘The Dead’ on a beat and then ‘are alive’
appearing on another beat.
■ This Suggests that someone that died in the last
James Bond Film ‘Skyfall’ may still be alive and is
going to cause a problem for bond and suggests
the potential plot of the movie.
■ This captivates the audience and makes them
want to watch on and fine out what ‘the dead are
alive’ means and sets their minds off before the
film has even begun
■ The opening music to the scene is diegetic drums
and the band at the parade to create the
atmosphere of it which gives the audience an
understanding of the surrounding and makes feel
as if they are also there.

4. Day of Death Parade
■ There is an establishing shot filmed using a
techno crane
■ There is then a high angle wide shot which
moves slowly over the Day of Dead parade
showing the crowd with text over it telling
the audience the scenes taking place in
‘Mexico city’
■ The camera is then lowered and zooms into
the actors
■ The fact they are at a day of death parade
could be a indication that someone is going
die on that day or that trouble will be
caused in someway that is to do with death
■ At this point the audience are unaware of
the plot of the movie at they are trying to
gather information on what the plot may
be.

5. Villain Introduction
■ There is a zoom in shot to introduce the villain who
is wearing a white suit making him stand out from
the crowd because of the fact he stands out we
assume he is a villain and not a Bond as a spy would
be more unsuspicious
■ We assume he is aVillain from the way he is
walking fast in the opposite direction to the rest of
the crowd and is clearly and is not celebrating like
the other members of the parade therefore we
assume he is there for another reason which is
negative and that perhaps he could be there to
create trouble.
■ We see him looking around as if he is looking for
someone specific
■ He is in disguise which is not dislike the other
characters at the parade but the white suit and the
camera focus on him makes us suspicious of him

6. First shot of Bond
■ After the villain leaves the shot the camera tracks round to a man that fits the Bond description
wearing a suit, good posture and walks with a woman by his side.
■ A woman in a purple dress is next to him with her arm round his,We assume she is a love interest of
Bonds because of their body language towards each other.
■ They are both dressed the same way as everyone else attending the parade suggesting they want to
fit and not stand out to any potential trouble around or be identified
■ The masks help to emphasizes the fact bond is a Spy and needs to stay disguised so he is not
recognized by people
■ But at this point no character has been clearly identified as they are all wearing masks creating an
element of suspense

7. Extras Costumes
■ The men are dressed in expensive looking suits with skeleton patterns on
■ Woman are dressed in dark clothing and bridal wear
■ Almost everyone is wearing masks making it clear that the event is day of dead
because everyone at the parade is dressed as some kind of dead creature.
■ As an audience we assume that the ‘day of dead’ parade is a cultural celebration

8. Tracking shot
■ The film begins with a tracking shot that lasts for appears full four minutes before the
first cut and looks as if it was all taken in one shot
■ Although there is a transition when bond and the woman enter the hotel as this part
was filmed in a studio not on location.
■ They were able to do this because they had such a large budget of $250 million so
were able to shot in a different country and have the camera equipment and skilled
staff to pull the unique shot off.
■ This works to suck the audience straight into the film by throwing them straight into
the action of the plot and to make them feel like they are following James Bond which
makes them feel involved in the scene.

9. Tracking through crowd
■ The camera then tracks Bond and the woman down the road, we see them walk in the
opposite direction to the rest of the crowd making them the clear focus of the shot
and making the audience wonder where they are going and why they are not following
the crowd
■ They walk into what looks like a high end, luxury five star hotel when there is a very
smooth and subtle transition when the shot is of the poster on the wall
■ From this point the scene was shot in a studio

10. Close Ups
■ The use of close ups on the characters in masks creates an element of suspense which
keeps the audience on edge looking for clues and hints to identify Bond

11. Hotel Scene
■ We see Bond and the woman walk into the hotel holding hands which is another indication that
she is a love interest of his.
■ People are still all walking past Bond and the woman in the opposite direction dressed in
costumes and masks for the parade.
■ The couple enter an elevator where the female character whispers something the audience
cannot hear to Bond creating suspense and intrigue to what she said

12. Bonds Face Revealed
■ They enter her hotel room where they both take their masks off in a medium shot of
both characters.
■ James Bonds face is reveled to the audience for the first time in the film which clarifies
audiences expectations that this masked man was Bond.
■ As soon as Bond takes his mask off non diegetic music plays of the traditional James
Bond motif which is conventional to the genre and the James Bond film series

13. Bond Pursuit Out ofWindow
■ Once Bond has unmasked we see a long shot of the woman on the bed and then hear her say ‘where are
you going’ and the camera tracks round to Bond now in a tradition suit which is conventional for the
Bond replies saying ‘I won’t be long’ whilst already climbing out the window and leaving the woman
alone on the bed
■ We then hear non diegetic tense music along with the diegetic music of the parade along side this
■ We see bond on the balcony holding a gun and preparing for his pursuit using a wide, long shot to show
him walking and preparing as he climbs down the building the camera tracks the movements he makes
in this part of the scene so if he is going down the camera goes down
■ The camera views him from the front so as an audience we can see his face and therefore his facial
expressions.
■ The camera then switches to a birds eye view as he jumps between the buildings and continues to track
Bond on his persuit
■ The view point also switches at this point so the cameras behind bond walking and the audience can see
his back are are seeing things from his view making them feel involved in the action and heightens the
suspense

14. Effectiveness of Spectre Opening
Sequence
The opening scene leave the audience with
multiple questions as they do not why Bond is
there, who he is following and why.This is an
effective opening sequence because it captures
and engages the audience making them want to
watch more and leaves them with questions that
will be answered later in the film.