Semiotic Analysis Of 'Quantum Of Solace' Introduction

To help me get a better understanding of semiotics, I analysed the introduction to Quantum Of Solace. It helped me understand certain codes and conventions used, and what they signify. 

Quantum of Solace

Opening Scene – Semiotic Analysis

In this essay, I am going to analyse the opening scene of Quantum Of Solace. It starts off with slow, ominous music which signifies something is happening that is soon to be discovered. This is followed by an establishing shot of what appears to be an Island. The Island has big mountains on it which hint something big is going to happen. The overall Island represents exoticness which is classic with James Bond to those who have seen previous films.

We start to get brief glimpses of machine gun bullets and cars driving fast. This means there is going to be an action scene to come. The bullets signify it will be a shootout and the cars show it will be a chase. The brief glimpses continue and one of them is an Aston Martin logo. This is the main signifier of Bond himself if people understand Aston Martins are his signature car.

The chase scene is filled with car crashes, dangerous driving and gun shots. Because Bond is the only one who doesn’t crash or get shot, this shows he is skilled and experienced, even if he is breaking the rules. The music speeds up, this goes well with the speed of the cars. The calmness in Bonds face shows; as I said before; he is skilled and experienced.

In the mise-en-scene the police get involved within the chase, this represents that it is going to get more action packed. Very soon after the police joining, they manage to crash or get blown up, however Bond is still driving showing one man is more capable than half a dozen police.

One part of the opening is set in a Quarry, this gives a real chance for some immense driving. This scene enabled me to explore different camera angles, such as close up of Bonds face and a panning shot of the cars as they drifted around the Quarry. Sand and dust from around the quarry is blown around to show the high speed the cars are travelling at. The camera makes sure we can see how dangerous the quarry is by showing the large drops and thin paths.

To summarise, the opening scene features a lot of diegetic sound such as car engines and gun shots to emphasize the action within the scene. The use of set such as The Quarry and the Tunnel show that Bond is one of a kind and is very dangerous when crossed. The final part of the opening when Bond manages to get hold of a machine gun and kill the person in the car chasing him all happens in a short space of time. The short amount of time signifies that Bond is a quick thinker, those who are already familiar with Bond will understand this. The gun is fired when Bond is in an uncomfortable position in his car showing his fast reflexes are very beneficial and professional.