Summer Task

What are the similarities and differences between the title sequence to LA Noire and the opening scene of Casino Royal? 

In the casino royale clip there is an excellent example of mise en scene throughout. The black and white filter through the shoot adds a suspicious atmosphere and interprets the mood of the opening to the audience. The darkness surrounding Bond and the other male character limits what we can see, creating an urge for the viewer to pay close attention, insuring every fine detail is seen in order to grasp an understanding of the events occurring as the sequence unfolds. Although there is no in-depth conversation, and what is said is basic but very important, we rely on visuals to guide us through what is happening, this makes the flashback to the cricket match incredibly effective. The use of darkness soon changes to a very bright setting in the flashback, but still, among the sea of white clothes, bond is dressed in dark garments, and his face shaded, the contrast between the two tones is a very important visual for setting the mood of the scene, also presenting bond as a serious character, despite being at a place of leisure, a cricket game. This adds a feeling of uncertainty to him, and suspicion.

On the other hand, in the opening title to LA Noire, despite being the same genre, the use of mise en scene is the complete opposite. The colours are bright, and shows members of the public engaging in conversation and carrying out every day tasks. There is nothing out of the ordinary to create suspense, unlike in casino royale. The events are told differently also, instead of dialogue between characters, in LA Noire, the story is told from a narrative point of view, over a sequence of images and short clips, rather than long periods of footage with real life actors in them. This shows clear differences between not only format, but also the purpose. The film (Casino Royale), guides you more through what is happening, where as in LA Noire, there is a short time spent talking, and only basic information given, this gives the player their own personal freedom to actually get involved within the game and story line, and in ways, make it their own. The two sequences differ as they have different purposes. One thing which is constant and similar throughout is the choice of music, adding the mood to the scene. Music in media is incredibly important, it sometimes can infer things which could not be inferred through dialogue or choice of scene and lighting. The use of music is effective in both clips.