The Role of Technology in the Movie Casino Royal by James Bond - Essay Example

The Role of Technology in the Movie ‘’Casino Loyal’’ By James Bond Name Institution Tutor Date Introduction Technology is an indispensable aspect of film production. In general, film can be described as the most technological intensive genre of popular arts. This is because in order to record an image and even playing it back, various technologies such as projectors, lights, cameras and sound recorders are required. In addition, other critical processes of film making such editing are also greatly dependent on technology. Some of the most intriguing films produced over the years are James Bond films. Most of Bond’s films have presented the image of a popular hero, guru of male style, icon of adventure, a symbol of sex and violence, and a champion of consummation. It can be stated that technology has played a vital role in shaping films essentially the James Bond Films. This paper seeks to examine the role of technology in the film ‘’ Casino Loyal’’ produced in 2006 by Martin Campbell. The movie is centered majorly on contemporary themes such as terrorism. James Bond is sent on his first mission refereed to a mission 00. The mission involves killing a banker Le Chiffre who is one of the world’s greatest terrorist. The scene of the film is mostly centered on the Casino environment. The scope of the analysis will be grounded on examining the various roles of technology such as; emotional arousals of the viewers, thrilling the viewers, taking the viewer’s back to history, the development of a reality of the film and also attracting and maintain the attention of the audience. One of the roles that technology plays in the film ‘’ Casino Loyal’’ is to arouse the emotions of the viewers. Rooyen (2011) argues that films possess the ability to evoke emotions by auditory and visual stimuli that exist external to the individual. In order to evoke such stimuli that can evoke the emotions of the audience, technology has played a critical role. The film ‘’ Casino Royale’’ explicitly uses auditory technology such as the computer in order to in produce a wide range of sounds that can are released on different scenes of the movie. A dominant tool used is the Synclavier, which consists of a key board and computer sampler that are used to produce different types of sound. In the film, various action scenes depicted in the film demonstrate the use of sounds that evoke human emotions. The movie begins with James Bond first mission of assassinating a secret agent. Sound, which is emitted from the computerized systems, is used to evoke emotions of fear in the viewers. A case in point is when Bond violently kills a group of men; however, he is also shot in the course of the encounter. At this particular moment, the sound is elevated during the violent and nasty confrontation between Bond and the group of men. It can be stated that the use of sound emitted from the computerized systems is a vital element of provoking emotions of fear among the viewer’s essentially during violent encounters. Apart from auditory technology, visual technology is also used to evoke the emotions of the viewers. When evaluating the ‘’ Casino Loyal’’ film, the camera has been used as a significant visual technology with the objective of evoking the emotions of the viewers. One major role of the camera is to capture the pictures in a film. The pictures displayed by the movie are able to draw intense emotions from viewers. For instance, we see that when Bond is to fight enemy operators in different sections of the Casino, the kind of pictures displayed depict a sense of danger, which can raise emotions of fear among viewers. A case in point is when the enemies attack Bond and the whole group retreats to the down section of the stairs. The pictures displayed are more darker as compared to earlier pictures that existed in the main area of the casino. The camera also projects the lighting in the film. The film uses a combination of black and white lights an aspect that is quite different from many contemporary films in the 21st Century. Silberg (2013) discloses the fact that people are used to seeing every film in different colours. However, Casino Loyal movie uses the black and white color to just make things look different. When critically analyzed it can be stated that although the producers and directors of the film had the objective of making things look different, nevertheless the interchange between the black and white colour can actually draw different emotions among the viewers. For instance, when looking at the scene where ten people are playing cards in the Casino a lot of variation of the black and white colours are displayed. This can ignite emotions of excitement and even anticipation among the viewers. Another role of technology in the film ‘’ Casino Loyal’’ is to thrill the viewers. It can be stated that many of James Bond movies are usually thrillers and technology plays a vital role in thrilling the audience. The movies are therefore referred to as techno-thrillers. In order to thrill the audience, technology such as sophisticated weaponry, machines, adopted automobiles are used in order to exit the audience (Westfah, 2005). The film ‘’ Casino Loyal’’ can be described as a techno thriller. James Bond uses a number of weaponry in order to thrill the audience. This includes machinery such as guns in order to protect himself from his opponents. Typically, it can be stated that when the audience perceive the manner in which bond handles his weaponry they get thrilled. For instance, Bonds skills in shooting the gun are basically exemplary. The technological weaponry used by the actors in the movie makes the viewers to be thrilled. In addition, in order to thrill the viewer’s technology such as computer sound recorders were used in the film to provide a sound track that is able to make the viewers to continue to gain excitement from the film. Scenes such as when Bond makes a trip to the key enemy Demetrio’s home, we see him seduce and pursue Demetrio’s wife. The sound track in the movie is played which makes the movie more thrilling. Additionally, during the climax of the movie, the sound track is also played which makes the movie even more interesting and thrilling when anticipating what is to take place after that. Technology can also be used to take viewers back to history. We see that the movie begins with black and white scenes whereby Bond is in a mission to kill. Indeed, it can be stated that adopting the black and white scenes brings about a sense of confusion when watching the movie. It is true that today people are used to watching movies that are full of colours. However, we see that the producers this movie were able to do things differently by integrating black and white in their scenes. The adoption of such an approach takes the viewer back to historical periods such as the cold war. Although the movie was produced in 2006 and has the themes of contemporary society such as terrorism, nevertheless viewers are able to be taken back to history to events such as the cold war. For instance, the sequence of the film is designed in a manner to bring about a feeling of historical spies such as the Ipcress that existed during the cold war (Westfah, 2005). Technology has also played the role of attracting the attention of the audience and maintaining their attention. The relationship concerning what goes in the film and the attention of the viewers has often been formulized through the use of the Attention Theory of Cinematic Continuity. According to the theory, a critical aspect of film is to create continuity in the attention of the viewers. The viewers need to experience a precise flow of attention from the main content before the cut, to the target of the next shot. One of the critical aspects that plays a big role in capturing and maintaining the attention of the viewers is motion. For instance, in the movie we Casino Loyale (2006), James Bond is tortured while he is nude by the Chief terrorist Chiffre, who wipes Bond genitals with a rope that is knotted. Chiffre demands that Bond should provide him with the password in order for him to get back the money that he lost at the game in the Casino. Bond however refuses to provide the password. Chiffre then hits Bond and threatens to castrate him. Suddenly, a gunshot is heard and Bond is saved from the situation. The scene brings about continuity of action that arises from the rotation of the camera that brings about the motion pictures. Thus, the viewer can gaze at the film for a long time in order to know the turnout of events. In order to attract and maintain the attention of the audience, technology also facilities editing , setting the mood of the films, integrating of sound and movement which draw the viewer to watch the events that unfold in the film. Additionally, it is essential for the visual and audio elements of the film to be appealing. This will keep the audience glued to the film (Cantor, 2013). The movie Casino Loyale (2006) has used technology in order to ensure that various elements are able to draw the attention of the viewers. For instance, the film has integrated sound movements that capture the viewers. Additionally the title song of the film ‘’ You Know my name’’ also greatly facilitates capturing the attention of the audience. Technology therefore plays a crucial role capturing the attention of the audience. Technology also influences the reality of a particular film. A study conducted by Cooper and Schembri, (2010), reveals that consumers use many of James Bond films in order to construct reality in life. For instance if consumers are provided with products that have labels of James Bond films they tend to believe that they can acquire the attributes of James Bond possess in the film. It can be stated that technology had greatly contributed to the construction of this particular reality. For instance; when looking at the Casino Loyale (2006) movie, we see that the producers do not integrate stunts of superhuman; instead, all of the actions scenes seem to obey the law of physics. In scenarios where James bond is held captive for instance when Chiffre tied him up and whipped his genitals with a rope that is knotted, we do not see James Bond pulling superhuman actions in order to save himself instead he is saved by a gunshot from someone else. James bond is however still depicted as a hero who is able to kill a large number of criminals. The motion pictures displayed by the cameras give an indication that it is possible for a normal human being to conquer enemies. It can therefore be stated that technology had assisted in influencing the reality of this particular film. Conclusion The above presentation has presented various perspectives concerning the role of technology in film. The film Casino Loyal’’ produced in 2006 was the center of analysis. One of the roles of technology stated by the paper includes emotional arousals of the viewer’s whereby audio and sound technologies have frequently been used to evoke the emotions of the viewers. Additionally, other contributions of technology in film include; thrilling the viewers, taking the viewer is back to history, the development of a reality of the film and attracting and maintaining the attention of the audience. The paper acknowledges the fact that technology is an indispensable aspect of film essentially in contemporary in contemporary society. In addition, its contributions have made by technology in film production cannot be ignored . References Cantor, J. (2013). Secrets of CG Short Filmmakers .Cengage Learning. Cooper, H and Schembri, M. (2010). Brand‐self-identity narratives in the James Bond movies. Journal of Psychology & Marketing, 27(6): 557–567. Silberg, J. (2013). Attempts to refashion the James Bond franchise for a new generation of viewers. American Society of Cinematography. Shimamura, P. (2013). Psychocinematics: Exploring Cognition at the Movies. Oxford University Press. Rooyen, S .(2011). Film Music and Induced Emotions. University of Jyväskylä. Westfah, G. (2005). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes , Greenwood Publishing Group. Read More