black widow/bond

Black Widow was released in July 2021 and is one of the first stand alone lead female superhero performances in Hollywood. Many aspects of this action film and the 25th Bond film No Time To Die are similar, budget, promotion and plot wise. 

Marvels' Black Widow had a $200 million USD budget and managed to get 379.2 million USD at the box office. Scarlett Johansson was payed $20 million for her role and the plot revolved a lot around the relationship with her sister. Black Widows past is explored in great detail throughout the film, Marvel CEO Kevin Feige decided to give the extremely complicated character a prequel to explain her past as its never been explained before in the MCU. Similarly in No Time To Die, Bonds arc from his previous 4 films is completed. His romance with Vesper is finally shown to be concluded as he gets over her at her grave. His current girlfriend has his child, giving James a fatherly role briefly in the film which adds a-lot of depth to his character which is previous bond films hadn't been massively explored. Mainstream audiences enjoy characters with traumas and problems as it makes the characters seem more human instead of unbreakable characters on screens too far away too relate too. 

The films had a $50 million difference in budget, since Marvel is one of the biggest companies in the world right now they can afford to put a-lot of money into scripts and films. Bond is a large franchise and manages to get a budget of $250 million USD, however so far has only made 56million in box office. But thats since it has only been released for 2 weeks. On trajectory it is going to make over 250 million very soon, like other bond films it will surpass its budget considerably and since this is Daniel Craigs' final film as Bond, it will probably be the most popular one of the franchise so far.

The location of both these films are also very similar. Black Widow is basically a spy in fact she trained as one which is what the film is about. Typically in these spy films, the characters end up in foreign and exotic locations. For example in Black Widow there is a large action sequence in the Norwegian tundras, and Bond the opening scene is set on a frozen lake in the middle of snowy French mountains. Many sets in the UK, also more rural parts of the world such as Morrocco and Macon. These locations are frequented in Bond films and are both in Black Widow themselves. Adding to the idea of these traditional spy films and the locations having the same stigma.

Bond films are notorious for stunts happening in real life and not all CGI, and No Time To Die is no exception, many of the stunts such as the bike jump are done for real. (alternate angles). These stunts look amazing in the films and can often save money doing them for real as no money in spent on CGI work. Black Widow has been highly critiqued in the media for being entirely CGI.  Not that using CGI is bad but pretty much every single one was done via CGI and was obvious, many people have posted edits of the CGI in the film looking bad and especially in the climax of the film in the final battle it definitely disappointed a few fans. 

Overall both films were a massive box office success, Black Widow being the most popular film of the summer and No Time To Die closing off the Daniel Craig saga, they both display similar qualities whilst also doing them in their own individual away which manages to create two very different films to give to audiences.

IMAX

 IMAX 

Company from Toronto in Canada, esc 1972. certain directors popularised it--  Nolan, DMR -- new tech made it look better. 

The main difference between a regular cinema and an IMAX a high resolution screen display of seventy mm film format. 

CAMERA/SCREENS

 IMAX screens are 6X larger than a regular screen. they're filmed on specific IMAX cameras,  Imax film equates to 6K, while 70mm Imax is closer to 12K. While some films are scaled back up to a digital or film print for distribution. IMAX partnered with several camera manufacturers to create a new “Filmed in IMAX” lineup. The ARRI ALEXA 65 is the company's flagship camera with the industry-leading capture technology. 

SOUND 

Sound is a large part of IMAX cinema, the highs and lows of the film are enhanced meaning there is as much vibration as there is sound. IMAX has a patient on theatre geometry, and can control the shape, angles and dimensions are specific to IMAX. the theatre architecture has been customised and advanced, with better soundproofing and also effective placement of the speakers. The soundtrack is also enhanced, the original sound is re-mixed in in post production to capture the full-dynamic range. 

THEATRE GEOMETRY 

IMAX large screens are spread from wall to wall, from floor to ceiling, and its also curved which creates an immersive experience in any seat. Theatre Geometry refers to the shape of the room and the way the seats are placed. the positioning of the seats, brings the audience closer so  the audience no longer knows where the screen ends giving them a fully immersive cinematic experience. 

guardians of the galaxy / stranger than fiction

guardians of the galaxy / stranger than fiction 

Guardians of the galaxy V2

The opening of guardians of the galaxy Vol.2 introduces the main characters and sets up the plot, whilst simultaneously being an opening sequence with credits.  

Groot a small living tree is plugging in a stereo system, the first shot establishes Marvel as the production company, the words are lit in a bright neon blue to fit with the futuristic spacey theme of the film. There is a large action sequence going on the in background as grout dances too non diegetic, non parallel music for comedic effect. ELO’s MR Blue Sky starts as director James Gunns’ initiating the official start of the sequence the font is exactly the same as the previous with the neon blue. The song is purposefully played to contrast the background and is an example of dissonance. 

The next shot is the most important part of a title sequence, its ‘the title’. Unlike the small sized font used for the production company and director, the title of the film takes the majority of the shot. The font of the words ‘guardians of the galaxy’ are the same as the first film so that it's recognisable to the audience. It also manages to give off an intergalactic and successful superhero film. The golden colour scheme fits In aesthetically with the theme and with what is going on in the background. As one of the guardians, root is in a freeze frame next to the title to show that he is an important character as-well as having focus for the title. 

The next key feature of the title sequence is the casting. The cast are sometimes shown in order of their appearance on the screen however sometimes in order of popularity. In this it is popularity and the cast are shown after their name is mentioned. The font sticks to the original blue to stand out of the background and not be lost in the background. Due to this film falling into the fantasy category there are many actors in the film where there face isn’t present, Vin Diesel playing Groot and Bradley Cooper playing rocket, so when their name appears in smaller brown text it show the character they play so people can recognise their voice. 

In conclusion the mood of the opening sequence is upbeat and comedic, this is shown by the music and roots dancing whilst the other characters are fighting for their life in the background.  The clever use of editing and camera work to keep focused on Groot and not the others whilst still showing a fair amount of action keeps the audience entertained and starts the film off in a positive way. 

Stranger than fiction 

The movie starts with the name of the production house “The Colombia” and the “Mandate pictures” which appears on the screen with their respective trademark animation and a unique light motif which represents their production house. However like all other movies this one does not begins with the introduction or names of the characters.

The next scene starts with an extreme wide shot through the city into a room showing a watch on the table with a close up. This close up brings the audience to the point telling them that the watch plays a very significant role in the movie. This is shown when the narrator says that “his wrist watch delighted in the crisp wind against its face.” This reflects that the wristwatch is just not an ordinary watch used as a prop in the movie it has thoughts feelings and emotions.

When the character wakes up, there is a voice in the background of the narrator which connects us with the main character “Harold Crick”. This is shown with an ariel shot giving the audience a feeling as if the narrator is watching the entire life of Harold. While explaining the character of Harold, the narrator says that “Harold is a man of infinite numbers with endless calculations and remarkably few words.” These few words are enough to convey to the audience that what kind of a character Harold maybe, for example he’s clearly very good at math. But isn’t social, and is very alone.

Harold appears out to be a man of perfection and punctuality as he has had his every move timed and calculated. The director has edited this scene by using window editing technique and special editing graphics are used to make the scene interesting and show his calculations and perfection.