1. 1. Media Summer Task: Comparison of Casino Royale and L.A. Noire By Olivia Thomas
2. 2. Representation Representation Similarities: The similarity between the LA Noire opening clip and the Casino Royale opening clip is that the males seem to be the protagonist in the films. The Casino Royale opening scene features men as the main characters. Also In the Casino Royale opening clip, woman are hardly seen as supporting characters, let alone main characters, whereas men are highly featured throughout. In the LA Noire opening clip, throughout the scenes there are continuous statements emphasising the men being superior for example a mans home is a mans castle, mentions such as that appear quite frequently. Women are featured but the majority of the main and supporting character roles go to males. This emphasises the idea of woman being insignificant in comparison and are not to be seen, a womans job was to bare children, care for them and the home and serve and please her husband. However males could be the protagonists because they genuinely fit the role and overall story line, even if that may be true the use of only mainly males is unbalanced to woman. Representation Differences: In LA Noire title sequence clip has no violence or danger references, suggestion that there is none and that the town is rather peaceful and quick, the complete opposite of Casino Royal, which contains a lot of violence and has a big danger element to it. Both the Casino Royale opening scene clip and the LA Noire title sequence clip represent the idea of criminality in completely different ways. But in the Casino Royale opening clip there is a lot of quick action packed scenes portraying the idea that the film has the theme of action and danger, completed with plenty of fight scenes and action. Lastly in the Casino Royal clip, there are no main female characters whatsoever, woman are hardly featured. Whereas, in the LA Noire opening clip there are more female characters presented throughout.
3. 3. Genre LA Noire LA Noire is a action and adventure game, set in 1940s Los Angeles. The opening clip gives a brief understanding of the game and what its like (characters, surrounding ect). The opening clip also presents a sense of mystery as it doesnt go into too much depth as to what the story line is and what that player has to do. Casino Royale Casino Royale is a action/thriller/adventure film. The opening clip builds suspense and tension as it shows a lot of action, this will encourage and interest people to see the film as it is presented like other thriller films, thrilling and full of surprises.
4. 4. Mise en scene Differences In Casino Royal there is very little light, the light that is there is rather dim, the main lighting is focused on characters faces to emphasise emotion and key moments. The props and set in this film looks very fancy and expensive, presenting wealth and class. In comparison the opening scene clip from LA Noire is actually in full colour. The costumes and set are designed to look as they would have in the 1940s, where the game is set. There is also a contrast of wealth and status, Casino Royale shows a wealthy businessman in the modern day and LA Noire shows the slum gang groups during the time the game is set. Similarities Both clips use suits as a key identification costume to portray sophistication and class(high status). In Casino Royale opening clip and the LA Noire opening clip the set can be used to refer to the current situation and what happens in the rest of the clip. Also in the Casino Royale opening clip it uses a low camera shot, this can help make buildings and people look larger, therefore increasing importance and significance, presenting the idea of intimidation. Similarly in the LA Noire clip the camera also uses a few low angles to help increase the significance and importance of buildings and surrounding, but this time to emphasise peace and beauty rather than intimidation and danger.