How cinematography in 'Casino Royale' revolutionized the Bond franchise

• "Casino Royale" revolutionized the cinematography of the James Bond franchise.
• The movie achieved this in part by moving the camera more than any previous Bond film.
• Additionally, "Casino Royale" used cinematography to reflect the mood of the film, creating a more stylish atmosphere through shot composition and lighting.
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Following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator: What's the difference between this shot and this shot?

They're from the same franchise, just a few years apart. What exactly is the camera doing that makes these similar shots feel so different from each other?

OK, one more. What about this shot... and this shot? Did you catch it?

"Casino Royale" makes two subtle changes to the cinematography that result in it looking completely different from all of the Bond films that precede it. To find out what exactly it's doing and why it's doing it, we have to go back to the beginning of the franchise.

For the overwhelming majority of Bond films before "Casino Royale," the cinematography appears to have been an afterthought. The lighting was flat, the composition was boring, and the cinematography didn't do anything to advance character or story. While action scenes adequately showcased the set pieces and quality set and production design helped mask the cinematic shortcomings, in general, there was very little artistry put into the cinematography. James Bond is supposed to be a super-sleek spy, but so many of these clunky and dull-looking scenes did nothing to further that conceit.

This came to a head after "Die Another Day," when the Bond movie producers decided to reboot the franchise and make the next film more grounded and realistic. Although a great new actor, a return to practical effects, and a stripped-down script all helped the new dedication to realism, the cinematography was arguably the biggest component that needed an update. Cinematography is responsible for creating the look of a film, dictating the lighting, composition, and camera movement of every shot.

Studying the film, it becomes clear that there are two main principles that guide the distinctive cinematography of "Casino Royale": move the camera and reflect the mood. So, what exactly does that mean?

To begin, let's talk about how "Casino Royale" moves its camera differently from all other Bond films. For example, say the script calls for a scene where Bond is talking to M. As M paces around the room, you could film the scene with fairly standard coverage, panning the camera to keep both her and Bond in frame, or you could have the camera track M's movement, emphasizing her restless mindset and using a tighter frame to help foster a connection to her character.

Here's another example: two scenes that show an establishing shot of a car arriving at a new location. Notice how the camera staying still isn't as engaging. Viewers' eyes are naturally more attracted to increased movement. It's the reason why still images on television or YouTube videos often have an added camera zoom or pan. Compare this first scene of Bond running... with this second scene. Notice how this is much more exciting and more effectively conveys urgency and speed.

Here are a couple other things that intelligent camera movement can do: exhibit the chaotic nature of a new location, amplify a character's dynamic motion, convey multiple pieces of information at once, and the list goes on.

However, adding movement to a shot doesn't always make it better. Nonstop camera movement can be distracting, and there generally needs to be some sort of motivation for the camera to move. For example, this interrogation scene from "Die Another Day." Take a look at this strange camera movement at the end of the first shot. There's no reason for the camera to move to the right.

For all of its great camera movement, "Casino Royale" still knows when not to move the camera. Like early in the film, when Le Chiffre is playing poker on his yacht. The camera is completely stationary, emphasizing Le Chiffre's full control of the poker game.

Discussing how camera work influences the tone of a scene takes us to "Casino Royale"'s second principle of cinematography, reflecting the mood.

Every film has a mood or tone. In "The Godfather," the story's focus on its characters' internal battle between good and evil is mirrored in its use of dark and shadowy lighting. "Lawrence of Arabia"'s epic story is emphasized with expansive landscapes and uses 70-millimeter film to create a massive frame.

The mood of every Bond film is suave. In each film, Bond goes around solving mysteries, picking up women, and narrowly escaping enemy attacks. He wears nice suits and has a very particular drink order.

Bond: Shaken, not stirred.

Narrator: But this sleek demeanor is rarely reflected in the drab cinematography. What the cinematography in "Casino Royale" does so well is that it's just as stylish as its protagonist for the duration of the film, emphasizing Bond's sleek nature and the covert world that he inhabits.

Here's an example. Let's say there's a simple line in the script that describes Bond grabbing a gun from the glove compartment of his car. You could do it in two shots using an insert... or, if you want to emphasize the sleek nature of the car, you can do it all in one shot.

Again, let's say there's another basic scene that needs to be filmed. This time, it's Bond talking to a woman in bed, arguably where James Bond is at his Bondiest. You could shoot the scene with flat lighting and standard composition... or you could shoot the scene with stylized lighting, interesting camera angles, and then end the scene with a fantastic shot like this.

And there are many different ways that "Casino Royale" uses stylish cinematography to enhance the film. It uses lighting to emphasize emotions, tilted camera angles to create a sense of imbalance, and color schemes to reflect character traits. Every scene in "Casino Royale" feels like a scene that is distinct to a spy movie.

"Casino Royale" is so confident in the effectiveness of its sleek cinematography to capture the essence of Bond that instead of putting the iconic animated women in the title sequence, like every other Bond film, it creates a better version of the shot in camera.

And it's shots like this, that combine camera movement with a suave cinematic style, that create some of the best sequences in the film. For example, a scene where a moving camera conveys the sense of speed and urgency and the stylish shot composition adds to the trill. How about a shot that expertly communicates the location and distance between characters? Need to have Bond transition from one conversation to another? You could do it using several clunky cuts, or you could do it with one smooth camera movement.

After the success of "Casino Royale," 2012's "Skyfall" actually doubled down on cinematography, hiring legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins to create stunning set pieces and compositions.Putting cinematography at the forefront of the film was applauded by critics and audiences alike and helped "Skyfall" become the highest-grossing Bond film ever.

"Casino Royale" demonstrates that with a little bit of extra effort, care, and strong cinematic principles, you can completely reinvent the cinematic look of a franchise and proves that it's worth the trouble when you can transform this... into this.

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