“Old Dog, New Tricks” James Bond’S Digital Chaos

“Old Dog, New Tricks” James Bond’s Digital Chaos CHRISTOPHER HOLLIDAY The James Bond flm series has, since the turn of the millennium, evolved an in- creasingly vexed and ambivalent relationship to digital visual efects and computer graphics, one that can be squared to the perceived ideological and stylistic fracture between the opposing tones of the ierce Brosnan !"##$-2&&%' and (aniel )raig !%&&*-present' eras. The signifcance of &&,-s grittier, revisionist re- newal and the framing of more recent Bond cinema since )raig’s debut in Casino Royale !Martin )ampbell, %&&*' as an active /going against0, has been critically and culturally understood as a move intended to correct the franchise-s increased encroachment towards digital imagery and computer processes as vital support for Bond-s unique brand of suave endeavour, physical dexterity, and heroic heterosexual masculinity+ As 2rit 3ussfeld )ohen argues, /the gradual in- crease in digiti4ation0 across the James Bond franchise since the release of GoldenEye !Martin )ampbell, "##$' reached its pinnacle with the %&th instalment and 5&th anniversary feature Die Another Day !Lee Tamahori, %&&%', a flm that mar7ed a clear shi8 in aesthetic priorities from the /careful and discrete deploy- ment of digital technology towards a combination of multiple digital techniques0 !%&"*, "&9'+ :esponses to the flm in the ;ollywood trade and British press !both at the time, and particularly following )raig’s dar7er, moodier tenure as &&,' have routinely expressed reservations at how Brosnan-s fnal outing as the British Christopher Holliday +e01hes 3ilm S+udies 0n, Liber0l Ar+s 0+ /ing4s College London& Volume 4 · Issue 1 · Spring 2021 ISS 2!14"21#$ DOI% 10&24$##'(bs&*4 Dis+ribu+ed under CC -Y 4&0 ./ secret agent leans too heavily on digital imagery !Longwell %&&%', with an obvi- ousness to its application that draws attention to computer animation-s status as a technology of illusion+ Die Another Day-s intrusive digital imagery would, however, appear to rap- idly cede to more physical efects practices for Casino Royale+ James Bond became more explicitly aligned with the multi-part Mission: Impossible !"##*-present' and Bourne !%&&"-2&"*' action flm series < alongside )hristopher =olan-s /The (ar7 >night0 trilogy of Batman !%&&$-%&"%' reboots < that were li7ewise celebrated for their practical efects imagery and in-camera techniques !hand-held camera- wor7, location shooting', which allowed for an articulation of masculinity and physicality free from pervasive digital enhancement+ ?et despite the Bond flms- perceived hesitation towards computer manipulation, the recent )raig era has frequently turned to )@A as support for &&,-s daring screen adventures. This article explores the contradictory, ambivalent, and ofen disruptive relationship between contemporary Bond flms and computer graphics, alongside the place of the franchise at the crossroads of the analogue and digital, by refecting on recent Bond cinema-s ofen veiled application of its C3D imagery+ (rawing on writing on Bond from popular efects Eournals, alongside Matthias Ftor7-s wor7 on /chaos cinema0 !%&"G', it establishes how the franchise-s increased deploy- ment of digital technologies and computer-generated elements from the Brosnan era to the recent /quadrilogy0 < Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace !Marc 3orster, %&&9', S yfall !Sam .endes, %&"%', and Spectre !Sam .endes, %&"$' < has been understood as a rigorous aestheticisation of &&,-s encroaching neuroses !Binotto %&"G'+ This article concludes by focusing on the numerous digital processes and efects technologies contained within Spectre-s opening sequence, a seemingly unbroken four-minute long take that combines live-action footage to- gether with the digital editing, virtual matte projections of .exican urban archi- tecture, and the rendering of /)@ trees, buildings, stalls and crowd generation !Bakowski qtd+ in 3rei %&"$, n+p+'+ Such /chimeric” qualities to Spectre-s mixed media /posthuman0 opening !1yers %&"$' creates a discreet and /chaotic” ontolo- gical layering of times, spaces, and environments, which in its seamless inscrip- tion of digital C3D imagery positions the &&, series as a vital space to thin7 through the diferent types of encounters that spectators can have with technological processes in the contemporary media environment+ !’" D#$#T%& D#&'((% Hhile the space fantasy of Moonra er !6ewis @ilbert, "#,#' opened the door to the &&, franchise for new 7inds of computerised visual efects via its /optically- 2 In+ern0+ion0l 5ourn0l o6 50mes -on, Studies · Volume 4 · Issue 1 · Spring 2021 produced simulated lasers0 organised by a /digitally-controlled system0 !Burgess "#,#, #9,', the Bond series has been widely celebrated for its sophisticated pre- digital efects traditions. 3igures central to ;ollywood-s history of practical mod- elmaking, such as 3ran7 @eorge !special efects assistant on the frst four Bond flms'I :oy 3ield !who provided optical cinematography and visual efects in the Sean )onnery and early-:oger .oore eras'I John Ftears !who won the 1cademy 1ward for Best Cisual Efects for !hunderball KTerence ?oung, "#*$L and, later, Star "ars K@eorge Lucas, "#,,L'I and Hally Ceevers !credited for visual efects on Diamonds Are #ore$er K@uy ;amilton, "#,"L', had all wor7ed across both the &&, series and popular ;ollywood fantasyMscience-fction cinemas. Matte artist Al- bert Hhitlock < who had been hired by 1lfred ;itchcock and then recruited by the Halt (isney Ftudio in the "#$&s < also produced background matte paintings for Diamonds Are #ore$er, while renowned special efects artist and designer John :ichardson Eoined for the production of the 2scar-nominated Moonra er and went on feature in four of the fve Bond flms released during the "#9&s, continu- ing his role as the /of-camera N0 !Lee "#99, 5' in !omorro% &e$er Dies !:oger Fpottiswoode, "##,' and !he "orld Is &ot Enou'h !Michael Apted, "###' as miniatures supervisor+ ;owever, the Bond series- achievements in more practical ef- fects traditions are channelled largely through the contributions of veteran mod- elmaker (ere7 .eddings and his close industrial relationship with roduction (esigner >en 1dam. .eddings- background was building models !ofen repur- posing pre-existing plastic model 7its' and mattes/sets for a number of @erry Anderson puppet-animated television series, including #our #eather #alls !"#*&', Supercar !"#*"-1#*%', #ireball ()* !"#*%-1#*G', Stin'ray !"#*5-"#*$', and !hunder+ birds !"#*$-1#**'+ 3rom )i$e and )et Die !@uy ;amilton, "#,G' to GoldenEye !his last flm before his death in September "##$', .eddings supervised a variety of underwaterMBying sequences using scaled miniatures, in-camera efects utilising forced perspectives and matte paintings, and compositing techniques that inte- grated models with live-action background plates !.cGregor "#9"al "#9"b'+ At is precisely these enduring material traditions of efects production that contributed to the framing of Die Another Day as a post-millennial digital detour away from an otherwise successful history of practical special efects, models, and miniatures !despite :ichardson-s wor7 as model efects supervisor on the flm'+ An his review of Die Another Day for !he ,olly%ood Reporter, Todd 6ongwell noted that /Bond flms are famous for 7eeping it real with live stunts and explosions, along with massive sets enhanced by hand-built miniatures, not )@A0 !%&&%, S-8'+ ?et by digitising signature elements of the Bond formula !/every- C. Holli,07 · 8Ol, Dog9 e: Tri1;s<: 50mes -on,4s Digi+0l C20os = thing from gadgets, vehicles, elements of explosions, chun7s of ice and set and model extensions, to a few )@ stunt performers and complete environments0', Die Another Day-s strong /)@ dimension0 aimed to situate &&, frmly within the /digital revolution with a vengeance0 !ibid+'+ ;owever, the increased engagement by the Bond series in computer processing was not simply manifest in Die An+ other Day-s /risible special efects0 !Bell %&"$, n+p+' and unconvincing digital illusion, but in how Brosnan-s fnal flm also rhetorically ofered digital media as part of its narrative preoccupation with technological progress. The invisible car !the Aston Martin Canquish, a.7+a. the /Canish0' and experiments with virtual reality headsets !that fnally aford .iss .oneypenny KSamantha BondL a romantic en- counter with &&,' refect a hyper-consciousness towards the /digital0 both in its guise as a persuasive technology of illusion within contemporary flmma7ing practice, and as a pervasive plot device that accentuates the series- longstanding investment in hi-tech gadgetry+ As Bond actor :oger .oore proclaimed /A thought it Eust went too far < and that-s from me, the frst Bond in space! Anvisi- ble cars and dodgy )@A footage? lease!” !%&&9, n+p+'+ .oore-s comment surfaces perhaps the Bond series- main paradox. (e- spite &&,-s venerable profciency with technology and a mastery of gadgets as a signpost to his heroic masculinity, imperial neo-colonialist adventures, and sex- ual potency, as a franchise the &&, flms have historically /fared far worse in dealing with the digital revolution in flmmaking” !Millard %&"9, "9G'+ An the case of the earlier Star "ars-inBuenced Moonra er, AndrQ Millard argues that computer-generated images /transformed the making and the look of action flms KRL which forced the Bond flms to 7eep abreast of the technological developments in both space travel and motion picture special efects0 !ibid+'+ The relationship between computer

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