Limkokwing University’s Global Campus students in London got an opportunity to see the vehicles and props used in the ‘James Bond’ film series. The vehicles and props were showcased at the ‘Bond in Motion’ exhibition held at the London Film Museum in Covent Garden.
The Bond film franchise is a British series of spy movies based on the fictional character James Bond, who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming, a former resident of 106 Piccadilly, where Limkokwing University’s London campus is currently located.
The Bond series is one of the longest running films in cinema history. There are currently 23 released Bond movies, with the next one planned later this year. The film franchise has enjoyed an international following since the release of the first movie in 1962 and continues to make it to box office.
The series has won a number of awards throughout their 50 years history, including Golden Globe Award, British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), Academy Awards, and many more.
It constitute the third-highest-grossing film series after the Harry Potter films and the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. The series has amassed over a $10 billion, with the last movie, Skyfall being the highest grossing film of all time at UK box office with over $200 million returns. The series production provides several thousand jobs per movie production, and continue to earn through past movies.
It has become a global phenomenon and popular culture icon, influencing numerous other adventure and spy movies with its famous car chases, stunts, gadgets and guns, pretty girls, megalomanic villains, fanciful plots and a lot of explosions. The character, James Bond, has set standards for classy male fashion with his cool, unruffled style, expensive tastes, and sophistication.
The exhibition was a collection of the series’ popular props through time, showcasing some of the most memorable items from the movies, including the 1964 Aston Martin DB5, with its famous ejector seat, machine guns and rotating number plates. It first appeared in Goldfinger, and most recently in Skyfall. Other classic props featured were Goldfinger’s Rolls-Royce Phantom III, the gyrocopter ‘Little Nellie’ from You Only Live Twice, and the futuristic ‘white Lotus Esprit S1’ which turns into a submarine.
Through the exhibition, students learnt industry standard practises of using props to enhance a movie. They got to closely examine and understand design concepts used in one of the leading movies series of all time, and learnt ways in which they could apply such creativity to their future productions. The students said they were grateful for opportunities such as this one and many others they have gotten while studying at the University, because it puts them a step ahead of their competition when they enter the industry.
