Brick Opening Title Sequence Analysis

Mise-En-Scene Location/ setting – The film ‘Brick’ has many different location and settings, it starts with non- linear scene from ending of film; where the boy is in a crouched position at some sewage pipes near a dead body , it then changes to a ‘High School’ (where both of the characters both attend) , it then changes to a road , where the boy answers the ringing telephone to speak to the girl. This is typical of this genre because it shows that extraordinary events occur in ordinary locations, this shows that no place is safe as it shows places where you think you would be the safest e.g. High school , and a road near a telephone box. This makes the film thrilling because it scares people to thinking they are not safe anywhere. However the storm water drain has connotations of Drowning, Water, tears. The locations shows that the main characters are young , because they are attending high school, so are properly aged around 15-16, so this makes it more relatable to the audience because it may be older parents watching with children, this would make them scared worrying about their kids life. And Younger viewers of the film may think they are both too young to end up in a situation where there has been a murder/death. Adds empathy in viewer for them.

Lighting and Colour At the beginning of the opening title sequence by the sewage pipes there is dark lighting with a blue tint, it then changes to the girl on the floor in the puddle , shows that the film is going to be dark and thriller. When the opening title sequence is focusing on the school (where the note Is passed from the girl through the boys locker) the lighting is a lot more lighter. The natural lighting makes the school seem more of a nicer place and a place of safety and youthfulness, this contrasts with the other scene because it was dark and eerie, and can also suggest time shift. It is also bright daylight when the scene is shot on the road by the telephone box , (in the middle of nowhere) This shows that thing happen in the daylight and no one is safe as , when the girl rings the telephone she is crying and sounding really panicked, Then (the car she seems to be in ) , drives past really fast as if they have just committed a crime , hinting at danger to come. The car that drives past is black and very fast , this is connotations of death and danger and thrill. The colours are all really different and all contrast eachother. There is a character (female) with blue bangles on her arms , these colours of the bracelets have connotations with being innocence , tears , and drowning.

Costume / appearance The opening title sequence of Brick has everyday people in extra ordinary events. The boy who is mainly shown wears glasses and everyday clothes like jeans and a shirt, he also has long curly hair, the stereotypical view of this boy’s appearance connotes that he is a geek e.g. he has a weakness, But his clothing suggests that he is very casual and just an ordinary boy. The girl in the opening title sequence has very obvious things to show that it is her , throughout you don’t see her face in the opening title sequence. The clothing chosen suggests that the girl is fashionable and a ‘girly girl’ she wears blue bangles on her wrist and high heeled shoes, it also could suggest the stereotypically that she is popular and well known, the blue bangles could represent youthful innocence. The blue bangles that the girl is wearing is shown at the beginning with her arm in the water , when she is dead , they have done this so we know that she is the same girl that posted the note to the boys locker , this is a smart way of identifying a character (Graphic Match) This implies that there is a popular girl posting an note to a ‘geeky’ boy , asking him to go to the telephone box to meet her or something along them lines, this is creating enigma for audience and hooking them in.

Props Used The props used in this are quite minimal Girls bangles on wrist The note she hands over The telephone box The car The cigarette that is thrown out These are all typical of the genre because they Each have a purpose in the film The car is very load and has a negative connotation as being a racer/ Dangerous/Rebellious/ Mysterious or getting away from something bad. The camera focuses more on the bangles then the girl , this is so she has a hidden identity , making it more mysterious , making the watcher curious. The cigarette has negative connotations , as the ‘gangsters’ , more Rebellious people are seen smoking in thriller like films.

…Props! How do they add to the action? The telephone box ringing makes the audience think that something big is going to happen and makes it help hide identity and also sets up enigmas, The fact that they are meeting in a secret location ,m makes the whole scene seem a lot more suspicious and weary. The note that is passed through the letterbox , is made to seem very important and again its intriguing and suggesting secrets this is a vital part of the film. The car adds to the action part of the film because as it gets closer and closer the engine volume increases and the conversation gets more intense between the boy and the girl , they increase with each other, they both have a correlation in building tension. The cigarette that is thrown out show that the people driving it don’t really care and shows that they are rebellious and maybe even dangerous. The ciggerete thrown out of the car shows importance of the character , because if it was a not as important character , they wouldn’t of focused on the cigarette as much as they did. The note shows that the two main characters are secretive and don’t want anyone to know that they are talking. This also could show that the girl in popular and the boy isn’t , maybe she doesn't want anyone to see or to know that she is talking to him as this may ruin her popularity this sets up A question that is not immediately answered meaning it hooks the audience in(enigma).

Actors performance The boy He is huddled against the wall at the tunnel/sewage scene, where the girls dead body is found. It looks as if he doesn't know what to do , or if he should tell anyone, if the rest of the film wasn’t shown I think it could look like the boy has murdered the girl and is now unsure of what to do. The boy kind of hesitates when he goes to answer the phone, its ambiguous! The boy also is never seen with anyone , this shows his popularity status , it could show that he isn’t good at talking to people and may not have a lot of friends. The boy hesitated to picking up the phone which could show that he is scared to answer it because he doesn't want to hear what is going to be said , this could show that this character is weak, Meaning he wont be able to help the girl; this creates empathy for the viewer. This tells us the boy could be seen as lonely and doesn't have many people to talk to. The constant checking of the watch shows that he is on time and maybe very organised and that he is always on time The girl The girls performance is very simplistic as her face is not shown in it. Her acting and walking suggests that she is a popular person and is well known.

Cinematography Extreme close up Long shot Extreme close up shot - It is when the camera is placed very close to the character or object very close so that you can see a certain part of the face or the object. Having an extreme close up shot makes the whole film or photo a lot more interesting and dramatic as it is so close up and personal a close up is mainly used for showing a characters emotions , so you can clearly see what the character (it is focusing on ) emotion. This close up shot makes the mood seem very gloomy and dark , and like this character is looking for answers, or is questioning something. Long shot Long Shot – A long shot typically shows the full body or length of an object or a human figure, a long shot is usually used to set a scene in a film. A long shot is supposed to set a general impression rather than specific information. Restricts narrative to start – slowly revealing ‘where’ details to hook us in. This long shot gives the impression that the man has just killed the woman who Is on the floor dead , this is because it is a long shot it only gives impressions rather than specific information, nothing is clear in a long shot. And also helps establishing the setting. The lighting of this shot is very miserable, bleak and upsetting and uncomfortable as we are unsure of what has just happened to the woman, this is place of refuse and leaves the viewers unsure if the man killed her.

Medium close up Wide shot Medium/low angle shot – The medium shot is usually/typically from the waist up or the knees up. In this type of shot background image is normally very minimal , mainly because the audience already know where they are, or what is happening. This shot creates the impression of a young man looking confused and not really knowing what is happening , or he has just seen something bad. Wide shot Wide shot – in a wide shot the subject takes up the full frame, also in a wide shot it shows a lot of scenery and a ‘wide amount’ of background. It basically shows a lot of environment Around the certain object. In this shot it seems like the man is nervous to go over to the telephone box and seems curious as if he is waiting for the phone to ring, The main subject in this is probably the telephone box as It is placed in the middle of the shot this gives the impression that something is or going to happen with the telephone box. The setting feels isolated making it appropriate for a secretive meeting.

Close up Close up – the close up shows very little background in typical shots. on either a face, or a specific detail of mise-en-scène. This shot typically magnifies the object in the middle and shows the importance of it. If it was a close up shot of a human face than it would take us to the mind of the character and it would be a very personal scene as humans normally only let people who they trust or know come close to their face. This scene shows that someone has just chucked the cigarette , and hasn’t really finished it , giving the audience the impression that the character had to do something or dropped it doing something Cigarette – danger ,rebellion, hints smouldering at maybe the girl. Editing Faster edits towards the end of the sequence

Sound The sound at the start is slow paced , it sets a eerie mood when you see the main character kneeling down near a dead body. When the sound of a school bell goes , it changes to the setting of a high school or college. It tells us the age of the characters (aged between either 16-18. The sound of when the characters are speaking on the phone, the girl sounds very scared and shaky as if something happened or she has been crying. The male character seems very alert to the female character over the phone.