Brick (Johnson,2005,US)

Brick Opening Sequence Analyses 

Cinematography

In the clip of Brick we firstly see a pan towards a pair of shoes, this makes us feel as though we don't know who the shoes belong to however it creates a question who is he and why are we are looking at his feet. We then have a pull focus into his face, however we can't see clearly who the man is and it still remains a mystery, and makes the viewer want to carry on watching the movie, so that they find out who the man is and why is he important, the meaning of this clip is to keep the audience questioning his the mysterious mans identity. We then have a long shot of the man looking towards the body, this can also be a master shot because it is showing the spacial relationship between the man and the dead body. The meaning of this shot is to show the links between who the people are, and how they relate in this shot we can see that they are far apart so we are left remaining to see if they knew each another and to see if he had killed are, however the shot shows us that he doesn't seem to be upset, it seems to be as though he is more thinking about the situation that he is in, this is scene in a close up, where he still has his hand over his face, obscuring the image and still not giving a clear identity. We then come to a scene in a school, there is a pan down the lockers, which sets the setting for where they are, also we see a tracking shot of the shoes, the shoes are distinctive and the only fully clear shot that we see through out the opening, again making us, the audience want to carry on watching. We then have a long shot of the man facing the lockers about to open a note, this is meaning to create a feeling of aloneness, and the camera angle still is keeping his identity form us. The directors use of cinematography is to create a meaning of suspicion and suspense  through the unclear shots to make us want to continue watching.

Master shot showing the relationship.

Editing

In the opening sequence to Brick, editing is used to create a meaning of obscurity and to make you want to continue watching the movie, this is shown in the first clips of the sequence when we see the shot of the shoes, to the fade in shot of the mans face, the editing used here makes us wonder who the man is, it is also slow paced however the clips aren't shown for a long duration, this is to prevent the audience from becoming to familiar with the mans face, at therefor starts to create questions in the audiences head. We then see a eye line match, this is when the man is looking at the dead body, we see a shot of his eyes and then it cuts to a shot of the womens body, this is showing us what he is looking at and what he is focusing on and how he could be feeling towards the dead woman. We also have a graphic match, when we are looking at the womens bracelts and then it cuts to the shot of the same woman opening a locker and we then see the bracelets again, the graphic match shows us that it was the same person however it was when she was alive, the director has chosen to do this because it shows the past and what may of lead up to her death, however leaving the clip to be obscure and unclear.

Graphic match

First shot

                                                   Sound

In the clip of Brick, the music is in minor key, which automatically creates a awkward and tense feeling as we are anticipating to see what the clip is going to be like and what's going to happen, However the music is high pitched, which is putting the audience on edge and may create confusion and obscurity to the situation in which we are watching. Also I noticed every time we see the clip of the dead body there is a sting as the music becomes quieter which gives the audience a moment to think, why is the women dead and the relation to her. We hear diegetic sound which is the bell ringing, this tells us that they are in school meaning that they are young adults. We then hear ambient sound in the background, such as people talking and lockers closing, this is setting the scene so that it has a sense of normality within it.

Mis-en-scene

Firstly the costumes of the characters are significant through the opening, as we can see that they are both dressed up so they maybe going on a date or out somewhere, however there is one distinctive piece of clothing for both the characters the shoes on the male, they are distinctive as this is what we mainly see through the opening of Brick, and the bracelet that the women has, we don't know if they link, however they may of been a present, also the man wears glasses, these seem to be obscuring the image of his face hiding his identity,the director has done this so that we don't know who he fully is. We then firstly see the setting, it is low key lighting in the first scene which creates a eerie feeling and an unsafe atmosphere, as it set down a ditch which is where you wouldn't normally find people. We then see the titles pop up, they are in a serif font to create a formal feel to film. We then have high key lighting when the male is at school, showing that it's a safer atmosphere and maybe happier prior to what was shown before, making it feel as though it's a safer area for the characters in the movie.

High key lighting