Brick analysis
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The document discusses several film techniques used in the opening sequence of the film "Brick" to set the atmosphere and introduce intrigue. Extreme close-ups are used to hide information from the viewer about the relationship between the main character and a girl who died. An eye line match shows the boy had something to do with her death through his unchanged reaction. Graphic matches shift the atmosphere from sinister to normal by cutting from the girl's bracelet in water to her hand placing a note in a locker.
Brick analysis
- 2. The use of extreme close-ups hide information from the viewer. This is seen when the audience are shown shots of the main character covering his face and then features of the girl who died. This makes the audience ask questions about who they were and whether the death of the girl had something to do with the boy.
- 3. The eye line match in the opening sequence of Brick shows that the two characters did have something to do with each other and the boy might have had something to do with the girls death. By using the eye-line match, the audience can see that the boy has no change in reaction as he is looking at the girl, showing that he is very shocked at what has happened.
- 4. A graphic match is used in the opening sequence of Brick to show the changes in atmosphere from a sinister atmosphere to one that is normal and familiar to teenage viewers. This is seen when the audience are shown the girls hand with the bracelets on in the water which cuts to a shot after the title of the hand putting a note into the locker.
- 5. The titles in Brick had been written in a serif font which shows that it is a very serious film. The white font in front of the black background shows the contrast in atmosphere from the tunnel where the girl was found dead and the school which it cuts to a shot in after the title.
- 6. The non-diegetic sound starts off as being quite low pitched, slow and quiet which sounds like Western music. The first shot is accompanied by the sound of bells which gives the audience the impression that the film was set in the West of North America and a fight may have happened just before the film started. The diegetic sound of the school bell is an example of a sound bridge where the sound carries on into the next shot. After the shocking scene that the audience have just seen, the sound of the school bell makes them feel more comfortable with the film because the sound is familiar to them.
- 7. The mise-en-scene at the beginning of the opening sequence of Brick enhances the mood of the film. The lighting is very low-key which shows that something shocking has just happened. The audience feel very uncomfortable with the first shots of the opening sequence. The mood changes when the setting changes to a shot of the school where the lighting is very high-key and light. This makes the audience feel more comfortable with what is happening at that point in the film.