By Naomi Adams

BRICKOpening Title Sequence Analysis

Director-Rian JohnsonRelease date- 20th July 2009

First image we see are someone’s feet. This instantly gives us little information and captures the audiences attention in wanting to find out more and therefore continue watching the opening sequence in order to find out who this character is.

The shoes which are being shown are very practical and not for a fashion trend purpose but sensible for this outdoor location. Suggesting that this person may be an adult male.

It then cuts from this image to an extreme close up of the characters emotions. As his face takes up the whole frame it makes us the audience question why he’s worried. Drawing us into watching the film further.

The fact he wears glasses suggests, he’s smart and a clear thinker, also suggests he is a bit of a typical ‘geek’ and therefore, has a weakness.

He doesn’t show much emotion, but his eyes suggest he’s in shock which is reinforced as his hand is covering his mouth.

The way he’s crouched suggests either he’s guilty of committing a crime, or that he has some kind of relation to the dead body in the corner. Also the fact the two characters are placed away from each other implies they may have been rather distant before this circumstance occurred.

There’s a blue tint to the screen, creating a gloomy and depressing atmosphere. Which matches the action of this scene.

Restricted narration, which is very typical of the thriller genre. As they like to keep the audience on edge throughout the film and question the plot and what the characters are really like. This image hints to the narrative of the film genre, that it may be a crime thriller.

The way in which he’s looking intently at the other character in the scene, suggests he’s in shock and makes us the audience question what kind of relationship he has with the other character, whether he’s a hero or villain.

His fist is slightly clenched, implying there’s a sense of anger in him.

He appears to be wearing rather ordinary clothing and his hair is very scruffy. This suggests he’s a rather normal, man of a young age who doesn’t particularly care about his appearance, reinforces that he’s an ordinary being in an extra-ordinary event.

Fact she’s wearing heels not only shows the gender of the character but it also suggests she cares about her appearance.

The blue bangles reflects the innocence of this girl and suggest she’s of a young age, which makes the scene even more dramatic as she’s died so young.

The white jumper she’s wearing also connotes the victim’s innocence and purity. This emphasises her vulnerability and therefore, gains empathy from the audience.

Cinematography

A panning shot is used here to make us the audience to focus on the small features of the pavement in this frame.

Until we can see the feet of someone we are left guessing where the camera is going to take us to, instantly intriguing us to find out, keeping us guessing.At the start an establishing shot

hasn’t been used which is typical of the thriller genre. As they aim to use a restricted narrative and therefore don’t want to show the viewers what location the frame is shot in too soon.

The frame before, fades out into darkness and then cuts to an extreme close up shot.

The use of an extreme close up draws in our attention and makes us question who this character is.

The sequence then quickly cuts to a long shot.

The use of a long shot enables us to get an understanding of the location the narrative is taking place in.

The long shot also reveals what is happening in the scene. The action which is being shown hints to the genre of the film too.

This medium close up shot gives us a slight insight into how this character is feeling. Also gives us a clearer view of his overall appearance, slowly revealing more information about his character.

This close up of the girls legs, shows us the gender of this character and causes us the viewers to focus on her shoes and the cuts on her legs.

This frame also makes use of a dolly shot, zooming into the girls legs but not losing any of the background, this causes it to be a difficult technique to spot as the surrounding is the same size.

After showing each one of these images in turn, in between cutting to focus on the next feature of the girl. This image of the boys face is used again to show clearly what he is now focusing on. Suggesting he’s in shock and is slowly taking in each aspect of her for remembrance. Also suggests it has a slow pace of editing.

The next image it cuts to shows the girls hair being slightly covered in shallow water.The image of water creates a sense of danger and abandonment, to where this crime has been committed. It also shows that the tunnel shown in a previous frame is actually used to store water, creating a depressing mood, as the character’s isolated.

Again a dolly shot is being used to slightly zoom into the image, making sure we the viewers are focusing on every aspect of the frame.

The final image it cuts to is this of the girls hand in the water.

Again the water creates a sense of danger and shows clearly that this girl is dead as she has no sense in her hand to feel the water, causing it to be a cold and depressing scene.

The dolly technique is being used to give us the viewers time to question the age of this girl and how she has come to her death.

Sound

• Throughout the beginning of this opening title sequence non-diegetic, pleonastic sound is being used. (This is music which has been added during the editing process, which reinforces the action shown in the sequence).

• The soundtrack begins with the sound of a guitar being strummed, the strum of the guitar is quite low pitched and of a slow pace. This sound of a guitar is used before any images are actually being shown, already creating a negative mood in the opening title sequence. As the production company's name disappears into a black screen an almost ringing of a bell is introduced. It’s of a high pitch and has a sharp tone, creating an edgy atmosphere. The combination of the bell and the guitar, sounds rather different and causes us to know more about the narrative as the close up shots of the boys face and feet are shown giving us a slight insight into his character.

• As the soundtrack increases a larger range of notes are introduced, creating it to become louder. This also helps to build up to a climax, implying that in a minute an image will be shown which is significant and will capture the audiences full attention.

• The next cut shows the long shot- revealing the location in which the narrative is set and another character which implies a crime has just been committed. When it shows this image the sound of guitar strums seems too gradually quieten to make us focus on the whole frame, because as the sounds become of a lower volume and slow down in pace it also draws in the audiences attention.