Analysis of 'Brick'

In the opening sequence of 'Brick' the title appears about 15 seconds into the film in bold white capital letters on a plain black background. This style of font is effective because it does not reveal anything to the audience and leaves them in a sense of suspense. I think that it was effective to have the title shown after the location and some of the characters were established because it was quite abrupt and unexpected. The music that is played throughout the sequence is simple because it is the sound of a single ringing bell on its own but, this creates an uneasy and uncomfortable atmosphere.

Shot 1

This shot is an extreme close up of the male characters face. This shot is effective because it is showing his emotions and feelings. The expression in his face looks like a blank stare which could suggest that he is in disbelief that she is dead or that he just does not know what to think.

Shot 2

This shot is of the girl lying on the floor with her hair draped over her face. This could represent that she is dead because they are hiding her face or that

Shot 3

This shoot looks like a slightly zoomed out version of shot 1 and more of the male character is now visible so that the audience can indentify with him and see what sort of character he is based on his costume and body language.

Shot 4

This shot is of the dead girl's hand laying limp and lifeless across the ground showing her bright blue bracelets and pale blue cardigan which has now become muddy and dirty. The bracelets on her hand represent her age as they look like the style that a teenager would wear. The fact that her pale blue cardigan has become dirty shows the turn of events that have taken place and also shows that something unexpected happened.

Shot 5

This shot is of the plain bold title of the film. This title is simple so it does not reveal anything to the audience or gives them any clues to the story line. The title 'Brick' almost resembles the shape of a brick and is quite a solid and bold title.

Shot 6

This shot is of the dead girls legs lying lifeless on the ground. In this shot she is wearing a pair of high heeled brown shoes that now appear muddy and battered. This shows that something not quite right happened wherever she went or was and that she did not plan for her shoes to end up like that.

Shot 7

This shot is of the male characters feet. This is one of the first shots shown in the beginning of the title sequence which makes the audience wonder who's feet it is. The shot then moves and reveals more of the character showing his costume and face.

Shot 8

This shot that the had the title 'two days previous written over it' shows the arm of the girl with the same pale blue cardigan which is now clean and unripped and her bright blue bracelets. This shows that she was in a normal state two days before whatever happened to her happened.

Shot 9

This shot has a lot of question marks around it because there are so many possibilities as to how this shot came around. The first things that are rushed around the audiences head are? who is he? who is she? did he kill her? is she dead and how did she die? what is the relationship between the tow characters?. The proximity between the male and female character could suggest that he is either frightened or that he has killed her and is regretting it.