Brick (Johnson, 2005, US)

When the beginning of the opening sequence appears the company 'focus features' is the first thing that the audience see's when the film begins. In the background the music has a country beat to it which gives off quite a mysterious effect to the audience. The western sound gradually increases its volume so the audience only hear the sound while the company name dissapears and a black screen is shown. Cowbells are mixed in the background with a guitar and a water sound effect, this sad, depressing music makes the audience feel emotion before they even see any of the characters or setting etc. The slow dreary guitar noise could represent the character himself and how links with how he feels, we later learn during the sequence that the water noice relates to the river in the main shot.

At the beginning of the sequence the first shot which is noticed by the audience is an extreme close up on the feet of the character as it crabs down to them.

The audience can see from this shot by the look of the shoes and the position that the character is a male and is positioned as if he is leaning against something. Just like in 'Memento' the audience dont see the main character straight away as if the director doesnt want us to see him fully, an extreme close up is used on his eyes and glasses,

by this point the audience dont recieve many detailed clues about the male but an eyeline match is used then later on in a master shot the audience is shown that he is staring at a young girl who is opposite him, preferably dead. This long shot makes the audience ask questions such as who is he? did he do this? is she dead? are they related? etc. Later on the camera tracks towards the girls feet which is also an eyeline match from an earlier shot, the camera tracks into her shoes and then into his and her face to make the audience see that they have a relationship between them. On the girls arm when the camera tracks onto her wrist the bracelets are in the centre of the frame which gives off to the audience that they are important and should be noticeable later on in other scenes, the director still doesnt want the audience to see his face and know who he is so there is an extreme long shot of him leaning against the wall with his hands covering his face, the audience are unsure of who he is and are still asking questions.

Editing throughout the opening sequence is quite slow paced and doesnt really quicken while the sequence continues. After the titles there is a fade cut to white and a slow dissolve to mix in with the music and fade to the next shot. While he stares at the girl the editing keeps cutting back to his face to show the audience his facial expression, this makes the audience think, how is he feeling? what is he thinking? etc. Memento has simliar editing techniques by using the end of the film in the opening sequence. The title 'brick' appears against a black screen after we learn the genre of the film and the basic idea of the storyline from the first minute of the opening sequence, the title moves away and fades into the blackness which may represent something that is lost or we are losing.

Mise en scene is important in this opening sequence because the smallest of clues on a character or prop or set etc could let the audience think about questions to fill the blank sections in their minds. For example, when the camera tracks onto the girls shoes, you notice the mud on her shoes and when the extreme long shot appears, above her there is grass which could imply that she fell or she was pushed by the male character. The main characters clothing blends in with the background and creates dark imagery however the female is wearing bright coloured clothes so she stands out from the gloomy setting and makes her seem innocent and vulnerable. As well as not being able to see his face, we also cant see her face because she is laying flat down onto the ground, the audience only see her hair which is zoomed into so the audience know she isnt a woman but a young girl or student.