Props & Costumes...
Props;
- A Bike: This would be a prop that me and my group would need as the story line of our opening sequence is that little boy is riding down a deserted road before being abducted. This would make the audience think that the child is in danger as he is riding his bike down a deserted road on his own.
- A Large Bag: This is a prop that our group will need as this is what will be used when the kidnapper takes the 'Child'. However, we are actually filling the bag up with a weight so that it looks to the audience as if the child is actually in the bag. This would make the audience feel uncomfortable but yet intrigued to know what has happened to the boy, this then leads on to the audience asking themselves questions. Such as, 'Whats the story behind this?', 'What happened to the boy?' etc.
- A photograph of the child that is being abducted: Our group needs this prop as it allows Shaun to burn the photograph of the boy. This shows the audience the boy has been abducted for a specific reason. This would then makes the audience wonder why the boy had been specifically chosen.
Costumes;
- Shaun: Throughout the opening sequence, Shaun will be wearing quite causal but very dark clothes. The casual clothes represent the fact that he is trying to pursue himself to be just like everyone else by wearing clothes such as a jumper with a hood and a pair of jeans. When actual fact he is about to abduct a little boy from the park. The dark colours represent the fact that he is quite dangerous. He is dark and mysterious. This could intrigue the audience as it would make them question as what the boy is going to do.
- The Little Boy: The little boy will be wearing brightly coloured clothing, such as a t shirt and pair of trousers or jeans. The bright colours of the clothing will contrast with the dark colours of the suspects clothing. Furthermore, by the child wearing bright and colourful t shirts, it represents the happiness of the child and how innocent the child actually is.
Brick (Johnson, 2005, US)
In this essay I will be explain the ways that Johnson has used Mise en scene, Cinematography, Sound/Music and Editing throughout the opening sequence of ‘Brick (Johnson, 2005, US).
At the beginning of the opening sequence Johnson has used an extreme close up of the characters face. It starts of as a really blurry image but as the sequence goes on, the picture becomes clearer as Johnson have used a focus pull. As the picture becomes clearer, the audience can see that the facial expressions of the character look as if he is shocked. By the character having a shocked look on his face; it then makes the audience question themselves as to why the boy looks shocked and what could have happened to make him feel this way. It then cuts to a shot reverse shot scene which last for about 8 seconds of which consist of close ups. The close ups are of certain features of the two characters which could give the audience clues and hints that something bad has happened. Another example of cinematography is when it cuts to a close up of the boy holding the note which the girl had left in his locker. This has been done as it is also a clue for the audience.
The first location is set in a tunnel sort of things which leads to the sewers’ where the boy is pushed up against the wall and the girl’s body is lying on the floor with her hair and hand lying in a stream of water. The second location is set within a high school where the two main characters go to. Johnson may have chosen to use these two different settings to contrast with the fact that one place is so dull and deserted and the other place is lively and full of people.
There are many different sounds that you can hear within the opening sequence. For example, the non-diegetic sound track that is played at the beginning. To the audience the music sounds as if it is quite a happy tone until they see the girl’s body lying on the floor. Once the audience notice the girl on the floor the music suddenly seems to be a lot more serious. Another use of sound is the ambient sound of the children at school walking and talking. Johnson may have put this normal every day scene into the opening sequence to contrast with the scene of the dead girl. This would make the audience feel confused and make them want to watch more as they have two different situations going on with no answers as to why.
The titles at the beginning of the opening sequence are written in capital letters. This gives of a serious effect. Also, the titles at the beginning fade out, this could resemble the girls life as she is dying, her life is slowly fading away. Furthermore, Johnson has also used cross dissolve from the first shot to the second shot. He may have done this so the audience can’t really see what the second shot is. By doing this it makes the audience intrigued and want to carry on watching the film.
