JC: What techniques from Brick (Johnson, 2005) might we use in our opening?

Brick (Johnson, 2005)

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- The enigmatic codes used throughout the opening scene of the film are inspiring, as the director manages to depict an outline of what has happened previously, but the story of the film is not given to the audience.
- Also, by setting the next part of the narrative ‘two days previous’, the audience is able to understand that the film is ultimately a tragedy, which creates a sense of dramatic irony throughout the rest of the film, as the protagonist does not yet know that the girl will die.
- The smooth fade transitions and slow rhythms of cutting also promote a calm aura, which complements the static and tragic theme of the sequence.
- The film is shot with a low contrast colour-wash, or the colour is desaturated which adds to the bleakness of the story.

- This desaturation of colour technique would be interesting to use in our film opening, as it could reinforce a desperate situation which many protagonists of horror films find themselves in.
- Also the use of a low or high-contrast filter would discolour the set design or location on which the film opening is shot, and therefore benefit any enigmatic codes we choose to include.
- I also noticed the use of pull focus during the opening of Brick, which is a useful technique for creating suspense and making a film seem more cinematic.