Brick Trailer Analysis

1. Brick (2005)

2. General Stats
An American Neo Noir Crime/Mystery/Thriller
Directed by Rian Johnson (Directional debut)
Producer: Bergman Lustig Productions
Distributor: Focus Features
Budged: $475,000
Box Office: $3.9m

3. Micro-Elements: Camera

Multiple two-shots are used as brief character introductions and also allows the audience to see initial
relationships between two or more characters.

Over the shoulder + Low angle of a mysterious man with a knife; yet he simply appears as a silhouette due to
the Chiaroscuro lighting – a popular technique within the Neo Noir genre. To add to this, it also makes the
audience question who he is and what he's doing, creating a demand to see the film; a clever technique
within the film industry when trying to create an audience as after all, the trailer is just an advert for the
film.

Also, on the film poster there is a silouette, creating a house style between two media texts.

Many tilt angle shots are used as the main male character falls the ground; associated with him being in
trouble, you can tell from this that he is the character the film surrounds, the narrative being the problems in
his life.

The camera positioning in the shots at the start of the trailer involves the subject being on the far left of the
shot, showing distance and the fact they're cast away from the rest of society; as the use of the background
filling the rest of the shots implies they're stranded and alone; creating tension (With the narrator's voice
adding to this)

Single, close-up shots of props such as a rubix cube helps develop character analysis e.g the rubix cube
suggests he's intelligent and good at puzzle solving, and the whole film narrative (from what the trailer
suggests) seems to be a guy solving a puzzle to help a friend in need, so a slight step up from his rubix cube,
but he has the intelligence and initiative to cope.

Another noticeable camera technique is that there are multiple short establishing shots setting the scene for
the different places of importance in the film e.g the beach, the school.

Close-up shot of main characters face to show blood and cuts, implies violence – which may attract (or
deter) the audience to/from the film.

4. Micro-elements: Editing

There is a fade in transition at the start of the trailer, a very common yet useful way to start a trailer. This was made
more unique by the applied effect of smoke; an effect that continues throughout the whole trailer and becomes
somewhat a symbol of the film.

Another interesting editing technique is the key words spoken by the narrator; whether that's the lost girl, her
boyfriend, his best mate or his enemy – they all appear on the screen, transitioned in by smoke, like I mentioned in
the previous point. This is a clever and uncommon way to sum up a film's plot and keep the audience's attention by
them reading it, rather than half-heartedly watching and not getting fully involved.

The pace of the trailer also gradually escalates as the plot deepens. This builds up the momentum as well as the
suspense that causes the audience to be gripped to the trailer; and in turn no or little loss of interest.

As I mentioned in the 'Camera' section, there are multiple shots singularly of props/items that are specifically
significant to the plot. These are conjoined later on in the trailer by a montage – which is generally what a trailer is,
but this specific section was very fast paced (0.5sec on each shot) This can be seen as a quick summary of the story
and keeps the audience guessing on what the meaning of the items chosen are; like a puzzle (Similar to the
narrative)

The transition between each clip in the trailer stays the same, a fade to next clip transition creating a smooth and
easily understandable montage of clips that create a trailer. A jittery straight transition between clips can often cause
confusion, look unprofessional and just isn't as nice to watch – so this is something I will have to consider when
producing my Neo Noir film trailer.

There are also small, jittery cuts slowly zooming in on a newspaper article that states “local girl missing” - there
they have summarised one of key parts of the films narrative so the audience have some idea of what the film is
about. The way it's displayed throughout this editing is unusual, it's like the camera is a POV of the girl's boyfriend
who can't believe his eyes at the story. However, this unusual technique fits with the Neo Noir genre as it is always
striving to be a niche genre that has it's own set of conventions that also convey over to the trailer.

There are also many match on action cuts where the dialogue mentions something specific, and in turn the shot
changes to that thing mentioned in the dialogue E.g Gun.

Jump cuts were also popular in this trailer especially jumping to a completely black screen rather than a fade. Tis
creates more suspense and fits better with the whole ideology of the trailer.

However, at one moment the constant action comes to a halt as we see the main character and his enemies in the
house with his mom getting them a drink, completely oblivious to the nature of the situation This light hearted
effect shows that there is a comedic edge to the film, and lightens the mood on what otherwise is a very sinister
movie. The inclusion of this scene also makes the films narrative a little more relatable as the scene is a 'typical
mum' thing to do, and many have probably experienced similar in their own lives, and identification between the
audience and the characters is key to a successful film

5. Micro-elements: Sound

Sound plays an integral part in any film trailer, and Brick's trailer is certainly no exception. The sound in this trailer
matches perfectly with whats in the shot at this time... something that makes a very good film trailer, especially in
the Neo Noir genre.

The constant use of non-diegetic sound throughout the whole trailer keeps the audience's interest for the whole 2
minutes 27 seconds.

One specific use of non-diegetic sound is the voiceover that partly narrates the trailer, along with the dietetic
dialogue of the actual scenes. This dialogue is sometimes acts as the voiceover making the character the narrator
and the story being told in fist person

There are multiple non-diegetic effects added in in the editing stages, such as the 'bang' noise that triggers the shot
to jump to the newspaper article of the missing girl. Sound effects like this are much louder and prominent than the
incidental music, which will often startle the audience but once again keeps their attention; and seen as the trailer is
described as a Thriller-Neo Noir there needs to be jump scares like loud bangs as that's what the audience love!

Sticking with the incidental music, for this trailer there seems to be three different pieces used, or three different
sections from the same song. At first it is calm, slow instrumental music as there is yet to be a disruption in the
narrative yet. When the 'missing girl' paper appears, the pace picks up dramatically to coincide with the editing pace
increasing. This creates suspense as it builds up to the next part of the trailer. Then, at almost half way through the
trailer, the non-diegetic incidental music changes, completely. This is quite unusual for your average film trailer, but
I've seen it in other Neo Noir film trailers, so it seems to be yet another niche convention of this genre.

The new incidental music is much more upbeat and the inclusion of more instruments changes the pace and
momentum of the trailer as there is clearly a disruption and attempt for resolution in the narrative portrayed by the
clips.The third section of incidental music returns to a similar tone of the first piece, as it calms the situation down
and points the focus as the quotes from the characters in the dialogue, and very much becomes the background
music again.

Sound Bridges are used constantly throughout the trailer so there is a consistent narrator 'feel' to the trailer, no
matter which character's dialogue is being used.

There are also specific aspects of the dialogue that helps push the trailer to success. Firstly, the tone of the girls
voice at the start sets the scene for the narrative and for her character as she is never heard or seen again throughout
the whole trailer. Once again, this keeps the audience guessing, as well as a possible emotional bond to her as the
distress is clearly portrayed by the tone of her voice in her sector of dialogue.

6. Micro-elements: Mise En Scene

On key part of a typical Neo Noir film is the isolated, dim lit eerie settings. Brick has many of these, straight
from the start. In fact, the very first to scenes, portrayed through establishing shots are empty roads, lit up
only by the street lights. The second including the main character, positioned far to the left as I mentioned in
my camera section. The street lights are blurred in this clip, so the only thing that lights up the character is
the light from the telephone box he is speaking to his girlfriend in. This creates a sharp contrast between the
character and the location – a key convention of the Neo Noir genre.

A seemingly abandoned street is one of the popular locations within Neo Noir films, so Brick have
conformed thus far when analysing each of the micro-elements. To add to this, there are scenes set in dark
alleyways, a symbol of the danger to come. There are also graffitied areas, another sign of a run-down,
dangerous location.

Back to lighting, although there are scenes where the lighting is high-key, there are a lot more low-key
lighting clips than your average film, which conforms with the Neo Noir generic conventions. Another
noticeable characteristic is that there is little artificial lighting controlled by the film crew, where ever there
is light it is natural or from a streetlight, lamp that's in shot etc. This is similar to the chiaroscuro effect, that
although there is no sign of in the trailer, is likely to be used throughout the full film.

As I mentioned before, the rubix cube as a prop is helpful for character developed (intelligent etc. Along
these lines, there is the fact that the main character is represented as a 'nerdy teenager' through his unstylish
clothes, the fact he is bullied and his glasses” This completely juxtaposes the scenarios that he is getting
involved in, which suggests courage and although this may be more of an underlying character development,
it still tells the audience more about the characters on show.

Makeup is used to create the scars and bruises on the character's face, implies that there is violent scenes
which, like I said before, can attract a big audience – especially the male gender.

Costume also plays a vital part in the trailer for some of the other characters. E.g the revealing clothing worn
by the stripper he meets, or the baggy, dark clothing worn by the drug dealers that beat up the main
character. Although the dialogue gives the most about character development, the costume always plays a
big part initially, when trying to analyse or understand a character.

7. Micro-elements: Mise En Scene

On key part of a typical Neo Noir film is the isolated, dim lit eerie settings. Brick has many of these, straight
from the start. In fact, the very first to scenes, portrayed through establishing shots are empty roads, lit up
only by the street lights. The second including the main character, positioned far to the left as I mentioned in
my camera section. The street lights are blurred in this clip, so the only thing that lights up the character is
the light from the telephone box he is speaking to his girlfriend in. This creates a sharp contrast between the
character and the location – a key convention of the Neo Noir genre.

A seemingly abandoned street is one of the popular locations within Neo Noir films, so Brick have
conformed thus far when analysing each of the micro-elements. To add to this, there are scenes set in dark
alleyways, a symbol of the danger to come. There are also graffitied areas, another sign of a run-down,
dangerous location.

Back to lighting, although there are scenes where the lighting is high-key, there are a lot more low-key
lighting clips than your average film, which conforms with the Neo Noir generic conventions. Another
noticeable characteristic is that there is little artificial lighting controlled by the film crew, where ever there
is light it is natural or from a streetlight, lamp that's in shot etc. This is similar to the chiaroscuro effect, that
although there is no sign of in the trailer, is likely to be used throughout the full film.

As I mentioned before, the rubix cube as a prop is helpful for character developed (intelligent etc. Along
these lines, there is the fact that the main character is represented as a 'nerdy teenager' through his unstylish
clothes, the fact he is bullied and his glasses” This completely juxtaposes the scenarios that he is getting
involved in, which suggests courage and although this may be more of an underlying character development,
it still tells the audience more about the characters on show.

Makeup is used to create the scars and bruises on the character's face, implies that there is violent scenes
which, like I said before, can attract a big audience – especially the male gender.

Costume also plays a vital part in the trailer for some of the other characters. E.g the revealing clothing worn
by the stripper he meets, or the baggy, dark clothing worn by the drug dealers that beat up the main
character. Although the dialogue gives the most about character development, the costume always plays a
big part initially, when trying to analyse or understand a character.