Location

2. Describe the Location(s) /setting There are three different locations/settings. It starts off in an entrance of a dark sewer, with very little light. It then goes on to a school hall, with day time (natural) light .The last setting on an empty street with natural lighting. How is it typical of the genre? I would say that all three settings are very typical of the thriller genre. The school is very typical as most thrillers portray an evil, corrupt world. An extraordinary event in an ordinary place. Although it can be as unconventional place as it is a school and wouldn’t expect anything bad to happen there. The sewer is as it shows a dark, Dirty, isolated (lonely) place .It shows the dirty underbelly of the town. It is a perfect place to hide a body as not many people would go down there. The empty street is because it shows it is isolated and therefore quite. If there isolation there is potential danger. Isolation can make you feel uneasy. How does it contribute to the representation of the characters? The school represents the characters age and shows they are young. It is also could show the boy as being lonely, as he seems to be constantly on his own, for example, walking through the corridors and on the street. Location

3. Lighting/Colour Describe the lighting/ colour stock The first seen is very grey and de-saturated. The lighting seems to have a blue type of lighting throughout. The lighting at the sewer is very dark. At the school and at the street, it is day time light (natural). How is this used to create atmosphere? The grey seems dull, plain, depressing feeling. The blue lighting suggests loneliness and cold. Much of the world is blue (skies, seas). It also shows dull and plain. People normally always associated darkness with evil .Day time light associates with the typical genres theme ‘ordinary events happen to ordinary people in ordinary places.’

4. Costume/appearance on the character Describe the costume/ appearance of the characters Hair/ makeup/ dress etc. The boys costume is very plain and dull colours. He also has scruffy hair. Whereas in contrast the girl wears bright blue bangles, with red shows and dressed very smartly as if she is dressed up to go somewhere special. What does this connote? It seems like he just throws anything on that fits him and he settles with any clothes that are comfy. It doesn’t seem like he is too bothered about what he wears. The dull colours emphasis his personality which could mean lonely and isolated. The scruffy hair also shows that he is not bothered about what he looks like and doesn’t spend hours in the morning worrying about how nice he looks. The colours of her clothes suggest that she is happy/ bubbly. The clothes also show that she cares about her appearance. The blue bangles could also show she is young and fashionable. What Props are used? There are quite a few props used. The main ones that I noticed were lockers .As the girl puts the note in the boy’s locker. Another one was a phone booth; the girl had called the boy through a phone booth. The last prop I noticed was a car, the car seemed quite mysterious as it was the only car driving up that road and the fact he/she through a cigarette out ( which is another prop) shows they are rebelling. Another prop was the paper not at the beginning in the locker. How are they typical of the genre? All of the props are actually very typical of the genre. Quite a few thrillers take place in a school or have some sort of appearance in a school which immediately shows lockers that empathises the fact they are in a school. A phone booth can also be seen as typical in a thriller because it is very secretive as you don’t know who is calling. A cigarette had a very negative effect, is the classic form of teenage rebellion .The note is asking to meet the boy secretly as it is in note form and she is too scared to do it in person in case anyone finds out. This crates more and more questions. How do they add to the action? At first when you briefly see the car driving up you is unaware it has any significance. However, as it gets closer you really it has an importance. The car makes you feel slightly uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. Firstly because you were not expecting to see a car on the quite street, secondly because it is going very fast and lastly because it made a louder sound than a normal car would, which could suggest a warning of danger. The locker is also significant as it is where the note was kept which builds up to the story line. What additional information do they give us about the characters? The character whose cigarette it was shows that the character could have a nasty and rebellious side. As cigarettes have a very negative effect on people especially now days.

5. Describe the actors’ Performance Body language/ accent/ paralanguage Key phrases etc. His whole body was scrunched up by the sewer. When is walking towards the lockers at the beginning he has his hands in his pockets. He also bites his nails. What does this tell us about the social status of the character? The scrunched up figure expression could show that he is lonely and has no one to turn too and he has to deal with the situation on his own. He is trying to sink in what has happened and the fact he is scrunched up shows he can’t deal with it. I think that a lot of his figure expressions emphasise the fact that he hasn’t got a lot of friends. What does it tell us about the personality of the character? The scrunched up body expression could show that he is frightened; It is a week figure expression. The fact he has his hands in his pockets shows that he is not very confidant and has a low self esteem. The fact he bites his nails show he can get very nervous and uses this in a way to deal with it. Actors Performance

6. Camera Shots • It is an extreme close up more or less throughout the very beginning, it then goes into a establishing shot. There is a medium close up and mid shot. • Why shoot this sequence in this way? What meaning is created? • It starts of by keeping everything secretive and only giving way small things about the character, which gets the viewer asking questions. It then starts to give more away about the characters as it goes on. • Camera Angles • There a variety of different angles in Brick, such as Canted Angle and associated point of view. • Why shoot this sequence in this way? What meaning is created? • Canted angle is an example of an unconventional camera shot, it makes the audience uneasy. Associated point of view is where we can see what the actor is seeing. The main one I noticed when he was looking outside the phone booth to see where the girl on the other side of the phone was. • Camera Movements • The camera movements in Brick are : • Zoom in. • Eye line match. • There is a Panning • Hand held shot right at the beginning. • Why shoot this sequence in this way? What meaning is created? • The slight zoom in makes you feel uneasy and getting you to focus in on the detail .It gives details about a murder scene. It matches his eye line. Panning gave small information gradually about the character. Camera shots, angles and movements

7. Comment on the editing – is the pace fast or slow and why? Is simple continuity cutting? At the beginning they use the dissolves effect, it dissolves at quite a fast pace because if it went to slow the viewer would quickly lose interest and it would simply be boring to look at. Graphic match was also used to make the viewer realize where their center of focus is on the previous shot. They did this quickly as well to make sure it was a smooth transition from one shot to the next. Editing

8. Sound • There was the sound of the car and the high pitched backing track at the beginning. What information does it give / how does it create / imply meaning? • The diegetic sound of the car is louder than normal because they want you to feel negative and uneasy about that car. The non-diegetic backing track at the beginning helps to tell the reader what emotions the boy is going through. Sound

9. List images that give us clues as to the narrative / characterisation in the film to come • The close up of the note tells the character where the boy is meant to be meeting the person who left the note and where. The dead body also gives information, as it shows that someone dies, assumedly murdered which gives out clues to the reader creating questions i.e. who killed her? Why did they kill her? • How do they convey the genre type? • It conveys the genre type as it is very secretive. He doesn’t know who left the note and why he is meant to be meeting them. The dead body is very typical of a thriller, especially as it gets the viewers asking questions. Summary ???