I have chosen to look at this trailer because it has many links to our film idea, making it our competitor. Firstly it is a modern film with film noir conventions eg lighting. Secondly, it has the same genre as ours, which is Crime/Detective. Thirdly the characters are of a similar age to our characters, which are teens.
"Brick", released in 2006, is an American film distributed by Focus Features, an art house sector of Universal Pictures. Focus Features' most famous success was Brokeback Mountain.
The very first scene and throughout the trailer uses low key lighting, which is a convention of film noir. This lighting could signify an unknown location which could foreshadow the disappearance of a character. In the mise en scene, the setting is on a dark street which signifies a gritty and dark atmosphere to the film. The setting combined with the lighting creates enigma posing question such as who is there? Why are they at a telephone box? At the same time it also raises expectations for the narrative. The telephone box is a prop that is positioned to the side of the frame. This could also signify the character is hidden, and out of the ways, again signify a lost character.
Another element we would like to use is sound bridging. In this trailer it sets the storyline in motion and creates enigma: they have planned what to do but will they suceed? The genre is film noir and this is shown though the use of conventions. Near the beginning of the trailer there binary opposition of a low angle shot next to a high angle shot. The character in the low angle shot signifies a protagonist and a Proppian hero. The high angle shot of the other character signifies less powerful character. The two shots together are sutured to signify a Proppian hero and helper. Dramatic angles and variations of shots are conventions of film noir used in the trailer.
Though conventions of film noir are used, some are challenged. For example the female character isn’t the usual femme fatale character that is seductive and dominant, instead they have challenged the stereotype and the female character is the Proppian princess, who needs to be rescued. The producer might have decided to challenge this convention because in today’s society, films where female’s stereotypes are reinforced, represent them as the Proppian princess- who needs saving.
Also the teen characters are represented as stereotypical nerd teens through the use of props such as the geeky glasses and the Rubix cube being completed in a fast speed. With this stereotype it helps the audience understand other things such the school setting- the library- in the mise en scene. The library setting also connotes a detective genre of film.
This film would appeal to an explorer psychographic because it combines film noir conventions with modern elements. For example the character that was playing with the Rubix cube also had a black briefcase beside him. The briefcase is a film noir props and it connotes secrecy and detective mystery along with its colour-black. This is out of place with the mise en scene- this is called anachronistic- when an object is out of place or time period. This is useful because we could use it in our trailer to signify the binary opposition of 1940’s meets 21st century.
The trailer would appeal to 16-25 primary audience and therefore a C1, D and E demographic. This is signified though the characters that are of a similar age, and the topics/themes that relate to society and ideologies. For example, the title of the film “Brick” denotes a block of concrete used for building. However it connotes slang for heroine which teens would recognise, understand and possibly identify with.
This trailer has progressive ideologies because it makes the audience aware of dugs, violence, gangs and missing people in society. This might be because of sensationalist stories in the media about teens and these issues. This might have created a moral panic amongst society and this film may have aided in making teenagers aware of it.
It could be suggested that the oppositional reading of the trailer is that teenagers are up to no good, getting involved in gangs and drugs. This could be because ruling classes are representing teens in a negative way, keeping their position low n society. Therefore it could be argued the hegemony ideology exist, though the use of this film and trailer.
In conclusion, this trailer is a very good starting point for exploring ideas for our trailer, because it cleverly challenges and reinforces many conventions, to create a modern film noir, which appeals to a teen audience.
Posted by BIANCA GREEN
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