Brazil - Nine frame analysis
Connor Mitchell
Frame One | The first shot of the film is an opening title, displaying the producer (Arnon Milchan) and the director (Terry Gilliam). The shot is in total silence; this sets the pace for the film, rather slow, taking it's time to tell the story. The font is white and futuristically styled with a slight glow on top of a black background, this is a good reflection of the films rather gritty, dystopian vision.
Frame Two | The second shot shows the time (8:49.pm.) digitally again on a black background but this time the writing is blue. The shot then changes to a black background with the words in blue; 'Somewhere in the 20th century'. These shots and graphics are used to display the time at the start of the film, setting the stage for the film to begin.
Frame Three | A sound bridge is created from the previous shot to this, the sound of a television channel connecting joining the two shots with slight big of CGI connecting the graphic 'Somewhere...' to the television with a television static line connecting the two. The television make and design really sets the time the movie is set in. The television begins to play an advertisement with an older man in a small undisclosed room talking about ducts. The second I heard the "Hi there, I want to talk to you about ducts, do your ducts seem old fashioned?" I felt the time the movie was set in and the country, the very well pronounced English, the soft music in the background, felt very 40's/50's England and rather Python. I like the way the movie starts as it seems to begin rather ominously,it opens with an advertisement for ducts. Audiences will enjoy this as it gives this sense of mystery, 'where is the movie going?', 'Why am I being shown this?', this slow opening keeps the audience calm and waiting until the surprise later in the opening. An enigma here also is; where is this television?
Frame Four | The enigma is quickly answered as the camera pulls out, revealing this is actually one of many televisions on display in a shop window. Most audience members probably would have believed the television would be in the main characters house, but this swipes away that notion and creates this mood, slowly setting you into the style of the film, the bureaucratic look on a dystopia. So from the very outset, the film shows where it is pointing its gaze on the future, in the business.
Frame Five | The slow, quiet pacing of the opening is interrupted by a very loud and abrupt explosion. This sudden change of tone allows the movie to feel open, showing it can be very mild and slow and very loud and vibrant. The explosion then also becomes an enigma, 'why is there an explosion?', particularly in an electronics shop. As an audience member I remember this scene surprised me and had me hooked onto the story, I wanted to know why this was happening, why was the shop important, I was keen to see the film's progression.
Frame Six | The next shot is of the title in bright pinks, reds and oranges, in a very curly font. The title is styled just like a neon sign, again an artistic piece of design to set you in for the tone and the time of the story. The music here is very loud and intense high pitched saxophones, giving the word 'Brazil' very negative connotations, as it doesn't seem pleasant in the slightest if the introductory music itself is rather frightening.
Frame Seven | In the next shot the camera pulls back in onto the rubble of the explosion that happened in Shot Five. The television is still there on it's side and slightly damaged. The camera literally has to rotate 90 degrees, creating the canted angle and immediately demonstrating a point of the movie, that this future isn't right, there is something wrong. Even though it isn't apparent yet, the tone is still created. There are two people discussing terrorist bombings on the screen, using slight irony to show the film has a sense of humour but it isn't light or conventional. The camera pulls in closer and closer as the two discuss why people do these bombings. When I first saw this I slightly chuckled as it is rather funny, but not enough to pull me out of the drama of the film, and I think that was the director's intent.
Frame Eight | The shot changes from a previous shot in rubble to the same television show but on a fully functional television in a different location, using the television to bridge the gap between these two shots. There is an enigma created here, 'Where is this televison?', the director keeps you interested as he uses two synchronized things happening on screen. It allows you to still listen to the dialogue of the television as the camera slowly pulls out away from the television. Keeping you interested and informing you on two things at the same time.
Frame Nine | The camera pulls out showing a full office, with a balding, smart looking man sitting at his desk. He is dressed in the white lab coat and a suit underneath and given glasses (usually in films, glasses have the connotations of meaning that the wearer is smart. The walls are a faded white and the desk is black, this gives the room this very cold and stale feeling. The camera pulls out showing these strange typewriter-like machines moving mechanically, but what they're doing is totally unknown to the audience, creating an enigma.
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