Title Sequence: How Jackie Brown is Established

‘Jackie Brown’ directed by Quentin Tarantino, was produced in 1997, starring Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson and Robert De Niro. The majority of this clip, is a constant tracking shot of Jackie Brown (the main character) walking through the airport terminal, and into her work place. This is one of the longest tracking shots in film history. This lengthy shot not only establishes the setting in which this scene is taking place, but also could outline the importance of this character. The body language of Jackie is very important in establishing her as a main character of the film. She seems quite calm and her posture could suggest she has authority. Also the camera angle is a slight low angle medium shot, which places Jackie further up the screen suggesting dominance and power. The non-diegetic soundtrack playing in the background is Across 110^th Street by Bobby Womack. After researching the song I realised that the lyrics were about the hardship of street life. Further on in the film it becomes clear that this song has a direct link to the film, as seen in the shooting of Beaumont.

After Jackie steps off of the moving walkway it cuts to yet another panning shot, this time it’s a much lower angle than before. As previously said a low angle places the character further up the screen connoting dominance and authority. In this case the camera is much lower than before, which could suggest she is above the civilians in the social hierarchy, and has a bigger influence on society compared to the role of the civilians.

The sole focus is on Jackie, the blurred out background could suggest the civilians are blurred out of society and that on one person matters, at that’s Jackie. The slight low angle shot at 2:36 shows Jackie walking passed all of the civilians. This could suggest that Jackie is ahead of everybody in society, and that she has the drive to become further ahead.