Mise-en-scene is everything that you see in the scene. It includes five key areas such as : Settings and Iconography, Costume, Hair and Makeup, Facial Expressions and Body Language, Lighting and Colour and Positioning of Characters and Objects.
The clip I have chosen to analyse is a scene from Saw V and it is a scene of the pendulum trap. I have chosen to analyse this clip as I believe that it is a conventional thriller sequence and it includes key elements of mise-en-scene and they are easy to understand how they are used to create effect.
Settings and Iconography
The scene is set in a deserted and abandoned old room, we can tell that this is where it is set as we can make out that there is smashed and tapped up windows and also lots of clutter and mess in the background which has been left over long periods of time. The room is quite small and claustrophobic which creates a sense of entrapment. The use of having an abandoned place as the setting helps to create a mysterious effect and makes the audience feel as though it isn't safe or perhaps the victim isn't alone. This is conventional to the thriller genre because the audience feel on edge because they know anyone is capable of being in a deserted place and it makes them wary of who may be in there and what they may be capable of doing.
The iconography in this scene is mainly the death trap which is the pendulum. This is a death contraption which holds a hopeless victim in place with a swinging axe slicing through his body. The use of this iconography gives the scene a gruesome and violent theme. This makes the audience feel sorry and on edge for the character as they can see he is trapped and is about to have an axe sliced through his body, this would make the audience feel uncomfortable as they are hoping for the best and wondering how the victim will escape or if he won't.
Costume, Hair and Makeup
Only one character features in this scene and he is a British white man in his 30's. His costume is very minimal and bland. He is topless showing off his manly tattooed torso. He is wearing plain black trousers which are hard to make out during the scene, he is also wearing plain black shoes with aren't very noticeable at all. The man has no makeup on until nearer the end of the scene when he has splattered blood over his face and eventually coughs up blood. This is conventional to the thriller film as the minimal amount of clothing of clothing makes us feel as though the victim has perhaps already been tortured or stripped of his clothing. It also makes the character seem more vulnerable as he is trapped and also only wearing half of his costume. The use of blood is conventional because as an audience we usually expect something violent and unfortunate to happen to someone in the thriller genre which usually causes harm to another causing blood and gore.
Facial Expressions and Body Language
Facial expressions and body language are a key exaggerated element in this clip as it is the main focus on how to interpret how the character is feeling. During the clip the character is mostly in pain, from the beginning when the character realised he is trapped, his facial expressions are screwed up and we can tell he is straining as he tries many different ways to try and escape, he screams a lot which we can see very clearly on his face. His facial expressions turn to frustration and anger as he realises he cant escape the trap but he still pursues trying to escape. This is conventional to the genre as we can usually tell by the facial expressions how the character is feeling, it also makes the scene more believable as an audience wouldn't understand someone with a happy facial expression whilst trapped in a death contraption. It helps the audience to build a relationship with the character because the audience can clearly see how the character is feeling.
The body language in this clip is also exaggerated. During the whole of the clip the man trapped in the pendulum is jumping and jiggling about on a concrete slab trying to escape the contraption, he is constantly moving and straining himself in trying to escape, we can tell he is helpless as his body language begins to get weaker during the sequence. The body language helps the audience to understand how the character feels, we can tell by his constant movement that he is vulnerable and out of control, this makes the audience feel sorry and helpless for the character as well.
Lighting and Colour
The lighting and colour in this clip is mainly very low key. The lighting is low key except a key light which shines on the victims body and high above to show the situation he is in but also to create a main focus on the contraption and his body. The lighting helps to create a mysterious atmosphere as the audience don't know who is behind the evil plot and who has put the victim into the pendulum. This helps to create an eerie feel for the audience and makes them anticipate something bad as the dark is usually associated with bad presents and danger. This makes the audience feel tension as they anticipate what will happen next.
The colour in this clip is also very low key and dark, mostly black colours are used. The colour of the concrete slab is dark grey and the death contraption is all black, the TV which plays jigsaws video clip on is also black. This adds to the mysterious but also frightening atmosphere which makes the audience anticipate something bad and give the a sense of foreboding from the beginning of the scene.
Positioning of Characters and Objects
The main character in this scene is the victim who is positioned on a concrete slab in a death contraption the pendulum in the middle of an abandoned room. The death contraption is positioned above him. This is conventional because the use of having the contraption above him symbolises is has superior power over him and therefore is bigger and stronger and is capable of things the weaker victim cannot fight against. This is usually what we would expect in a thriller because we usually expect the victim to be weaker and unable to comprehend with the villains or murderers strength. The positioning of this automatically gives the audience a sense of foreboding as they realise that the victim is vulnerable and out of control, this will immediately make the audience feel sympathy for the character as they don't want anything bad to happen to him but they know that it will.
In conclusion this post in researching how mise-en-scene is conventional to the thriller genre has helped me to understand how I can effectively and successfully include these in the production of my own opening thriller sequence. This research will assist me with planning and creating my own production as I can continuously look back on the elements of mise-en-scene and try to incorporate some of the ideas similarly into my own piece. This will also give me inspiration to try and make a profession and conventional opening thriller sequence.
This post demonstrates a proficient understanding of how mise-en-scene is used within your chosen film sequence. You have analysed the five elements well and have considered the role of the conventions of a thriller and audience relationship well. However, you need to elaborate on some of the conventions further.
ReplyDeleteAim to include a summary to explain how your research will assist you with planning and creating your own thriller.