When filming our preliminary task we encountered numerous technical problems. I feel that fact that we had to film the sequence 4 times has effected our work in a negative way. However there are still aspects of Thriller and use of the requested shots. There is presence of match on action, eye line match and shot-reverse-shot. Below is my full evaluation of the task:
Shots
Eye line match:
This is the eye line match that we used. Mohibur is seen to be looking at something off screen, from this shot a shot of a file being looked through is shown. This shows that Mohibur is looking through the file and allows a sense of continuity.
Match on action
We used a match on action when we witness Andrew passing through the door. However the footage does jump a bit. In our opening we will make sure that we film the sequences long enough so that this does not happen again. However a level of continuity is obtained.
Shot-reverse-shot:
We used the shot-reverse-shot technique when filming the disucssion between Mohibur and Andrew.
Close up:
We used the above shot in the shot-reverse-shot of Andrew and Mohibur as a close up tot ry and capture the anger on Andrews face. There is also a use of a close up when Mohibur is pulled to the table to show his anguish.
Low angle:
We also used a high angle shot of Andrew when he stands up. This is to convey a power struggle. Suddenly Andrew is theone 'calling the shots'
Crane:
We also included a shot that shows the whole scene from a high point of view, also known as a crane shot. I feel this shot allows us to fully see the altercation between Mohibur and Andrew.
Close up/low angle:
This shot helps to create a macguffin. We as the audience are curious as to who has just entered the room?
Mid shot:
I particularly like this shot because we know someones just entered the room and yet we still can not see his identity as he is directly behind Andrew.
Technical capability
At times the footage is shaky but this is due to many problems. The tripod we had was not stable nor was it straight. The footage filmed on the tripod is at a wonky angle therefore we decided it would be best if we filmed some shots hand held. We hope to not have this problem in our Thriller opening.
Overall
Overall i feel considering the problems we encountered our preliminary task is not that bad. There is use of good shots and camera angles and continuity. The Thriller aspect could be made stronger if acting was a bit more serious. However it is clear that an investigation has taken place and I feel the range of camera angles makes it mor einteresting to watch.
Kuleshov
demonstrated the necessity of considering montage as the basic tool of cinema
art. In Kuleshov's view, the cinema consists of fragments and the assembly of
those fragments, the assembly of elements which in reality are distinct. It is
therefore not the content of the images in a film which is important, but their
combination. He likened it to constructing a building, brick-by-brick/ shot-by-shot.
The raw materials of such an art work need not be original, but are
pre-fabricated elements which can be disassembled and re-assembled by the
artist into new juxtapositions creating new responses.
Here are some stills with the responses we give to his facial expressions. I also found one of Hitchcock, one image creating a feeling of lust and the other happiness.
Battleship Potemkin
Montage Editing
Montage editing is a film editing technique where by a series of shots are are edited in a sequence to condense space, time and information. The images do not provide a sense of the narrative moving forward in time but are still full of meaning. The rapid cuts force the viewer to consider the connection between the shots that are shown, however there may be no significant connection or they may be put together as they are deliberately unconnected.. Montage scenes are often used to show a lot of information fast, represent chaos, tension and disturbance. A good example of montage editing would be the scenes shown within the movies Rocky:
This scene shows multple moments of time all strung together. They help to create anticipation and tension. We are able to witness how intense Rockys workout and how simple his oponents work out is, this creates tension. Without the montage scene we would not be able to obtain as much information about Rocky as a person.
No country for old men is a movie where by the character a normal man receives a fortune by luck which is not rightfully his. The film has a typical cat and mouse structure where we see three men cross paths in a desert in Texas. The film examines themes of fate and circumstance with a villain driven plot.
Opening scene analysis:
Setting:
The setting is in Mexico and immediately takes a Western feel. The vast emptiness of the setting implies that there are not many people around and that the area is secluded. This is an excellent setting for a Thriller as it creates an eerie feel of loneliness and almost as if the characters are trapped. Unable to easily leave and get away.
Character:
Within this scene we immediately learn that Chigurh is not a 'good guy'. We can see he is a bad character as he is being escorted into a police car with his hands cuffed behind his back.He has also had some form of device taken away from him again indicating he is up to no good.
Narrative
The opening scenes set the narrative that the film will be about this bad guy and surely bad antics will follow. We can also learn that it is a Western film due to its setting. There is also use of enigma codes in this scene. There is no dialogue so we are unaware of the offence he has committed, also the device placed in the back seat also makes us question what is going on. The use of no dialogue is very interesting as it just leaves the audience wondering.
Villain: Anton Chigurh
Chigurh is a hired hit-man who has little if not no remorse or compassion for anyone but himself. It seems that he gains a twisted level of satisfaction and enjoyment from killing others and having a fearsome character. His main weapon is a pistol which we see him use on people and buildings to gain access. The character does not have much speech however through his rough appearance and performance a sense of fear and tension is created. The lack of speech in fact I feel adds to his fearful exterior.
Background information: Alfred Hitchcock was born on the 13th of August 1899 and died 29th April 1980. He was born in Leytonstone, England and was the youngest of three siblings. He created many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genre. Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in 1939 and became a US citizen in 1955. Career: Alfred Hitchcock was a very famous film director and producer. He first became successful in silent movies and was nominated as England's best director before moving to Hollywood. Hitchcock has produced and directed 52 movies over 6 long decades. Out of these 52 movies only one of them was 'lost' due to the use of celluloid. This film was called 'Mountain Eagle' and was the second of his releases. Hitchock became associated with his work within the Thriller genre. He shaped cinema through his suspense and thrilling shots in which he created through setting, angles and lighting. Hitchcock will appear a lot on my blog due to his extensive work in the Thriller genre
Ideas:
Hitchcock had many ideas about editing, framing and the mise-en-scene within a shot. Every shot that he created was intensely planned to create an effect that he would have been aiming for, an emotional response of some form. He would frame shots to manipulate the audiences response. Although his films followed thriller conventions he created different effects. He would help to make the audience a part of the film through his camerawork and editing.
Interpretation:
I will be looking at many Hitchcock Thriller movies, trailers and openings. This is because of his extensive work in the Thriller genre. I would like to use camera angles and editing as effectively as Hitchcock has. I will definitely try to focus on camera angles and the importance of editing.
Information: The Collateral was Manns first feature film to be shot with mostly high definition cameras. The film sat on Dreamworks tabl for 3 long years bfore creation. It wasn't until Russel Crowe showed interest in the film that the project started to generate heat.Crowe bought Michael Mann on board but eventually left the movie to him after times concerns. Mann immediatley went to Tom Cruise with the idea of him playing the main man, the hit man. The movie was a hit. It remained in the cinemas for 14 weeks and made a gross $101,005,703 in America and Canada and a worldwide gross of $217,764,291.
Narrative: The movie is about an innocent taxi driver who unforutnately picks up a notorius hitman. The cab driver (Jamie Fox) is then forced into driving the hit man (Tom Cruise) to locations where the hit man needs to strike. Invesitgators have an idea that the hitman may be driving around in a cab and plan to kill the cab driver in hope to pin the crimes all on him. Allowing the hitman to ecscape freely. However whether things work out for the hitman or not we will have to see.
There are multiple elements within the movie that create a Thrilling suspense. Below are multpile scenes from the movie that I am going to analyse.
Brief case scene:
In this scene we witness Cruise retreiving his stolen breifcase. The way this scene is shot ranging from the camera angles to the acting itself adds an element of Thrill but also a 'cool' factor. We see Cruise approaching the theives so calmly. To the theives he is just a normal office man, he addresses them as 'homies' which allows the theives to think he is harmless. We however know that he is a hit man who is very intelligent and very quick on his feet. This thrills the audience as we have an inklin in to what is going to happen. These theives will get what they deserve yet they are unaware of what is going to happen. However we do not know exactly what Cruise is actually going to do to them to retreive his case back, this also creates a sense of tension and enigma. Man shot out of window scene:
This scene alone quite easily indicates that the movie is a Thriller. This is the first scene that shows notable elements of the Thriller genre. Obviously what happens is clearly an aspect of Thriller. From no where a body smashes through a window and falls on to the cab. The driver in the previous scene had no idea what his passenger went in the building too. There are some interesting shots that establsih the setting and the accident. The way the cab driver jumps from the car adds tension especially the way it has been shot. The shot where the driver climbs to his feet is very interesting. It acts as some form of tracking shot, almost half circling the driver. It allows us to capture his surprise. The characters themselves are very stereotypical. We have the antagonist-Cruise and the protagonist-Fox. Cruise is dressed in a typical suit, very well advanced and very good looking. The protagonist is very kind, very intelligent but also very normal. This tends to be typical in Thrillers, the good guy is either very well advanced (E.g. Bond) or very caught of guard-in this case Fox's character. These are typical Thriller characters.
Character breakdown: Protagonist: Jamie Foxx
Foxx is seen as the good guy, the antagonist who unfortunately picked up the wrong passenger in his cab. This results in him having to fight for his own survival. We also witness him trying to save other people as well as himself. We see this quiet character grow throughout the film, he goes from being under control by Cruise as out of control. The final scenes result in him trying to save a women he picked up in his cab previously, in a chase (typical of Thriller) foxx kills cruise. This is a very shocking end but however is again typical. Within most Thrillers the good guy wins in some way. Be it through escaping, self growth and/or defeating the antagonist. Foxx played this character well.
Antagonist: Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise fits this character really well in terms of conventions. Within a Thriller movie there is usually always some form of chase and/or conflicting narrative. Foxx and Cruise are the conflicting characters. Cruise is the antagonist. He is holding Foxx against his will forcing him to drive him around whilst he kills people. He is a typical hit man, he's dressed in a suit and has very swift movements. He is always one step ahead. The suit is typical for a strong character within a Thriller, for example Bond is always wearing a suit. He's also very intelligent and philosophical gaining an advantage above the people he has been hired to kill and Foxx himself. He is a farily good looking character which again tends to be typical within a Thriller. He's also fairly tall. All of this is typical of a Thriller character.
Before forming ideas and filming our Thriller opening we have looked at previous students work. Below I have analysed and marked a few of these openings based on these five questions:
Does it look like a Thriller opening?
Can you see Thriller conventions?
Have they made good use of mise-en-scene?
Is it technically secure?
Is the sound used appropriate?
Based on these questions I will then give my own personal level based on this scale:
Minimal
Basic
Good
Excellent
The Night Walker(2011):
Watching this piece of work it is clear that it is an opening and it is clear that is either of the Thriller or Horror genre. However it is a bit incoherent.
There are a select few Thriller conventions. Such as the dark setting.
The mise-en-scene is typical of a Thriller. The setting is very dark however it could be made to be more eerie.
The camera work is techincally secure. The camera tends not to shake and their is vast use of camera angles and shots.
The soundtrack does help to create an eerie feel. Its not so much Thrilling but adds a sense of chill.
Overall: 3 (good)
Hide And Seek:
We can clearly see that it is an opening to a movie.
There are Thriller conventions. For example the costume, the props, the soundtrack..
The mise-en-scene is not very important in this opening as we can see that the 'Hit man' is meant to be very sly and attacking in broad day light.
The camera work is very good and very steady. Also there is creative use of the target framed shot.
The soundtrack adds a sense of tension and create an enigma code. It sets the mood that something is going to happen.
Overall: 4/5 Good/excellent
Chosen:
In some sense yes but only really through the sound and the minimal shots of missing posters.
The only Thriller conevntion i can note is the stalking, the soundtrack and the secluded location.
The mise-en-scene is not very 'Thrillery' but is in a secluded loaction. This shows a slight hint of the Thriller conevention.
The shots are farily steady however i feel the shots of the posters are not very effective.
The music is quiet slow paced and empahsises that someones is missing. It does have an eerie tone however.
When filming our Preliminary Task we had few problems so we have decided to re film the task. We had problems with the filming itself and also noticed when watching it back problems with the lighting and sound.
The style of editing means how scenes are strung together. This is done through transitions. Transition means the moving from one shot to another. There are numerous types of transitions which are used to convey different meanings and moods. Below are some popular editing transitions.
Straight cut:
A straight cut is the most common cut used within editing. It is simply moving from one shot to another almost invisibly. This is done to keep realism in the scenes.
Dissolve:
Dissolves are where a shot fades out and another fades in. Usually in the middle where the shot is still fading out and the other begins to fade in a relationship between the shots can be made. For example:
Fades:
Fades are where the shot fades to either black or white. They are usually used at the end of a scene or film. They help to convey the end of something eg. a relationship, and the passing of time.
The opening to the movie Citizen Kane uses these types of transitions multiple times:
Wipe:
A wipe is where the scene is pushed off the screen by another shot. This usually helps to signal situations occurring at the same time at different places. For example in Star Wars (episode 4) Wipes are used greatly.
Jump cut:
Jump cuts are where the camera jumps from one angle to another whilst the same scene is still occurring. This is usually done to disorientate the audience and being the audiences attention to something suddenly. It breaks continuity editing. For example in the film Breathless:
I aim to use some of these transitions in my Thriller opening.
Brief Narrative: The Manchurian Candidate is about the son of a prominent US political family who is brainwashed into being an assassin for the Communist party. This plot come from the novel released in 1959, a movie was made in 1962 and a remake in 2004.
1959 Version:
The 1959 Manchurian Candidate is the very first version which was created by Richard Condon. It was first a novel. Below are some images of the novel and Condon himself. In the novel the son of a political family is brainwashed into becoming an assassin. His mother has incestuous ties to him and his father power, they brainwash the son in to helping them over throw the government.
1962 Version:
The very first movie of the novel was created in 1962 by John Frankenhimer, Frank Sinatra and Janet Leigh. This movie used the same plot from the novel. In Korea in 1952, a US Army patrol is ambushed by Communist soldiers. A year later the squad, having escaped, returns to the US, where Staff Sergeant Raymond Shaw is to receive the Medal of Honor for single-handedly saving the lives of the squad. Shaw is the son of Elanor Iselin, wife of US Senator John Yerkes Iselin, and Mrs. Iselin turns the return of Raymond into a political rally that brings out building hostility between son and mother over the ambitions of Johnny Iselin. But there is more involved, for the actions of Raymond Shaw are not what everyone believes they are, and the nightmares of a US Army officer, Bennett Marco, leads to investigation of Raymond that unlocks a stunning political conspiracy that sweeps up Johnny and Elanor Iselin, and which only Bennett Marco can possibly stop. Below is a trailer for the movie and a movie poster.
2004 Version:
The 2004 release was a remake of the previous movie, therefor it followed a similar plot. This movie was directed by Jonathan Demme and involved big actors such as Denzil Washington and Meryl Streep.
Overall
Overll the reason for me posting about this movie is that it has a very profound effect in terms of Thriller. The novels narrative was so Thrilling that it was made into a movie to then be remade many years later. Although each release has minor differences the underlying story itself is pretty much the same. Brainwashing occurs in all three. This is a thrilling narrative as it can be related to real life. It is possible that anybody can be brainwashed. It is a realistic story line which makes it all the more thrilling. The closest to realism the more likely the audience will experience fear and tension.
Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga
Narrative:
An action thriller centred on a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.
Trailer:
The Source Code trailer is effective in many ways. The use of fast pace cutting at the beginning instantly catches the audiences attention. The numerous shots do not make much sense put next to eachother therefore creating an enigma code for the audience. Also the shots chosen to be shown
are very strange. We see shots of a train, a wierd distorted image of people walking, wary eyes, someone watching the time, someone injured on a very strange background. All of these images strung together are very confusing. The speed at which they are shown also disorientate the audience. These excerpts have been included to do exactly this. We can see from this trailer that the target audience is people who are intrigued by conspiracy, particularly older teens to young adults. I feel this film can be enjoyed by either gender as there are scenes of emotion as well as action. Therefore appealing to both genders if I am to be stereotypical. The whole trailer has been edited in a way that appeals to its target audience. There is use of fast pace editing to convey action. There is use of shots where particular aspects are highlighted. For example when the drink is spilt in the trailer, the sound and motion is highlighted greatly. This is done to show their importance. Within the actual movie there are multiple thrilling scenes wihch are edited in a fast pace manner. There are also scenes of emotion which too help to convey the thriller film in a strange way. In the phone call scene we witness the main character rexperiencing the train scene whilst being wired up to the machine still. He is on the phone to someone important to him whilst he is actually going back in time to witness peoples death. This scene has a very eerie chill to it. We realise here just how hard this type of situation would be and how it has effected him emmotionally regradless as to whether he is a soldier or not (soldiers are taught to deal with their emotion). The shot of the women opening the machine where his real physical body lies adds a very surreal touch to the scene.
Editing is the process of looking at all of the footage shot during the making of a film/TV programme and placing it in the desired order and joining it all together.
Before the editing technology was created a long process to string footage together with celluloid would have to be under taken. Celluloid is a role of film that has every frame printed on to it. From this a very talented film editer would cut the frams into sections and piece them together frame by frame in the order that was desired. This was a lengthy process. Celluloid was eventually over thrown by technology editing.
There are 2 key areas to be concentrated on when it comes to editing . These are:
Speed of editing: how long does each shot last?
Style of editing: How each shot is joined to the next?
Speed of editing:
In a film each scene may last a matter of seconds or it couls continue for minutes. The length of each sequence helps to establish characters, settings and the pace of the film moving the action along. A fast pace scene helps to convey urgency and action whereas slow scenes helpo to establish characters, emotion and expression. The speed of the editing will help to determine the mood of what is occuring in the movie.
If the audience is to feel anxious and suspense the editing will be quick, the shots and scenes will be strung together to change quickly frequently. The time of each scene will be very short. For example The Bourne Ultimatum:
The shots are not on screen very long and change very frequently even if it is only the angle at which they are shown. This helps to distort the audience and create tension. However if a relaxed mood is desired the scenes last much longer and change less frequently. This often occurs in romances, for example Sleepless In Seattle:
As we can see in this clip the shots last for a lengthier time and do not change as frequent. Tracking shots are used more frequently as it allos us to see the actors move but does not effect the pace whereas cutting from different angles does this. Nevertheless a film does not particularly need edits at all. The film Russian Ark was filme din one take using a steadicam and digital camera. This required a lot of planning, split second timing and organisation. The Russian Ark:
Hitchock tried to accomplish in the film The Rope, however he could not do it. I think there are roughly 6/7 edits within the final movie. This is still a low number of edits.
A trailer for a film needs to be very fast pace as a lot of information and detail is needed to be packed in in a very short time to help promote the movie. Characters need to be established as well as setting and narrative. In the trailer for 'The Man In The Iron Mask' there are countless edits of countless shots. I myself counted 127, have a go for yourself:
Its not that easy is it?
Scenes at the beginning of a movie must be long as they have to establish character and setting. We need to understand what is going on and where we are. As the film progressrs scenes may become shorter as the editing cuts between telling two or more storylines at the same time. For example in the film Spiderman the opening scene has much longer shots than the action scenes. Within the action scenes more shots are used to create urgency, tension and action. Also within the movie Psycho we can see change in editing speed. Here is a clip:
Watching the sequence I, myslef, counted 13 edits of Marion before the attack. During the attack i counted 27 edits. The amount of edits increases as does the pace and action. It matches the action that is going on. It was also done as so Hitchcock could get away with releasing the film after showing the consensus. Many people claimed they saw a wound, and the knife penetrate the body. However this is not the case, no wound is visable as well as the knife plunging into the skin.However the editing being so fast pace makes the audience disorientated and tense. Resulting in more intense reactions. Without this fast pace editing this scene would not work very well and would not have the profound effect that it does.
Overall it is important to consider how quick the shots appear in a sequence and how long they appear on screen.
For part of our coursework we have to create a preliminary task, a short thriller opening showing continutiy. Therefore we have looked at what continuity is and how to maintain it. Ther term continuity means the chronological order in which something is to appear, conintous existence of time. This is done within movies so that a sense of realism can be created. Therefore everything within a scene remains the same for the period of time they are filmimg. This ranges from the positioning of objects that have not been touched by characters, costume and hair. It would not make sense if from one angle a character has thier hair up and then another angle the hair style changes. This would not make sense to the audience in terms of realism. There are multiple techniques and rules that too have to be followed to allow conitnuity and prevent disorientation. I have listed these below.
Eye line match:
An eye line match is used within the system of continuity , it is based on the premise that the audience will want to see what the character on screen is seeing. The eye line match begins with the character looking at something off-screen followed by a cut to the object or person at which they looking. Hitchcock makes use of the eye line match in the movie 'Rear Window' where the main character is seen to be pearing from his window at events below him. For example in this short clip there is use of an eye-line match.
Match on action:
This continuity technqiue starts with the audience seeing an action in one shot and then see them continue into the next shot.
Shot-reverse-shot:
A shot-reverse-shot tends to be used in conversations. It works by showing one shot of a character speaking then changing to another shot of the other character in the conversation replying. This is usually done several times. For example in this
scene from Psycho there is use of shot-reverse-shot
when Norman and then women converse. Shot-reverse-shot allow the audience to see who are conversing and also to show expression and emotion. In this scene we can see Norman;s estranged expression and Mariom's reaction of confusion and awkwardness.
Graphic action:
This is where two shots are linked together through similar objects/shapes. This is a creative way of allowing scenes to flow from one to another. This create a continous feeling of time progressing. Below is a clip from the film 'War of the worlds' where there is use of two graphic actions. The water drop to the earth to the traffic light, this is a creative way to link the transition of scenes.
180 degree rule:
The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline that states two characters in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to eachother. An imaginary axis is put in place of 180 degrees. The camera can not cross this imaginary line as objects and people will appear on a different side which creates confusion to the audience. 'Crossing the line' can only be done if the audience are physically shown the camera passing behind the character swapping sides. The 180 degree rule is usually accompanied by a shot-reverse-shot.
Within movies colour is very important for a number of reasons. Colour helps to create an atmosphere, identify specific objects, emphasise an object or even help camaflouge an object/subject. Colours tend to have emotions and assocaitions attached to them. For example the colour green has the associaiton of nature or in a cartoon the association of toxic, sick, zombies excetra. Therefore when creating a movie colour should be thought about excessively. Colour too can create atmosphere, for example in Thrillers there is usually excessive use of blues, greys and blacks.
Within this scene form 'We need to talk about Kevin' we can see that the scenes are saturated in the colour red. The colour red has a stigma of many emotions. Some being fear, blood and danger, hence the reason for using this colour.
Colour history
1904:
Colour within movies came about in 1904 and was created through very carefully painting the film frame by frame. Therefore we can understand that it was time consuming and so was not often done.George Melies was the first to release a stop motion doing this and suprsingly died penniless even after doing so. The film was called 'Voyage a Travers L'impossible' which i have embbeded below. Try to undertsand how long it would have taken to hand paint every frame and also how difficult it would have been to use the correct colour allowing the frams to flow. A movie called 'Hugo' was released after the death of George illistrating his life story.
1940-1960:
Within this time period colour became achieveable through simply filming however it was very costly and so was not often used. Colour was best used to illistrate fantasy and black and white to illistrate reality. A famous movie which made great use of techni-colour and this format is 'The Wizrd Of Oz'. In this movie the main character Dorothy is up rooted from her home in a tornado and opens her bedroom door to find herself in the fanatical land of Oz. During the tornado the film is in a sepia tone imitating reality, when Dorothy enters Oz the film changes to colour indicating fantasy. Also notice how the use of colour is very exaggerated, emphasising fantasy, the water is a very vibrant blue and the yellow brick road is very bright.
1980-Now:
Nowadays the use of black and white film is not popular. Most new releases are produced in techni-colour. Only really do we see sepia or black and white film to help highlight some form of flash back or past action.
As I have previously mentioned 'mise-en-scene' means everything within the frame and consists of settings, props, costume, hair, makeup, lighitng, colour, facial expressions, body language and position of objects and subjects. Below are a few examples of how these aspects included in the mise-en-scene of movies help to create effect, tension and enigma codes.
Settings and props:
Settings and props are very important wihtin the mise-en-scene, every thing within the shot is there for a reason be it to add to realism or forshadow future events. Props such as chairs, desks excetra are important in creating a realistic setting but also props such as guns, weaponery, high0tek computers and so on are important when filming Thrillers. Setting are also important as they can help to add to the atmosphere. For example an old antique home fits well in a supernatural movie as the house has a history of different owners whom have passed away. Within Hitchcocks famous movie 'Psycho' we can see just how important and successful settings and props can be. Below is a scene whereby Norman invites the young lady into his parlour for some food. His stuffed birads are obviously noticable but notice how they are all birds of prey, predators. Also noctie how some are positioned, the one hanging from the ceiling imitating full flight adds an eerie tone to the room and could forshdow events of attack on either Norman or the lady. Also notice the pictures of naked ladieson the wall, these 2 things put together could forbode that Norman is a 'sexual-predator'. Furthermore the motel itself is very creepy. Its in the middle of no where which creates a feeling of isolataion and fear. Settings and props are clearly very important for one making the narrative realistic and two adding tension and fear.
Performance:
The above clip leads me nicely onto facial expression, body language and all round performance. All of the perfromance of the actors is obviously part of the mise-en-scene because again is visible within the frame. The facial expressions and actions carried out by the actor help to portray character and what they are capable of. In the Psycho scene above we can see multiple awakrad facial expressions Norman uses. This shows us that hes a tad nervous. Also his body posture is very bent over and in wards, almost like he is hiding something and not willing to the let the young lady know who he truly is. He stutters multiple times, fidgets and occasionally nervously laughs. All of his performance indicate uncertainty and almost make the audience feel a bit on edge. Who is this man really? His room indicates sexual predator his performance shy? The contrast of the setting and the performance unease the audience and create enigma codes. Performance is important in any movie as it allows the audience to know what the character are feeling and also the characteristics of the characters. We can learn whether they are strong, brave, confident or shy, intreverted, weak and from this we can conclude what may happen to this character.
Costume, hair and makeup:
Costume, hair and makeup is very important within the mise-en-scene. First the costume helps to create realism and also characteristics. Realism for example, if a women was quite high up in a profession and worked in an office she would be dressed in a suit, or smart wear rather than dreams to elliecit relaism. If we are presented with a scruffy dressed man we can conclude that he may be very lazy, not very strong or confident. If we are presented with a man in a suit and tie we can conclude that he may be of power, wealth and strenght as weall as intelligence. For example James Bond is always suited and booted, from this we can see he is confident, powerful and intelligent. In terms of Thriller superheros are a possibility and so they would be dressed in a recognsiable costume, also villans may have a recognisable costume or some form of mask. This is all part of costume and helps to illistrated characters personality and ability. Make up is important in Thrillers. It can be used to highlight injury, for exmaple bruising, create fear, for example The Joker, or illistrate a 'sultry' women. For example a heavily made up women could be interpreted as some form of problem, this character is going to do something wrong or get in the way of something important. Makeup is very important as well as costume. Hair can too be important, scruffy looking hair indicates weakness, lack of money therefore power, where as well groomed hair indicates power and money. Also hair can again be important when recognising a character, or a villan. For example again the Joker has green ratty looking hair which would be easily noticed to everyone. It is a kay part of the costume.
Positioning:
Positinoning of characters and props is very important when it comes to filmimg. Posiotining can inclued being placed in the background, foreground, middle ground or even using split focus. Positioning can illistrate importance, atmosphere and relationships. Characters may be placed in background with the main character in the foreground emphasisng whom the most important character is. Positoining of props is also very important, if something within a scene is very significant in what is next to come it is likely that there may be a brief focus on this object/subject. In terms of relationships positioning can be key.
For example within Westerns it is common to see two cowboys spaced very far apart about to fight. This distance helps to illistrate the fact that they are not companions and also helps to convey that they stand on different terms, hence standing on different sides. Look at the distance between the characters at the very beginning of the clip below. The positoning shows that they are not frineds and that they clearly have some form of disagreement, standing on different grounds and different beliefs.
This scene below comes from the recent film 'The Strangers' which i feel illistrates just how effective poisiotning can be. Notcie how a person appears in the background whilst the women continues to go bout making a drink in the foreground. This positioning show sus as the audience something that the character in the film does not know. This kind of positioning helps to create tension and send a chill down your spine. I feel this positning is very effective and has been used countless times.
Light and colour:
As I have posted previously lighting and colour is again important and obviously part of the mise-en-scene. Low key lighitng helps to create an eerie feel and is typical within Thrillers and Horros (For example in the clip above low key lighitng is used) All different forms of lighting create different emotive responses to movies and is very important. Colour saturation in some movies works very well. For example in the movie I have mentioned before 'We need to talk about Kevin' we can notice a theme of red. The whole opening is saturated in the colour red. The colour red has the association of a variety of emotions and feelings. Such as danger, stop, blood, anger but also things like love, hot, admire. Therefore the colour used has to fit well to the camera angles and narrative of the film for them to work. In the clip 'We need to talk about Kevin' we can easily see that the red indicates danger, blodd and hate rather than love. Therefore the colour has worked well with the rest of the mise-en-scene. Colour is very important within the mise-en-scene as it helps to illistrate emotion and atmosphere.
The term mise-en-scene is a French word which basically means everything within the scene or frame. Therefore the mise-en-scene includes:
Settings and props
Costume, hair and makeup
Facial expression and body language
Lighitng and colour
Position/location within the frame.
Therefore when filming a scene every aspect is thought about carefully. For example in a Thriller it is likely to see old, eerie settings, weapons, suits and spy clothing, 'strong' body language, low key lighting, dull colours and birght explosions. All aspects of mise-en-scene but also all typical of the genre, therefore they have clearly been selected carefully, the mise-en-scene has been carefully constructed to fit to the genre and narrative. Below I have created a mood board of some things that could be found in the mise-en-scene in terms of the Thriller genre.
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