Harriet Jelfs Media
Mise-En-Scene
Themes
Fear:
This is a theme as it is what is used to drive the audience and creates suspense to grip their attention. By giving subtle hints such as the bright lighting at the beginning, which indicates what is going to happen, and then giving very obvious clues (the close up of the knife, for example) is makes it seem more real all of a sudden. The theme is used to engage the audience so that they can relate to the character.
Death:
This theme is indicated from the very start of the film using lighting as it gradually fades showing her lights going out (her life ending). The death is also being foreshadowed as a canted angle reveals the location of the death, although this isn't known at this point. It becomes a big theme at the end of the opening as the victim is strung up like a doll, which tells the audience a bit about the murder's sick mind and what the film will consist of. This could also be shown using music.
Mystery:
Another theme is mystery which will be dragged along to create tension by raising questions. It will be shown using slow pan shots of natural settings to show that it's significant but won't reveal why until the very end of the opening. Then, there's the mystery as to why someone's been murdered, why their child has been kidnapped and the body getting strung up rather than being isposed of; these questions won't be answered so it intrigues the audience to continue watching, this theme, therefore, is used to grip the audience.
Murder:
This is a big theme towards the end of the opening as the women is murdered however it doesn't end there, the body is then hung up into a doll-like trophy. indications for the murder comes throughout the follow up by the suggestions for death using the lighting, then having a very secretive intruder that will give a sense of discomfort as the victim is very unaware. Then, the knife is revealed in her hand to reveal their intentions. After the murder when she's strung up the theme continues to foreshadow future murders in the film by usin red string to hang her up; the colour red symbolises blood, anger, death and therefore murder.
Isolation:
We've adhered this theme from the conventions of the thriller genre and shown it at the beginning of the film by panning a shot of an empty field with no evidence of society and just a lonely house on its own. The inside will also be quite bare and to give a feeling of nothingless, which reinforces isolation. A continuous ticking that sounds a bit echoey and hollow will give the same effect.
Scene 1:
This scene shows the theme of isolation through the slow pan across the field that shows the wide sprea of land around the house to make it seem alone and away from society. The lighting and sound for this scene will also represent the themes of death and murder as a bright light will show her life and the gradual fade is her life slipping away while the sound of the clock is used as a countdown to her death and the murder.
Scene 2:
This scene is very basic although shows a lot of themes. First of all, it continues the theme of isolation by the emptiness of the kitchen as everything is put away with no mess; we could have shown isolation by making the house seem abandoned which we could have shown by including mess in the kitchen so that it looked as though everything had just been dropped. Instead, however, we wanted the feeling of nothingness and so kept things ordered and limited.
Again, in this scene the lighting will continue to be quite bright and dimming throughout to represent her life fading. Also, when she walks through the door we have bright lighting coming from beind her to show that she's walking into her death because she's walking into a darker place, therefore, this symbolises the death and murder themes.
Camera angles such as the canted angle have been used to foreshadow the death as it is shown at the doorway further suggesting the death and murder themes but also mystery as it creates a disorientation that is questionable. Fear could also be displayed by the camera shots as the unknowing is often feared by many.
Scene 3:
Using camera angles such as a close up we could convey the theme of fear by worrying the audience by revealing the intruder, which the other character would be oblivious to. It also raises questions, supporting the theme of mystery, like who is this person? What are they doing? etc. By dressing the intruder in black it would also represent death as well as reinforcing mystery as it would mean they're more hidden in the shadows so the audience know they don't belong; this could also be shown through extreme close ups to keep the identity of the intruder a secret.
Scene 4:
The murder scene is the most important as it will actually show the death and murder themes and could cause some fear too. This can be shown through the camera and sounds if we show some struggling and the sound of gasping. A close up will also ensure the identity of the intruder is kept hidden so there's still the mystery element.
Scene 5:
The final scene will represent all themes as the music will get more dramatic to create fear, the camera will show a series of shots of the dead girl hung up by string, which will clearly show death and murder themes. The string holding her up will indicate these themes again through the colour red as well as creating mystery as to why she's strung up. The isolation will be revealled by the fact she's on her own at the end of the clip, this could be shown using a wide shot to emphasise this.