Research into mise-en-scene-Miss Georgiou

In this essay, i am going to write about how Mise-en-scene is presented and used in a 5 minute clip of saw V. Mise-en-scene is basically 5 elements merged into one, these 5 elements are: 

Setting and iconography.

Costumes, hair and make-up.

Facial expressions and body language.

Lighting and colour.

Positioning of characters within the frame.

All these elements make up mise-en-scene which all films use to show what genre of film it is.  I chose this saw clip as i believe it uses all five elements very well and includes all five. Its also very conventional to a thriller film and is very stereotypical to a thriller film. Mise-en-scene is very important for thriller films as it basically sets the genre of the film. Setting and iconography is important as it shows the audience where the film is set and gives the audience an idea what may happen. Costumes, hair and make-up is important as it shows the audience the different types of characters for example killer and victim. The lighting is important as it builds tension for the audience. Positioning of characters in the frame is also important as it makes the audience aware who's the main character and who to focus on.

During the clip of saw v, the setting of the scene is very dark and gloomy which indicates to the audience straight away that its going to be a stereotypical thriller film. The setting is in a small dark room with only backing light to produce contrast in colours. The denotation is that the setting is a dark room however the connotation is that is may indicate something sinister may happen because of the darkness. The room is really gloomy which is very conventional to thrillers as they are normally set in a dark room. The room is very dark so the audience focuses on the victim who is lighter then the room. This relates to the thriller genre as it builds up tension and suspense for the audience as the victim is in the light so they focus on them therefore something bad may happen to them. Having a dark room can also show of the victims body language and facial expressions which can interest the audience more. Having the victims being light in a dark room can also make the audience feel sorry for them as they can view them clearer which is conventional to a thriller genre. 

Victim bright in dark room.

Throughout the whole scene there is very little lighting as I briefly discussed in the paragraph above. The only lighting there is low key lighting. I believe they have used low key lighting to keep the setting quite tense and to produce contrast of light between the background and the victim in the middle therefore showing the victim quite bright to build suspense for the audience. Its conventional to the thriller genre because the audience can see the victims facial expression and body language clearly to build more tension.By having low key lighting it creates suspense for the audience as they cant see what is around the character meaning that they could become scared easier which is key for thrillers. It also makes the thriller more interesting for the audience because they can see the victim whereas they cant see around him meaning that they will engage more with the film. Its conventional to thrillers because dark lighting hides parts of the room which creates suspense and a sense of mystery and a eerie feeling for the audience.

During saw v, the victim is in the middle the whole time so the audiences focuses on them building a relationship with them also classifying there the victim of the scene. In this scene the victim is in the middle with no other people in the background showing that he is the most important character and the victim. Having a character in the middle of the scene can give the audience something to focus on and to interest them into watching the scene. This is conventional to a thriller genre as it defiantly shows the victim and whos the main character to focus on. Also if the audience focus on a person, something in the background could happen which builds suspense and tension.

The male character in the scene has no costume, however he is only wearing black trousers and is topless. The denotation of this is that to show more blood when the man is cut and the connotation is that as hes half naked it could possibly mean hes pure therefore showing hes the victim of the scene. Its conventional to the thriller genre as different costumes can produce different meanings and in this case as hes topless it will show more blood when hes cut so it makes the audience feel more vulnerable. 

Facial expressions and body language is very important in thriller genres as it give the audience a feel of what there feeling. At the beginning of the scene the victim is panicking trying to escape the table which enables the audience to sympathize for him building a relationship between them. In the middle of the scene when the blades start to move the victim is even in more of a scared state. 

End of scene. 

Facial expressions and body language is very conventional for a thriller genre as it enables the audience too see how the characters are feeling which can build a relationship for them. It also builds suspense for what is too come if they for example there facial expression is very panicky. 

These five points are elements of the Mise-en-scene and all enable to build tension and suspense for the audience especially facial expressions and body language. Lighting is also key in thrillers as you need to create the right effect for the audience to understand what genre of film it is. Where you position people and costumes are important as well as the audience can tell who is the most important and who they should focus on. If i was too change the clip i would add in background extras to make the victim stand out even more. Its inspired me when i make my thriller opening scene to use a dark setting with a bright victim to show there important and to make there actions stand out more. Also i will defiantly use low key lighting to build suspense for the audience and to make it more interesting for them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnQ1Mnivo58