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Mise-En-Scene

Mise en scene is very vital to the thriller genre, which is why it is very important we import elements of this in our film, as props, sets or location can have sinister connotations.

A technique used which is quite popular  is the use of mirrors which we will use within our film.

The use of mirrors shows the connotations that the character has to reflect on what they have done or want to do.

Furthermore, it shows how they view themselves and the many different faces they may have 

In addition I will also use this technique within my film in order to represent how the main character perceives themselves and how society looks at them.

For example, we will use this technique in order to display how the corrupt police has multiple identities. One which is the keeper of the law and also one identity where she is on the other side of the law. 

A technique that is used is the use of stairs within a scene.

Stairs may show the use of power or authority a character may have within that scene. This could be suggested trough the use of higher or lower ground.

Furthermore, I will use this technique within my film in order to represent the amount of authority that each character has. For example, there will be a scene where the killer in our film will meet each other and sing this technique the character with most authority ( corrupt police officer) will be made obvious to the audience.

What does it stand for?

This is French for "What is put into a scene or a frame"

This is visual information which is in front of the camera

5 Elements of Mise-En-Scene
  • Settings and props

  • Costume hair and makeup

  • Facial Expressions and Body Language

  • Lighting and colour

  • Positioning of characters/objects within the frame

Setting and props

In films the set can be built from scratch or there would be a lot of time invested in fidning a setting which only exists

Settings can manipulate an audience by building certain expectations and then taking a different turn

Costume Hair Make Up

Indicates us to a characters personality status or job. It could tell us the type of society the film is located in or the type of culture it is centred around.

Certain costumes can signify certain individuals for example black cloak signifies a vampire, Spideys Spiderman suit

Facial Exprerssions and Body Lanaguage

Facial Expressions provide a clear indictor of how someone is feeling.

For example, if someone is smiling broadly we assume that they are happy however we may experience a different feeling if this was accompanied by scary music. 

Body Language can also indicate how a character feels towards another character or may reflect their state of their relationship.

Position of characters

Through positioning certain characters can draw certain attention towards certain objects or characters. It could also be used to indicate relatiopnships between people

Lighting and Colour

Highlight important characters or objects through lighting

Making character look myserious by shading sections of the face and body

It could reflect a characters mental state or hidden emotions. For example, bright means happy, dark means disturbed.

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