Research into Mise-en-scene - Miss Georgiou

This post is going to about Mise-en-scene and how it builds suspense, i am going to be using it to analyse a short clip from the thriller film, Mama. Mise-en-scene stand for placing on stage/shot, it is made up of five sections;

• light + colour
• Setting + Iconography 
• Costume, Hair + Make up 
• Facial expressions + body language 
• positioning of characters 

Lighting includes different types for example low key light is darker colours, browns or black and high key light is bright colours. It is also about the positions of the light in the shot e.g back light and fuller light.

     Setting and iconography is about the place, the film takes part and the props which are used for example a forest and guns or knifes, these could be used to foreshadow possible danger in the film.

    Costume, hair and make up is all about what the character looks like and how they are shown. The costume is what they are wearing for example a superhero would be wearing a mask or a cape. Make up and hair shows how the character looks after themselves e.g a wealthy women would have their makeup and hair done nicely. But a less wealthy person would have normal everyday make up and styles.
     Facial expression and body language are all about the way the characters hold and show themselves, If they are hunch over it could show emotions like worry or tiredness, and if they are frowning it would show anger or concentration.
     Positioning of characters is about where the character is placed in the shot, for example in the back or in the middle. If they are in the middle it normally means that they are important and need to be concentrated on.
     

                                       
                                           This is the Sequence from Mama i am analysing.

At beginning of the Mama clip the older investigator is the first character to enter the scene, in his shot we can see the empty forest and the dirty, old door of the house. The forest is quiet and still and it is visible that, that is all there is for a long distance, therefore the audience can see that the house is in a remote place and is away from any help, they can see that it will not be easy to find or escape from. The setting of this clip shows the audience that the characters could be in danger and that they are extremely isolated. This creates worry because the viewers will be waiting for something bad to happen or for the investigators to find something which could be unexpected and cause a threat.

   
The lighting in the clip is low key, any day light in the house is very limited and when the two investigator are entering the house we see straight away that it is dark and dirty. Having low key light is very effective in this scene because the darkness makes it harder to see and gives objects and corners shadows, the darkness creates mystery as the unknown is being highlight through the shadows. The low light creates suspense because of the mystery the audience are left with as they cannot see lot of what is happening around the men. The audience react to the low key light and become very engaged about what is happening in the house with the characters they are intrigued into what is going to happen. The low key light is conventional to the thriller genre because the emotions is creates, the audience expect to be left waiting to find out what happens to the character.

The most effective costumes are the girls, Victoria and Lily. They are wearing old rags which are ripped and dirty and they have wild flower headbands placed on their head. Their hair and make up is also effective, they have dirty skin and there hair is dried out, messy hair. These assets show that they are not properly looked after and that they are unhygienic, they look feral as though they have not being in contact with civilisation for a long time. The audiences emotions can react to this, it shows they have had to fight for themselves and haven't been cared for properly. It also builds suspense about how the girls will react to the investigators because they almost seem wild. The conventions for this is also about the unknown, thrillers involve lots of mystery in order to create suspense shock and surprise, the girls are strange to the investigators as the do not expect to find them there and they are also strange to the girls because they are not used to normal human contact.

Further on in the sequence we see the positioning of characters, part of mise-en-scene. Victoria and Lily both climb onto the top of the fridge, this positions them into the middle if the screen. The girls being in the centre of the shot draws attention to them from the audience, it makes the viewers watch them and focus on them whilst they are in shot. The audience know they are important in the scene, it also allows them so see their hunched over body language. From this the audience can relate to the girls as the main characters and know that they need to be watched carefully throughout the film, it is clear that the girls need to be investigated and they will want know what has happened to the girls that has made them become like this and why they been abandoned it the house on their own.

Body language is a key part of how the characters come across to the audience. A good example of body lanauage in my chosen sequence is of Victoria and Lily are sitting on top of the fridge. They are both hunched over on all fours looking animal like, the girls come across as very closed of and scared of the investigators. Victoria is above lily showing her love for her and how she protective of her, showing how they have had to defend for themselves and that Victoria has had to look after Lily. The audience can relate to the girls because they can connect with their feelings of love towards someone that they care for. It shows the girls personality and lets the audience build a relationship with the girls though their relationships in reality and the girls relationship in the film. The conventions of the body language is Victoria protecting Lily although she is not being a clear targeted victim she is still being protected by her sister, there is normally a relationship like this in a thriller so the audience want to see this behaviour.

All the mise-en-scene assets are very important to have within a film because they make it realistic, they show the audience everything they need to know about a character or the setting. Having all five of mise-en-scene elements is very effective and they are shown and used very well in my chosen clip. My research into mise-en-scene has shown me what I need to include in my film and what will make it create the best emotions for the audience. I will be using low key light as my film as it is also a thriller it builds more mystery and suspense for the audience as I saw in the mama sequence research. I will be having iconography in my film, like pictures of the antagonist's victims and weapons. My main character will be positioned in the centre of the screen most of the time when they are in shot and the victims will have obvious body language that shows their fear. All these things link in with the thriller genre as shown in my clip, they are conventional because of the mystery and suspense they create which is in most thriller films. This research into mama and mise-en-scene has helped me understand what really makes the film effective and how without mise-en-scene it wouldnt be realistic or build any emotions with the audience.