Research Into Miss-En-Scene - Miss Georgiou

 

The Omen 

 

 

Mise-en-scene refers to everything that can be seen within a scene. It consists of 5 main elements: setting and iconography, costumes and make-up, lighting, body language and expressions, and postioning. Each of these elements is carefully used to create a complete scene with a specific atmosphere. Within the Omen they use a grande setting with wealthy costumes this is a common scenario for older thriller films but unique to the newer thrillers. The lighting is very bright within this scene which is unsterotypical to the thriller genre this bright joyful lighting contasts the dark violent occurances within the scene. The mise-en-scene within the scene is unstereotypical to the thriller genre this leads to a moe relateble film.



1) Setting and Iconography:

This clip is set in a small fairground based in the garden of a grand manor house which is the focal setting for the rest of the film. The picture above shows a small section of the fairground activities in the foreground as well as the mansion in the background. I believe The Omen was set in this manor house because it makes the occupants appear vulnerable and weak as they can never be sure what is in the rest of the house due to its large size. I also believe this setting is suitable for this particular film as, as well as making them appear vulnerable it is a typical home for a rich family making the film more realistic. The joyful fairground setting also contradicts the violently horrifying occurances this makes the act appear more horrifying as it is infront of numerous young kids. This was a common setting for thriller films of this era as it was relatable to their target audience when it was release. On the other hand this setting is unique to thriller of todays time as they are commonly set in dark isolated locations, this makes the thriller more unique but less relateable.

2) Costume, Hair and Make Up:

In this clip the wealthy focal family are dressed in typical expensive clothes for that particular era. For example despite his young age Dameon is dressed in a full grey suit with a matching shirt and tie which makes him appear rich as he's dressed smartly which suggests he's been dressed by someone else. His father is also wearing a full matching patterned suit which presents him as smart and sophisticated emphasising his high social and economic status. These smart and sophisticated outfits contradict the chaotic occurances. These costumes are unstereotypical to the thriller genre as they are not relateble to the majority of the audience and therefore the film creators have to use many other elements to evoke emotions with the audience as they will not empaphise with their emotions.

Contrastingly the nanny who hangs herself is wearing a full-length, dull, grey gown. Her dark gown could represent her dark horrifying actions, this contradicts the light happy clothing of the antagonists which could also be a representation of the situation and joyful emotions. This stereotypical 'nanny' attire is used to make it clear to the audience of her occupation in comparison to the houses owners. These costumes are usually used within thriller films as it clearly categorises the characters which allows the audience to understand their relevance and possibly relate to particular characters. Thriller films also often use the costumes of characters to represent there situation and emotions.



3) Facial Expressions and Body Language:

Within this clip not many variations of emotions and facial expressions are used but the one frequent emotion seen is shock. After the nanny unexpectedly hangs herself the audience views numerous characters with shocked expressions much like the one above. In this clip this shocked is followed by by frantic, panic with all the children and parents chaotically, running for safety. The initial emotion of shock is shared by the audience as they are equally as surprised as the characters by the unexpected occurrences, the panic expressed by the characters then creates excitement within the audience as they are concerned for the characters welfare and hope they escape the tricky situation. Shock is usually used within thriller films as it follows suspense which keeps the audience on the edge of their seat before the characters panic causes for more action creating excitement. 

 

To conclude The Omen uses unsterotypical mise-en-scene to create a unique atmosphere. They successfully use Victorian appearances and setting with bright lighting to present the family as wealthy yet troubled. The mise-en-scene they use extremely significant as the soundtrack within this particular scene does not play a important role in evoking emotions within the audience. Thriller films often use mise-en-scene as it plays a extremely important role in dictating the narrative as well as evoking emotions within the audience.