Planning Mise-En-Scene - Miss Georgiou

Why is mise-en-scene important?

Mise-en-scene plays a huge part within all films, in specific thriller films. Mise-en-scene is definied as everything the audience can see within the frame and it consists of 5 main elements; setting & iconography, costume hair and make-up, facial expressions & body language, positioning and lighting. Each of these individual elements plays a unique role in creating the intended atmosphere desired by the film makers. Mise-en-scene is important because it sets the scene and dictates what effect is created within this scene.

What is the mise-en-scene of our thriller clip include images and elements?

For our opening thriller sequence we aim to use various settings such as a car park and a forest. The iconography we plan to feature is a knife, car and a mask. The characters in our clothing will both be wearing casual, every-day clothes apart from the mask worn by the antagonist. The facial expressions of the villain will not be seen due to the mask but his body language will be very relaxed and calm. This contrast the body language of the victim who will be very panicked and rushed, this will also be reflected by her facial expressions. The lighting will be contrasting and basic, for the forest scene we will only be using the natural dark light and for the car park scene the light will be bright with dark corners.

How is the mise-en-scene conventional to a thriller film?

Within thriller films mise-en-scene plays a pivatol role in creating the threee main emotions of; suspense, shock and suprise. Mise-en-scene is typically used within thriller films as each of the 5 mise-en-scene elements commonly feature within a thriller film, for example the setting usually pplays a huge role in creating a intended atmosphere. Iconography mainly features within crime thrillers as the weapons use are a focal point. Costumes and make-up are not particularly significant for the protagonists as they typically wear normal everyday clothes with common make-up. This differs from the significance of the costume and make-up worn as these play a big role for the antagonist as they can possibly make them appear much more scary with the use of things like masks. Facial expressions and body language play a huge role in evoking emotions within the audience as they often empaphise with the emotions portrayed by the characters. Positioning plays a more pivatol role within thriller films than typically in other films as the villains are often cleverly positioned in particular positions which give them empowerment other the protagonists making the victims look vulnerable. The lighting is often very similar within all thriller films as low-key lighting is very heavly used within thrillers to make the villoains appear mysterious and hides them from the protagonist, this also makes the victim appear more vulnerable.

How can your thriller build a relationship with your target audience?

I plan to use the majority of the 5 mise-en-scene elements to help create a relationship between the characters and audience, within my opening thriller sequence. I believe the setting i'm using will appeal to my target audience of 16-25 year olds as it set in a common urban location which is reltable for my audience as they will have been in the location on many occasions and therefore can partially realte to the characters situation. Costumes similarly plays a huge role in creating a relationships between the audience characters because if the audience are wearing clothes which the audience would typically wear than they can again relate to the characters as they can picture themselves in that situation. Body language and facial expressions have the most significant role in causing the audience to empaphise with the characters so within my thrilller clip i am to exaggerate the emotions to evoke reflecting emotions within the audience. Lighting and positioning have a less important role in creating relationships as they are more focussed towards creating a sense of enigma within thriller films.