Planning: Mise en Scene - Mrs. Quinlan

What is Mise en Scene? Why is it important to consider it in your opening?

Mise en Scene is an important factor that includes: costume, hair and make-up, iconography, facial expression and body language, setting, lighting and colour. These are important because together they complete a whole and can create some a reality that is viewed by the audience. It is important that Mise en scene is well planned with other micro elements because different stimulus will affect the way Mise en Scene needs to be presented. This micro element works with any other one and together can create a strong effect and cause an intense audience response. for example a contrapuntal sound of a joyful soundtrack in a setting like a abandoned and eerie house will create a sense a frustration as the audience doesn't know what will happen.  Simultaneously Mise en Scene on its own can already help the viewer to create some assumptions based on the way that these aspects are used. For example if the victim is wearing white clothing it makes the viewers assume that she is vulnerable and exposed. Mise en scene is important to consider because if used inaccurately it will cause distortion to the scene and can leave the audience frustrated and angry because they already hold some expectations which were unsatisfied.

The intended Mise en Scene for our Thriller Opening:


Iconography:

      News Paper cut outs- these will play as typography to our opening credits and will be used throughout. We decided on this less typical typography because it will make the viewer intrigued and much more engaged into the viewing as they are encountered with something less familiar. Additionally, often newspaper cut outs are associated with threat and blackmail because these help to hide the antagonist hand writing and keep them anonymous which can create a sense of unsettlement for the spectator who will feel uneasy about using such secretive way to present the opening credits as nothing obvious is revealed.

Magazines- another inevitable iconography used will be the fashion magazines which will be constantly referred to and shown throughout the opening, forming almost a montage of images. We decided to use magazines because it will fit nicely with the idea of newspaper typography as well as these fashion magazines will almost give an insight of the characters life and interest which can be interesting for the audience to see. Simultaneously, these can be a false clue for the audience who will instantly connote fashion with the female gender, however as an element of surprise we decided that this deception will impact the audience more when they start to release that this is in fact a male character. Additionally, these magazines will have beheaded models on, which yet again will help to give an insight of this character likings as well as show that this is an antagonist of the narrative and someone we should loathe.

Red Lipstick- another iconography that will be reinforced throughout the opening is the red lipstick that will be used to write in the title of the film. We wanted to use a lipstick to reinforce the female nature and yet again false clue our audience which will help to build to the climax and element of surprise. At the same time red is a strong color with connotations of evil, which will show that this is an antagonist, as well as blood, which will symbolize that the character has brutal intension, but also passion, showing that this is someone with an obscure obsession and crazy passion towards his interest.

Red Bra and Underwear- this iconography will be briefly accompanied by one of the cast names. We decided that the character will quickly grab these props, as if rushing to do something or being ashamed, which will intrigue the viewer who is unaware of what is happening. We decided on a red bra and underwear because bras are a part of female attire which will alert the viewer who will think that this is in fact a female character. We want it to be red as, similarly to the red lipstick, this colour has strong connotations and will also imply sexual desire or romantic passion which will seem obscene when we realize that this is a man, surprising the audience.

Mannequin- this will be displayed at the middle of our sequence and a zoom in will be used to introduce this and show its significance. We decided on a mannequin because it will show that this character has a passion, nearly an obsession, for female fashion and females overall. This will make the viewer feel uncomfortable, knowing that this person if out of control with his longings which is typical of an antagonist as often they have a fixation on one thing that they keep hold on to throughout the film.

Mirror- lastly, we intend on using a mirror which will display the title written on with a lipstick. We want to use this iconography because it will be a metaphor for reflection of his past as well as real him. It will also help to reinforce the idea of female gender because stereotypically they tend to spend a lot of their time trying to improve their image and looks which shows that this character wants a change in his life, making the audience reflect on themselves.

Body Language & Facial expression:

      The main character will have a steady and firm body language when the audience is finally fully introduced to him at a low angle. This will give him superiority and authority amongst the viewers who need to look up to him, which will make them feel intimidated too. At the same time this posture will show that this is a strong character and is determined about something, which contrasts his feminine side and unconventional clothing.

When the character leaves, his body language will be very masculine and juxtapose the feminine clothing. This will give the audience more insight into the character, proposing that this is someone who has a split personality and seems lost in the society; not knowing how to behave.

The character will have an angry facial expression when he looks at the magazine cover. This will represent his feelings of hatred towards the models, allowing the audience to infer that he is either jealous of them or has a troubled mental state in which case he can be seen as a threat.

 However as the character calms down and leaves, his facial expression will seem lifeless and dead, proposing that he is fed up or has another goal. This concerns the audience because they can infer that he will take out his anger in another way, probably cause harm to someone else or himself. This therefore leaves the viewer in apprehension, because they could worry for his victims but at the same time do not want him to end his life or hurt himself.

Lighting & Colours:

Lighting - The lighting we intend to use is low key with top lighting throughout the scene. This is because we wants to create a cunning and evil atmosphere and make the audience have a fearful response. Moreover we will use the top lighting to focus on the objects such as the magazines and the writing in the mirrors. The under lighting will be used when the main character is portrayed in the camera and begin to wear tights and a dress. This is because we want to show the character's silhouette and make the viewers feel uncomfortable as the character's identity is unknown. Lastly, we think that these key lighting are conventional to the thriller genre which will give the right response from the spectators which are threat and mysteriousness.  

Colours - The colours that we intend to use during the editing is a yellow filter to convey the feeling of mysteriousness. Also the dress will be red to connotes the feminine ways of woman and the passions that this character has for woman. Furthermore even the pen that the character will use to cross the models in the magazine, will be red to connote danger and misery. The tights will be black because is conventional and credible. Whereas, the lipstick will be dark red to connote blood and revenge and makes the audience feel curious and want to see more. Overall, we think that these colours will suit our thriller opening and makes the audience have the proper feeling and emotions.

Setting:

     The first part of our opening scene will be set in a drama room because of its lack of lighting and wide spacing thus giving a thrilling atmosphere, appropriate for the genre, and easy to film in. We also chose the drama room due to the scratches and marks on the black floor which creates a distorting effect to the audience as it gets them thinking what caused all the scratches and overall looks concerning. This is conventional to a thriller genre because it will create a threatening and chaotic atmosphere for the viewer, who is unaware of the location just yet, and because of the surrounding darkness. This will make the audience feel intrigued but at the same time scared as often we fear of unknown but want to find out what is being hidden from us.

The rest of the opening scene will be set in 'Moda Istanbul Boutique’ where the location will be much clearer to infer for the viewer. We decided that this location would be suitable for our opening scene because it can give an insight into the character past or hobby, thus show the audience what are they like. This is conventional to the thriller genre as it will be an isolated setting with low key lighting, creating a threatening atmosphere. Also, often settings are used to create a specific character representation. This will make the audience feel scared because they can sense that something bad will happen through the isolation and low key light which is often evident before the climax. 

Conclusion:

      In closure, after planning all the micro elements was beneficial because it allowed us to save time while filming and make correction if needed. Also we were able to predict the response that the audience might have and realize if they were the one that we wanted. If not we were able to change it and make it more professional and credible for our opening thriller. Furthermore, the different choice we made for our thriller opening are conventional to the thriller genre because the mise en scene are allows to challenge some stereotypes which is conventional to the thriller genre. Overall, planning the micro elements was useful because we did not miss any of them.