Planning Mise-En-Scene - Miss Georgiou

Planning Mise-En-Scene

Planning Mise-En-Scene for our sequence is extremely important as this consist of the most vital elements within our sequence. This planning needs to be planned thoroughly and carefully as these are the main elements that would then impact on our audience therefore we need make these a priority to make our sequence successful. We also need to be aware of what we are including within our sequence as it is vital that the audience are able to build relationships with the characters in a certain way. 

Setting and Iconography

For the setting we have chose our setting to be based within a forest. We have chose to base it within a forest as a forest tends to be a typical thriller genre setting as it impacts a lot on the audience; the majority of the time, forest are lonely and isolated therefore putting any characters within the region in danger as there are no surroundings or facilities to support if there are any problems. This is an ideal for our sequence as we want the audience to think that the characters are in a dangerous position and if they are seen in a forest then the audience will be able to have a clear understanding that the characters would be in a dangerous position. After the shock of Bettie revealing her true identity, the audience will immediately turn their concerns to the remaining characters and think about the isolated region that they are in and automatically assume they have got their lives at risk because of the lack of surroundings an support. This setting will be able to be identified throughout the entire sequence too make sure that our audience are fully aware of the region and the potential consequences. This setting is conventional to a thriller because it builds up a lot of tension and suspense throughout as the general atmosphere is acknowledging and being aware that the characters are in danger so this keeps the audience cautious of what could happen to either of them. Mainly it is being suspense being built up, up to the point where Bettie's identity is shown because there is a lot of isolation around the characters and displays the loneliness. After Bettie's identity is revealed the element of tension is built up to a high level immediately because the remaining characters are now in severe danger so the tension is built up because the audience are now aware of the scenario so they are panicking and are paranoid of what is going to happen to the remaining characters. 

When it comes to iconography, we are planning to include iconography such as sticks and balls for the dog to play with at the start of our sequence. We have chose this so that it would build a happy atmosphere so that when the dog mysteriously disappears a sudden shock and suspense would easily be able to gradually build up. If we to not include this type of atmosphere then the scene would be too easily predicted and we want to shock our audience so that they do not know what to expect within our sequence otherwise it will not be a successful production as the key elements would not have the opportunity to be created. This scene using the iconography will be able to be identified at the start of the scene where all of the characters are talking among themselves while playing with the dog at the same time. This is conventional to a thriller genre as the use of the iconography would create a happier atmosphere which then would contrast into a negative, suspended atmosphere making it easier for the audience to build relationships with the characters and build up the tension. Furthermore, because this is a realistic activity that happens on a daily basis it makes the narrative more relatable and easier for the audience to relate to this activity and build a stronger relationship with the characters.  

Lighting and Colour

For this element we have selected to use low-key lighting and keep the colour fairly dark but adjustable so that we are still able to observe the characters. We have selected this particular lighting and colour so that it creates a more mysterious and daunting atmosphere that would then impact on the audience by creating a more suspended atmosphere which then would gradually build up the tension making the audience more paranoid and giving them the ability to start to build relationships with the characters. This lighting and colour will be able to be identified throughout the entire sequence so that the audience are kept on the edge of their seats because they don't know what to expect. This element is vital and conventional to the thriller genre as it creates a lot of suspense throughout the sequence which builds up the tension between the audience because the darkness makes the audience aware that anything can happen to the characters because they have put themselves in a dangerous position helping the audience build a fearful relationship with the characters. Furthermore, the darkness would display to the audience that they could be attacked at any time because they cannot see their surroundings. Moreover, we have still kept a small amount of light within the sequence so that we are still able to see the characters faces otherwise if it's too dark we will not be able to see the intricate facial expressions which would impact on the audience. 

Costume, hair and make-up

With regards to the costume, hair and make-up we have kept them all simple and casual up to a certain point when Bettie's make-up changes to show the blood round her face however the remaining characters appearance stays the same throughout;

Bettie's appearance from the start of the sequence up to the point where her identity is revealed stays the same. She would be seen in casual clothes with her hair and make-up worn like any typical 16 year old female. The concept behind this idea is so that her relationship between her and the audience can be built as she would be referred to as any average female of her age which is the same ages as our target audience so the audience would be able to find her relatable and can link to her every day life. With Bettie being the antagonist in our sequence, we do not want to reveal straight away that she is who she is because we want to include the element of shock to the audience so that this would impact the audience once her identity is revealed. For this reason, for the majority of the sequence we want her to be seen just like any of the other characters so that the audience do not expect her to be a antagonist and also the surprise element would be used. This is conventional to a thriller genre as once her identity is shown just by the appearance of her the element of shock and surprise would be immediately created  and impacts the audience straight away; because most of the sequence Bettie is seen as any other female her age, the audience can relate to her and build a trusted relationship however when her identity is revealed the trust is broken and the opinions would change straight away. Furthermore, the element of blood being included within the sequence would also be conventional towards a thriller.

Based on the other remaining characters, they would also be seen as teenagers their age however they appearance stays the same throughout the sequence unlike Bettie's. The purpose of the remaining characters appearances staying the same throughout is show that they all fit within the same category of being victims or potential victims of Bettie. They would be seen in a every day lifestyle clothing with their hair and make-up so that the audience have the ability to build a trusted relationship with them as they can relate to the characters as the appearance and backgrounds of the characters and the same as our target audience. This is conventional to a thriller conventions as these characters are all from the category of Bettie's victims so this will create an element of tension between them and the audience. Furthermore, it also creates suspense as for most of the sequence they are dressed almost the same as Bettie who is the antagonist so this creates a mysterious atmosphere with suspicion whether there are any hidden identities of whether Bettie is associating with any of these characters. 

Facial Expressions and Body Language 

The facial expressions and body language would be mutual throughout the sequence up to various points within the sequence; 

At the start of the sequence when all the characters are grouped together and are just walking through the forest, they would have the typical facial expressions and body language as any other teenager at their age during a scenario like this. The purpose of  this is, is to display that all the characters are from the same background and to show this is just an ordinary day like any other. At this point, all the characters appear to be the same because we do not want to reveal anything yet as we want to start the sequence quite casual so that the audience are able to relate to the characters and their activities making it easier for the audience to build relationships with the characters. 

Once the dog then disappears, there is a change - each of the characters facial expressions change as they notice the disappearance so they know something is wrong. By this time they are all starting to become scared, alerted and also confused by what is going on. This can be easily seen by the change in their facial expressions. Their body language starts to change aswell as they know there's something wrong so they start to become tense and paranoid  so their body's become more tensed as they are getting more and more scared and alerted. This impacts on the audience as know the audience are eager to know what is going on and why this type of behavior is occurring. Furthermore, they also are confused as such to what has happened to the dog and why it has mysteriously disappeared making them more cautious and paranoid. This creates a fearful relationship with the audience as they wander if the next disappearance is going to occur and whether it is going to impact on one of the characters. 

Once the group are split up and come and find that Bettie is a cannibal and has killed Kane, their facial expressions are the most scared that they have been throughout the entire sequence. Their body language starts to strain as they are panicking and are alerted straight away so are running to save their owns lives. The camera would display a close up view of the characters faces once they discover Bettie's abnormal behavior as the intricate fear and details in their expressions would be able to be seen. This is relevant so that the audience have the ability to build their sympathetic relationships with the characters as they experience the terror within their faces. 

Once the frame has revealed Bettie's behavior her facial expression and body language also changes once this is shown. Her facial expressions is now demonized so that a clear view of her showing that she is the antagonist which can be seen. Her facial expression would automatically turn serious and a mysterious haunting face would be seen to represent her true identity. Furthermore, her body language would change as she is calmer than the rest of the characters to show that she has no fear of anyone else and to represent her dominance over the remaining characters,unlike the other characters who are running around everywhere to display their fear of Bettie. This will help build relationships with the audience as they are now seeing the power within Bettie so they are now fearing her as also feeling sympathetic towards the other characters because they know that Bettie easily over powers them. 

This is conventional to the thriller genre as all the key elements are being presented within the sequence; the suspense gradually builds up once the understanding of the dogs disappearance is shown so a mysterious atmosphere creates the suspense at this point within the sequence. The surprise/shock is being shown once Bettie's identity and Kane's death is shown which impacts the audience because the trust within the relationship with Bettie is now broken. The tension at the end when Bettie is going after the remaining characters is built because we do not know whether the characters are going to escape or whether they can defeat her. We need a variation of these elements in order to contribute towards our sequences success so that the audience do not know what to expect.  

Positioning of Characters/Objects within the frame 

At the start of our sequence all characters would seen in the frame all together however when it comes to roughly the middle of the sequence the characters split up in order to find the missing dog when they split up in a set of 2 and 4. Once the victims discover Bettie killing Kane, it would just be Bettie and Kane within the frame so that it would emphasize on this particular scene as this is the most vital part of the sequence as this is what impacts the audience the most. After this is shown, all the remaining victims are now in one frame to display their vulnerability and we section Bettie in a separate frame going after them to show her dominance and the fear she creates on other characters.This is conventional to the thriller genre as we see the clear contrast of the victims and antagonist and we can see a clear display of the inferiority. Furthermore, in Bettie's identity frame we see the emphasis on her to show her dominance and power which then creates the shock on the audience. Furthermore, on the chase scene at the end when Bettie and the victims are in separate frames, we feel the tension that is being created as we are not knowing what it to expect or whether the victims are going to escape or not. 

I have found this planning on the Mise-En-Scene really helpful as it has gave me a better understanding of what is to be included in each of the Mise-En-Scene elements so that when it comes to filming our sequence we know exactly what is to be included in each category. It also gives us a better plan of how the layout of the sequence is going to be so that the relationships with the audience can be built together efficiently.