Planning mise-en-scene - Miss Georgiou

Why is mise-en-scene important within a thriller film?

Without mise-en-scene you couldn't tell a story or present a narrative, it consists of 5 key elements that helps the audience depict what is happening: Lighting, Settings & Props, Costume, Facial Expressions, and Positioning.  

What is the mise-en-scene of your thriller & why? 

The scenes set within the present tense will all have low key lighting for several reasons, firstly the darkness will create a tense atmosphere, secondly it will aid with hiding the killers face within the thriller. The audience will be able to link the darkness with the sadness the "bride" is feeling, the dark room will also be eerie for the audience and combined with the soundtrack will create tension. The lighting within all the flashbacks are completely different, with bright lights and high contrast to mirror the happy mood the scene.

Lighting conceals this person's identity,
creating a sense of mystery.

The bright lighting makes this character look
good or like a protagonist.

                              

In terms of settings and props the opening will only primarily feature in one location: the bride's bedroom, however the lighting will be different in both the past and the present to mirror the atmosphere of the scene, there will be a change of location however during the flashback sequences, in the groom's house and outside the wedding venue. The main props within the scene is the photo-album: which will be used for both the credits, and to identify the people the bride will kill and the knife that the bride uses to kill the victims, the knife will essentially become a motif within the film and the audience will be able to associate that with murder or danger. 

 

In terms of costume the key outfit within the opening will be the wedding dress worn by the bride, this is so that the audience will be able to identify that this is the main character within the thriller film even without seeing her face. The people who are preparing for and at the wedding will dress accordingly, the men in suits and the girls in dresses, this is relatable to the audience and this is conventional clothing of a wedding. The make-up worn by the bride will also play a key part, during the flashbacks her make-up will be nice, and after (in the present) the make-up will be ruined, by tears.   

In terms of facial expressions, the bride/main character's face will not be shown fully to hide her identity however through the use of extreme close ups the audience will be able to see certain parts of her face. One close up on the bride will zoom into her eyes and show that she is crying, and another will show that the bride is angry through the use of eyebrows and her mouth. During the flashbacks the facial expressions and body language within the particular scene will be energetic and happy as the characters are excited for the wedding.

In terms of positioning there is a lack of general positioning or even dialogue within the scene, the characters and objects within the scene will cover the bride's face to create suspense and keep the audience eager to see what the bride looks like and who she is. There will also be a use of positioning that hides the bride and creates shock as the audience will not be able to see her.         

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

A majority of the aspects within  the opening will be conventional to thriller film's mise-en-scene's, the strong use of low key lighting is an aspect of thrillers that is used widely as it can hide characters and create an eerie atmosphere we wish to create the same atmosphere as the audience will be gripped and eager to carry on watching to find out what will happen. We will also use the characters victim and the killer, although not conventional of the fact that the victims are males and the killer is female there is still the use of these two characters. Another convention we will use is the weapon used to murder the bride's victims, the audience will immediately be able to associate this weapon with murder and violence.

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

My thriller will be able to create a relationship with my target audience through the use of sympathy, the audience will feel sorry for the bride as she has been left at the alter and some of the audience may even be on the side of the killer as they can relate to the character. The fact that the film is set in the present time means that the audience will be able to relate to the film as the things occurring in the film are also occurring in real life.