Research: Mise En Scene - Costume, Hair and Make-up - Mrs. Quinlan

What is Costume (Hair and Makeup)? Why it’s an important convention? How it helps with character representation and understanding.

Costume is what a character wears in a film or scene to send a message to the audience and maybe have an effect within the film. Costume helps the audience understand more about a characters role in the film and also their emotions or feelings in the current scene. It can guide the audience’s attention to particular personalities or traits.

Connotations, Stereotypes of Characters and Clothing Types

From looking at a characters style of dressing and clothes you can guess what effect they have on the film such as Batman, the connotation of him will be when he wears his suit it’s like he is protected and comfortable but when he takes it off and wears just normal clothes he is vulnerable and less at home than in his bat suit.

Stereotypical costumes for protagonists will be something that shows meaning and reflects to the audience their character role and emotions, once again like Batman, he’s quite a dark character while being this anti-hero he perceives himself as, his suit is matte black and his traditional theme is dark blue, yellow and black, which are quite tensed colours. Also with hair and makeup this can be effective in that it shows the audience what type of character the protagonist is.

The Joker in The Dark Knight Rises has smeared face paint and wet, messy hair to show the audience he is that psychopathic antagonist that he wants to be.

Stereotypical Victim and Protagonist – Clothing

A stereotypical protagonist’ clothing would be something that shows the audience that they are protected and safe from any danger, and is quite effective as it helps the audience to understand the characters character in the film/scene.

Here let’s take Leonardo Di Caprio wearing a blue open shirt with a white top underneath, which are colours you normally associate with peace, love, royalty, quite calm colours preferred to darker colours like purple and black. This can help us as the audience understand his character and how they like to deal with their problems maybe he’s a quite active yet laid back protagonist.

Stereotypical Antagonist – Clothing

A stereotypical antagonist’ clothing would be something that shows the audience what they are and their role in the film or how they deal with their own problems, trying to move away from Batman let’s take Bane, his clothing is quite humid and subtle to show us that he is the clear antagonist. He also wears a mask which is a common convention in more dark thrillers. His mask suggests that it powers him and maybe makes him what he is. This can be considered an important part of his clothing besides his body clothes as his face is his identity and he’s covering it is as if he wants no one to know who he really is and wants to keep his identity a secret whereas some other antagonists would show their face.

Thriller opening analysis – Silence of the Lamb

The opening sequence of this film shows evidence of an effective use of costume as you can see her attire, which represents that she could be the victim or protagonist within the film from the way she is clothed, wearing quite protective gear and tight clothes which may say that she is quite closed in or she is immune to danger, also quite innocent as she is working hard to keep up to shape, maybe she never gives up or takes things lightly.

Conclusion

From the research I have done, I will be expanding my use of costume, hair and makeup definitely to settle on a specific branch that will suit to my style of opening and theme behind my opening. Also I will research other conventions of costume that can help improve my opening.

Research: Mise En Scene - Body Language and Facial Expressions - Mrs. Quinlan

What is body language and facial expressions? Importance as a convention in thriller?

Body language is the way characters hold themselves or act, therefore it will be important as it is a conventional to other films of the same genre. Facial expression is how characters emotions are portrayed to the audience. The look on the face and the meaning this may create to the audience. This is just as important as body language and are very conventional.

Stereotypical Victim and Protagonist – Body Language and Facial Expression

Take the protagonist here, his facial expression suggests that he is a willing, scared but brave character and will do most to keep his happiness in his life. Bright lights on a character also help us know if they are the pro or antagonist and it is used here on this character as his body language also suggests that he is reacting or is scared of something but will stay face the problem no matter what.

Stereotypical Antagonist, Ghost or evil characters body language and Facial Expression

Take the antagonist here, he is clearly the suspect and antagonist as he has a menacing look about him and the use of a micro-element makes him look superior in comparison to whoever is the protagonist. His facial expression shows that he is careless and doesn’t care about who he hurts as long as he gets his way, his body language also suggests this and in addition his stance shows he is a very big and strong character rather than a more verbal antagonist like the Joker.

Thriller Opening Analysis

The opening to Arlington Road is a great example of an effective use of body language and facial expressions as it shows this stranger, unknown to the audience but maybe a protagonist from the way he acts in the opening, showing so much care for this young boy who is hurt badly but doesn’t know him. 

His body language and facial expression suggest that he is scared yet will do whatever to look after this young boy even when he is bloody and a stranger, this can have an effect on the audience as it shows this character full of emotion and leave them curious into his role in the film.

Conclusion

From the research I have taken out on the different yet conventional facial expressions and body language of a protagonist and antagonist, I will be considering each one, I don’t yet have a specific idea but I will be testing each theme behind them to produce something good enough to make sure I produce a psychological response from my audience.

Research: Mise En Scene - Setting and Iconography - Mrs. Quinlan

What is meant by setting and iconography?

Iconography is the objects that cause significance to the scene, and setting is where the scene is based, for example a farm or a bank building. It is important to use these in films as it gives the audience an idea that the object plays a part or is going to play a part in the film. Also it gives the audience an insight into the type of iconographic conventions. It can help with audience understanding as they will be able to understand and know to what effect the iconographies have on the scene and/or film.

What are typical thriller settings and why?

A typical thriller setting from what I have watched and seen is commonly in a city, big or small depending on whether it is a sub-genre or not. A common thriller setting is something of a gloomy setting such as a worn out house or a lifeless forest.

Any normal forest would be plain, this isn’t Open Season where there are jumpy animals bouncing around and making jokes, a thriller will consist of dark vibes and a mystery-esque environment.

Types of setting

Horror – Within a horror the setting could be a house or an empty village and farm to represent the fact that the victim may have no hope or nowhere to run, emptiness.

Action – Within an action-thriller the setting could be in an open and desolate spaces to close scenes, such as Paranormal Activity, it is set in a house in the suburbs of a big city.

Mystery – Within a mystery thriller the setting could be a dark and desolate and/or isolated environment.

Crime – Within a crime-thriller the setting could be a police station or an empty run down warehouse to represent the victim’s sufferings as they need help to survive or looking for hope.

Spy – Within a spy thriller the setting could be a secret base or spy HQ to show that the protagonist is protected and has a place to hideout and recover. An example of this is Skyfall, as James Bond always has a place to run to when in danger.

Conclusion

For my opening I may use empty rooms and lifeless halls to interpret to the audience that my protagonist is empty and in need of help but sly has no hope whatsoever from the darkness lurking about. This is an effective way to produce different meaning to the scene and opening as it could create a psychological response from the audience. Also, using different iconographies to make an intent that they will have a significance later on in the scene will aid audience to understand what and what has an impact and what doesn’t.

Research: Mise En Scene - Lighting and Colour - Mrs. Quinlan

What is lighting and colour? Why it is an important convention?

Lighting and colour are a part of media that creates a lot of meaning in a scene. Lighting helps to convey mood and atmosphere, e.g. a certain type of lighting may make audience feel as if the character is represented by the current lighting. Colour also creates meaning to the scene through connotations and interpretations.

Angles of lighting

Top lighting – This makes the character look innocent, glamorous and a clearly obvious protagonist, light comes from above.

Under lighting – This makes the character look scarier, have more fear, obvious antagonist, light comes below. An example of this is The Dark Knight Rises as the light appears below him making him look more superior.

Back Lighting – This is where the light source is behind. Whether little or no light is used, a silhouette is created. An example of this is scream as they use it to create a more effective scene.

Types of lighting

Low-key – The lighting is dark with small areas of light, which also creates shadows. This may be used in a scene set in a dark room.

High-Key – When the lighting appears more natural and realistic to our eyes. The lighting effect is lightened to create a more angelic view.

Conventional Lighting in thrillers

The common conventional lighting used in thrillers are normally high key and low key lighting. Sub-genres such as Sci-Fi, Romantic and Comedy thrillers use high key lighting in their films as it gives off that more calm and groovy feeling and doesn’t come off to the audience as just dark and gloomy. Other sub-genres such as Crime, Action and Spy use low-key lighting to give off that vibe that there is a superior character in the film or there are very dark moments and tense scenes within the film. Another conventional use of lighting is top lighting, this is very much used in thrillers to portray that the character is a very orthodox protagonist and victim, so is the main character, if not then they have a big part in the film.

Conventional Colour in thrillers

As colour creates meaning to the scene a film director must be wary of what they use to make that specific scene better than what it will be with normal colours. Let’s take a spy thriller, a conventional colour will be clean red and natural blue as red is a sign of anger and urge to do something whereas blue is walking down that royal path. Most spy thrillers have a secret HQ with all their gadgets and out of the sky technology so using blue would make sense as it is a clear indication that it is a spy-thriller. 

Red is also common in other thrillers because of the different emotions it covers with anger and rage being the most typical, a scene with lots of red makes it seem as if there will be danger and risen tensions. A colour like grey and black could be used a lot to make a scene or character look dark, unorthodox and very fixated on a set mission rather than laid back and calm.

Thriller opening analysis

From watching the opening of The Moon and The Gutter film you can see from when the man is walking that they use low-key lighting and dark colours such as grey and black to portray that he is a very dark and sinister character or something sinister and mysterious is about to occur. Also the use of under lighting makes the character look more scary and inferior as it is supposed to do. Back lighting is furthermore used to create a silhouette-ish feature to the opening and emphasize the tension in the scene. The red over the moon indicated the way her blood will be spilt over the floor by her killer and antagonist, this is used to great effect as it gives the audience a chance to know that the film is very dark and subtle.

Conclusion

From researching lighting and colour, I may now use under lighting to create that more gothic and eerie feeling to my opening scene which will tell the audience that there is a supernatural feeling to the opening than keep it mainstream and use conventional basic colours. I will use ideas and conventions of lighting and colour to influence my own product and piece of footage and directing.

Research: Sound - Mrs. Quinlan

What is sound? Why is it an important micro-element?

Sound is what the human body can hear, anything we can hear is making a sound but in terms of media sound is what is heard to the audience and surroundings of the film e.g. a tweeting bird, or a car driving by. It is an important micro-element because sounds are used in films to create understanding for the audience and to create more meaning about the character and their emotions. It is also used to create a response from the audience.

Types of sound definitions

Diegetic sound – Sound which is part of the film world e.g. dialogue, music from a radio or jukebox. The sound can be on or off screen. An example where this is used in is insidious, as they used a lot of diegetic sounds to give off the effect of the film.

An example where this is used is in The Dark Knight when he is engaged in a car chase with the police and their sirens are on, the noise their sirens make is an example of a diegetic sound.

Non-Diegetic sound – Is not part of the film world e.g. soundtrack, sound effects, voiceovers. An example where this is used is John Wick as they play a song over the movie effectively as they are just introducing the character to the audience.

On screen sound – Is when you can see where sound is coming from in the film and is obvious to the naked eye, such as a character attending a gig and there is a band playing.

Off-screen sound – When you can hear sound but cannot see it yet it makes sense to the film world e.g. there is a riot and you can hear the commotion of people running away from police but it is not on film.

Parallel sound – The sound you hear in a film is what you would expect it to be, e.g. a scene with children playing on a beach, the sound would be laughter, talking and the sea.

Contrapuntal sound – Is when the sound does not match the expectations of what you are viewing, an example of this is Jaws. The scenes of the beach which are meant to be joyous and happy are accompanied by the contrapuntal sound of the theme ‘dur dur’.

Thriller opening analysis

The opening scene of Se7en uses several different types of sound. First one is Parallel Sound, it is considered a parallel sound as the character is holding a razor blade while an eerie scratch is being made in the background, and this may be used as a way to get a psychological response off the audience. Another type of editing used to good effect is Off-Screen Sound, this is clear as we the audience can see the credits and the montage of images being thrown at us but none the source of the sound yet it makes sense why they play it. Finally the last good type of sound used to good effect is the Non-Diegetic Sound, this is used effectively as they make it known to the audience that they are just introducing the film and it just the start so they want to sort of build up a tension for the audience to produce a psychological response.

Conclusion

From what I have researched today I am now planning to try Parallel and Contrapuntal sounds to keep the audience confused about several situations and leave them curious to know what is about to happen next, I may also try out off-screen and on screen sounds just to test the different effects and see which one is effectively better.

Research: Editing - Miss Begum

What is editing? Why is it an important micro-element?

Editing is the process of improving, arranging and organizing a piece into a perfect final product. Correcting mistakes is one meaning of editing; the other meaning of editing in terms of films is visually changing the camera and position or movement to have a different effect of the scene through the eyes of the producers and the audience. It is an important micro-element as it plays a major part in the effect a film has, a film with no sound will have no effect on an audience whereas a film with sound would have more of an effect. Try watching Sixth Sense with no sounds, it would not feel like a thriller film.

How is editing used in films?

Editing is used in films to (like I said), visually change the camera and position or movement to have a different effect of the scene through the eyes of the producers and the audience. Editing enables us to perfect and improve a scene to make it better than the original, this helps directors better their original cut to attract audiences and drive away critics. Editing is used a lot in media and film and many other things.

Key terms:

Straight Cut – Fluent edit to the next scene or image which creates normality to the viewer and does not confuse the events on screen. This type of edit is averagely used the most as it creates the most fluency and understanding to the audience.

Montage – Series of images that come on-screen at various speeds like flashbacks. These images can present someone growing up, partaking in a series of events etc. It is usually shown to show some sort of progression of what is happening or happened with a character.

Shot Reverse Shot – Shot from one person to another and is commonly used during a conversation or a fight scene. This helps the audience to understand that there is a conversation currently going on between two characters.

Reaction Shot – The camera is placed in the direction of the actors’ reaction, commonly used in horror films and scary movies. This is used to show the audience that the character is obviously reacting to something but the camera doesn’t want to reveal it to keep the audience on their feet.

Slow Editing – Slowing down the scene, slow motion. Commonly used in a fast paced fight scene or a mafia film to emphasize the fact that there is a war between two sides.

Fade to black – The process of an image fading into the next image with a black filter in between, commonly used in superhero thriller films like the trailer for the upcoming Batman vs Superman movie by DC.

Dissolve – The process of an image disintegrating into the next image. 

Wipe – Moving an image vertically or horizontally into the next scene, commonly used in pop style films.

180 rule – An actors’ placement should remain the same of the line of the 180 rule. If a character is on the right hand side of the camera then wherever the camera is placed it should stay on the right to not confuse the audience and erases all mistakes that could be made without the 180 rule.

Trailers 

Trailers to a thriller normally use fast paced editing and fade to black to conjure up the notion that it will have an effect on the audience and therefore gain a psychological response. Trailers such as Batman vs Superman inputs a lot of fade to black editing to give the vibe that it will take on that traditional thriller conventions.

Thriller opening analysis 

In the opening of John Wick the use of editing is remarkable as it uses several different techniques to orientate something great. One type of editing used is the fade to black, this creates the effect that there is a lot of darkness and evil or that there may be a lurking of the dark sides within the movie. Another effective use of editing is the 180 rule, they use this to create the effect that the actors from the camera’s point of view always remain on the same side even when the camera is switched to different angles and positions. The last good effective use of editing is the reaction shot as it keeps the audience peeled to the screen as they are curious to know what the actors and characters are reacting to and/or surprised at.

Conclusion 

From the editing identified, I am going to use fade to black to give off the effect that it will be an epic thriller and there is a flicker of darkness in the waters. This will help the audience understand that it is a dark thriller and enable a path for me to create a good thriller. Another editing I would use is the 180 rule so that I know the positioning of my actors at all times during filming and the audience knows right from left. I may use more as I have not fully decided.

Research: Cinematography - Miss Begum

What is Cinematography?

Cinematography is looking at the way the shot is framed, the angle it is taken in and the movement. All these things give the audience a different representation of the character and allow the audience to respond in different ways.

Key Terms

Camera Angles

• Low angle – This is the placement of the camera being rather low and below something to produce a rather powerful and superior character.

• High angle – This is the placement of the camera in a more raised position than the height of the focused image to create the notion that it may be weak and inferior.

Camera Sizes

• Establishing shot – This is when the shot is to be taken from a far distance in able to show the scene settings.

• Long shot – Is the camera being able to capture a person or object from head to toe.

• Medium close up – This is a shot from the mid-section to the facial area. This will normally be used in conversations or a dual battle.

• Close up – From the shoulder to the head. Often used in order to display the facial expressions of a character in a scene.

• Extreme close up – This is basically a more up close version of a close up, an example of this is showing the audience the eyes of a character in order to show them crying or as such. This can lead to a psychological response from the audience in terms of effect.

Camera Movement

• Crane shot – Will often be used by film directors to embrace the ending of a movie or scene. This is made possible by the camera being placed on a crane to enable it to move upwards with ease.

• Panning – Can be used to give the viewer a panoramic view of a set or setting. This is also used to make sure the audience know that they are establishing a scene.

Examples

Extreme Close Up 

Panning 

Establishing Shot 

Conclusion

Understanding what cinematography is and examples of this has helped me in terms of I now know how to use it and how I can use it to emphasize a scene I may create later on in the subject. Deeper research into this will help me understand in more detail how cinematography can make a scene go from good to amazing.