Mise En Scene Planning - Miss Georgiou

Mise En Scene Planning

For our thriller opening our group has decided upon the locations of a forest and a house. Our decision of these locations were influenced by our quantitative data we collected from our questionnaire which stated that a house and forest were the most popular locations for a thriller film, and therefore we believed it would maximise the audiences experience while watching. The setting of the house would be based mainly in the children's bedrooms where the nightmares begin to take place. The forest location is conventional to a thriller film as it is a dark, gloomy place which evokes a sense of mystery upon the audience, and is a popular location in many thriller films. The house location is also conventional to a thriller film as many thrillers are based around the victims home, increasing the audiences experience as they usually feel safe and secure in their homes, but will now become increasingly anxious.

The iconography our group decided upon to include in our opening scene was a mask, knife and mirror. Our decision to include these forms of iconography was influenced by our findings from our questionnaire, which concluded that these were what viewers most desired to see in a thriller film. As a group we all believed that the use of the mask, knife and mirror would therefore enhance the thrill for the audience and allow our opening to follow the thriller conventions. These forms of iconography are conventional to a thriller film as a mask is incorporated to hide the antagonists identity from the audience, which increases their suspense levels and anticipation to discover who the antagonist is. A knife is a conventional form of iconography as it is a popular weapon that antagonists use in thriller films when attacking their innocent victims. A mirror is also conventional to a thriller film as it increases the audiences suspense levels as they are left on the edge of their seats wondering if anything will appear behind the protagonist.

For costumes, hair and make up we would have Evie wearing a white t-shirt and trainers and Billy wearing a black tracksuit and mask to also portray to the viewers that Evie is the innocent victim and that Billy is the antagonist. The costumes the characters will wear are conventional to a thriller film as antagonists are often dressed in black to convey a sense of mystery and wear masks to disguise their identity from the viewers, to enhance the thrill of their experience. Also the innocent victims are usually dressed in light colours to portray their purity and innocence to the audience, allowing them to feel empathy towards the character when they are put in danger.

Throughout our thriller opening we would mainly employ low key lighting and key lighting, as this is conventional to a thriller film because it increases the thrill the viewers experience and suspense levels. We would include low key lighting throughout the duration of the opening before the nightmare occurs, and during the forest scenes. We would also create key lighting at significant points of our thriller opening, which we hope to create with the use of a lamp and candles.



In the forest location in the nightmare, Billy will be positioned closer to the camera and Evie further away when he is stabbing her, this is to portray the authority Billy has over Evie. Through the body language and facial expressions employed during this sequence the audience will become aware that Evie is scared and running for her life, and Billy is the antagonist, having somewhat a great amount of power over her. The sense of power will also be conveyed to the audience through the positioning of Billy being further up in shots compared to Evie. This will allow the audience to understand the storyline and the roles of the characters, furthermore enhancing their experience while watching. The positioning of the characters is conventional to a thriller film as it notifies the audience of their levels of authority, allowing them to be aware of the representation of each character. Also the body language and facial expressions are conventional as it allows the audience to experience the emotions the characters are feeling, increasing the thrill of the film.