The document discusses mise-en-scene elements in the trailers for the films Carrie, Gone Girl, and Unfriended. Lighting in Carrie and Gone Girl is dark to create a spooky and suspenseful mood, while Unfriended uses pitch black rooms with only computer light on faces. Props like phones in Carrie and dolls in Gone Girl make audiences feel vulnerable. Facial expressions in Carrie and Gone Girl imply danger and fear. Costumes in the films' settings like homes and schools make the horror more personal and unexpected.
2. Lighting
As I watched the trailer for the film Carrie I can clearly identify that the
lighting is very dull and dark throughout. As the trailer is consistent with
dark lighting it a created more of a dark/ spooky feel. most people feel
uncomfortable in dark situations and by having dark lighting within the
seen it creates a sense of that feeling within the audience. by reflecting
the dark lighting on the decoration of ‘Jesus on the cross’ makes the film
seem more disturbing due to them using such a well known religion ands
acting pacifist against it.
When the main character walks into the bedroom in the film gone girl
there are two lights lit alone with the rest of the lights off. Due to
darkness being a symbol of evil and misbelieve it generates the audience
to feel a sense of scare due to them not knowing what's yet to come. The
two lights clearly show where the character is going and create. As the
lead up to the scene is also dark the audience are waiting for something
to happen causing suspense.
When watching the trailer for unfriended each room within the scene
suddenly goes pitch black with only the light from the computer to show
each characters face. By the room going pitch black in control of whoever
is behind the screen it shows their horridness. By the dark light
represents evil which is coming from the spirit. This creates a dark mood
within the film creating scare throughout the audience. this is due to the
stereotypical representation of darkness being scary and dull.
3. Props
The major prop that was used in gone girl are the clay dolls of punch
and Judy. When seeing the dolls appear in the trailer the audience
will feel a vulnerable connection with children due to them being part
of a children's sea-side attraction. A birds eye view shows the
audience that someone is looking over the dolls creating suspense
due to the audience not knowing who the person is.
When looking at the film Carrie the major prop was the smartphone.
By using the phone as a bullying prop within the film builds
vulnerability throughout the audience due to it being an everyday
object that is used through everyone's day to day lives. The audience
would be yet to know what's going to happen next due top the power
of a mobile phone. It is seen as the centre object within this film due
to its height.
when looking at the film unfriended I found that the only major prop
was a blender. I felt that the blender is a major prop within the film
due to it being such an every day item that is able to be found in most
homes. By using a blender it shows that almost anything could
happen throughout the film
4. Body language + facial expressions
A sense of scare within the audience is created in the Carrie trailer
when Carrie is pictured on the floor screaming. Due to such a morbid
facial expression it allows the audience to identify that there is
something wrong with the character and that she may be in danger.
As he hair covers her face it shows that has humiliated within the
situation she's in and is hiding her face to lose recognition. The facial
expression gives us the impression that she is vulnerable due to her
showing a cry for help.
As the character taken from gone girl is curled up in bed I gives us the
impression that she is frightened or disturbed. We can see this due to
her hiding almost all of her body under the covers with only her head
to be seen. The characters facial expression tells us that she is
uncomfortable with the position she's in. as her body language shows
her against the edge of the bed it gives us the impression she may be
in danger as by laying to the edge of the bed she is able to get away
quicker.
The facial expression on the girl shows her enjoying herself, this gives
the audience the assumption that she's just an average teenager . Her
body language shows her enjoying herself within the environment .
5. Costume
The characters in unfriended are each dressed in normal lazy clothing.
This represents that they’re each in a chilled environment within their
own homes. By wearing normal clothing it brings a connection to the
audience due to them coming across as just normal teenagers. Their
clothing suggests that their comfortable within their environment and
surroundings as they’ve made no effort with their appearances. This
creates the idea that nothing is going to happen due to the situation
being so laid back.
Due to the film being set in a school the costumes very casual and basic. By
dressing the characters in normal clothes it allows the audience to feel as if
what happening is more surreal due to them being able to make a
connection with the character. By dressing the characters in their own
clothes allows them to be more easily identified as they’re not wearing
school uniform.
We can tell the importance of the two characters in this scene due to
their costume. As they’re both wearing costume related to the FBI
showing that they’re in power of the situation due to them wearing
police related costume.
6. Setting
The film Carrie is set within a quiet neighbourhood, due to the setting
it makes the audience feel as if the place is so sweet that nothing bad
could happen. the setting makes the film seem more surreal due to it
being located in a small village. By setting each film in the main
characters house it makes the audience feel as if the character is safe
due to their connection with their own home. It allows the film to
seem more realistic.
Throughout the trailer of gone girl the house is a continuous setting.
This shows that the horror is set within a home making the film more
personal due to the setting having key features related to the main
characters. As a house is somewhere that people feel most safe the
idea of something going wrong is rare. As the audience can relate to
the characters within their own home it allows the film to create more
of a scare due to the unexpected of the characters no longer being
safe.
When looking at the unfriended trailer each character is located in
their own bedrooms/houses throughout. Due to them being
teenagers they have a lot of personal items within their settings
including props such as photos and personal belongings. This makes it
easier for the audience to identify the setting and connect each room
with the different characters. It also created the surreal idea of
something bad happening due to the characters feeling safe within
their own homes.