Research into Thriller Genre- Mise en scene.

MISE EN SCENE

Mise en scene encompasses the most recognizable attributes of a film- the setting and the actors. It includes costumes, makeup, props and all the other natural and artificial details that characterize the spaces filmed. The term is borrowed from a French theatrical expression, meaning roughly "put into the scene".

So what exactly is included in mise en scene?

Setting- The setting within a mise en scene creates both a sense of place or mood. This is usually different depending on the genre of the film. For example in a horror film, the setting is used to provoke fear from the audience, this typically includes settings that have nobody around such as haunted houses, woods, asylums.

Comedy films however tend to have no particular choice for where they are set. As long as the storyline is funny, then the setting works with the dialogue to create this. Some of these include settings however such as homes of the characters, schools, or somewhere the demographic would experience in their own life. Romance is much alike comedy as it focuses on a persons individual life, therefore following settings that one would experience in their life. Thriller and Action/ Adventure films however have a much more narrowed choice of settings. Within action and adventure films it tends to be within a big city or town, or even a beach or tropical place. Thrillers take place usually in foreign places such as cities, this is well shown in James Bond films.

Lighting-  Within shots, there are many different types of lighting that can be used. These types of lighting are used in order to set the scene, for example in a horror you would have low key lighting to portray that it is dark and scary. Three point lighting for example is the arrangement of key, fill and backlight. This provides even illumination of the scene and, as a result is the most commonly used lighting scheme in typical narrative cinema. The light comes from different directions to provide the subject with a sense of depth in the frame, but not dramatic enough to anything deeper than light shadows behind the subject. Below is a good example as to how 3 point lighting looks.



High-key lighting involves the fill lighting (used in the three-point technique at a lower level) to be increased to near the same level as the key lighting. With this even illumination, the scene appears very bright and soft, with very few shadows in the frame. This style is used most commonly in musicals and comedies, especially of the classic Hollywood age. Below is a good example of this technique from the classic musical Wizard of OZ.  

Low key lighting is the technical opposite of the high key arrangement, because in low key the film light is at a very low level, causing the frame to be cast with large shadows. This causes stark contrasts between the darker and lighter parts of the framed image, and for much of the subject of the shot to be hidden behind in the shadows. This is typically used in film noir productions, gangster films and horrors due to the mysterious atmosphere that is created.

Costume- Costume is arguably the most easily noticeable aspect of mise-en-scene. It can include both makeup or wardrobe choices used to convey a character's personality or status, and to signify these differences between characters. Costume can also be used to determine the genre of the film, for example in superhero films the costume will be a typical superhero and in horrors the person they fear will be dressed very spookily.

Deep Space- A movie uses this technique when there are important components in the frame located both close to and far from the camera. It is used to emphasize the distance between objects and/or characters, as well as any obstacles that exist between them.

Shallow Space- The opposite of deep space is shallow space. Within this the image appears flat or two dimensional due to little or no depth. In this image from Finding Nemo, the whale is approaching Dory and Marlin from behind, which creates suspense for the viewer, because the fish are unaware of the Whale's presence.

Staging- Staging is an important part as this enables the audience to get a better sense of what is occurring within the film. It is the actor’s duty to bring his or her character to life within the framework of the story, and his emotional input dictates how strongly the audience feels about the film. Acting depends upon gesture and movement, expression and voice.

Blocking- The meaningful arrangement of the actors on the set is called blocking. The way in which the actors are positioned can show the dominance of one character over another, the importance of family or religion, and a myriad of other relationship possibilities.

All of these attributes placed together enable to make a mise-en-scene. This then allows the demographic more information about the film, letting them piece together information to determine what genre it is.