M-E-S presentation for film opening.

1. Mise-En-Scene
Reviewing the aspects of Mise-En-Scene using CLAMPS
(Costume, Lighting, Actors, Makeup, Props, Setting)

2. Costume - Killer
•We have chosen to dress the Killer in smart clothes in order to
have him seem as if he blends into the rest of society. This is
important as he is not a crazed mass murderer but is an
intelligent methodical Killer.
•The suit and tie also contributes to our likable killer as the choice
of clothes creates a sense of comfort in the audience as he will
not be wearing the cliché killer clothes that are worn down and
dirty.
•These clothes also contrast from the setting and the tone of the
opening making the Killer stand out more and has the audience
focus more on the establishment of the Killer.
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3. Costume - Body
•The Body’s costume is going to be quite generic winter style
clothes.
•We have chosen to make the clothes generic as if the Body was
just going about their day to day business before they were
killed. This creates more enigma by raising the question of why
did the Killer kill her.
•The generic and warm clothes also creates an innocence in the
character which makes the audience sympathise with her.
•Having the audience sympathise with the Body while also liking
the Killer makes the audience feel unsure about who should
really be trusted which is a useful tool in creating unease and
tension. 3

4. Lighting
•We are choosing to use quite high key cold lighting to establish
the Thriller genre further as this type of lighting is used very often
in Thriller films.
•The cold lighting in the woods also signify how it is very cold in
the woods but the Killer is still there in clothes that don’t cover
him that much. This creates a weird feeling in the audience
directed at the Killer.
•The cold lighting on the Killer’s face is also useful in establishing
his character as this lighting connotes how he may be quite
abnormal and disconnected from society.
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5. Actors - Killer
•The Killer in our film opening is going to be quite casual and will
mostly fit into society.
•He is going to be calm and collected at all times in the film
opening as he is dragging and burying the body. His calm attitude
will make the Killer stand out as it will contrast the dead body
and cold lighting.
•We are aiming for our killer to be like Christian Bale for
American Psycho when he is happy and confident and we are also
aiming for him to like Norman Bates from Psycho when he is
being more creepy and about to kill someone.
•We will also be putting across a feeling of entitlement in the
Killer which we can show with his confidence and choice of
clothing
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6. Actors - Body
•Other than being a dead body and simple just that, the character
of the Body helps establish the Killer character by him interacting
with her in ways that contrast norm of most Thrillers.
•The body also establishes the genre effectively by having a dead
body introduced very early on in the film opening.
•We are choosing to have the body move and moan a little in
order to invoke more action from the killer, e.g. when he walks
over and hits her over the head with a shovel. Having more
things like this happen keeps the film opening more interesting
and will keep the audiences attention.
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7. Makeup
•Our killers makeup is going to be quite minimal as he is
supposed to fit into common society so having very little make up
is important to establishing the character.
•We will use some makeup on the Killer in order to clear his face
up so the light that will be shining on his face doesnt cast too
many shadows across his face with spots and marks which can
distract the viewer if too strong.
•Our Body will have more makeup on. We will use make up that
will make her face look very pale and cold due to the fact that she
is dead.
•We are also choosing to have her face look cold and as if her
body is not particularly 'fresh‘ which signifies how the Killer is not
rushing to dispose of the body, showing how he is a calm Killer.
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8. Props
•We do not many have props in our film opening for two reasons.
We don't want to overcomplicate filming with too many props
that will effect our level of continuity. We also don't want too
many props as it may distract the audience and instead want
them to concentrate on the characters.
•We are going to be using a shovel as one of our props as we are
burying the body and also contributes to making the killer more
likeable in one of the first few shots.
•We are also using headphones and an iPod as our Killer is
putting them on and listening to up beat music as he digs the
hole for the body which also contributes to making him likable as
well as creating confusion in the audience which is important in
Thrillers.
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9. Setting
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•We are setting our film opening in a cold woods.
•We are doing this to avoid having people who are not part of the
film opening which will heavily effect the continuity of our
opening as the Killer is burying a body and it wouldn’t make
sense to have other people in the shot.
•We are aware that the woods is quite cliché for burying a body
in a film but we still saw it fit as it makes logical sense as there
normally isn’t many people in woods to see someone burying a
body.
•The woods can also be quite eerie, especially this time of year
with the bare tree branches.