mise-en-scene of film opening

1. MISE-EN-SCENE Megan Bird

2. INTRODUCTION
In this post I will be discussing the Mise-En-Scene elements
which we have had to consider which will be featured in our
film opening. In order to do this I will be using CLAMPS to
determine what type of costume, lighting, actors, make up,
props and setting will be effective in our film opening.
Costume
Lighting
Actors
Make up
Props
Setting

3. COSTUME
Child
The child will be smartly dressed,
wearing a dress, the dress will be a pale
colour this connotes innocence which
does not follow the generic conventions
for this genre as typically the characters
are dresses in dark colours. We want her
to look as if she has come from a good
background so that the audience will not
expect her to be wearing a extraordinary
mask at the end.
Mother
The mother will be dressed in her pyjamas or
mismatched clothes, she will be wearing these
clothes to show that she isn’t concerned about her
appearance, she is more worried about the
whereabouts of her daughter. Her clothes will look
like she has thrown them on so if she has a shirt on
it will be buttoned up wrong. The colour of her
clothes will not match and they will be relatively
neutral as we don’t want her costume to draw
attention away from her characters emotions or
feeling.

4. LIGHTING
The lighting throughout our film
opening will mainly be natural lighting.
We intend to film this at night where
there will be minimal lighting, this
follows conventions for the genre. In
some scenes we will use lighting on top
of the camera to light up important
areas so that it isn’t completely dark.
The house we intend to film in is
derelict so there will not be any
lighting. The artificial light we intend to
use will fit with the scene and won’t
look out of place so that there will be
continuity. We intend to use natural
lighting to give a realistic feel to the
film making it easier to relate to for the
audience.

5. ACTORS
We have 2 characters in our film opening and we have cast people who would
suit the roles. We have cast a five year old girl to play the child, for the role no
acting experience is needed as we only need a few shots of the girls face with a
mask on, back and feet. The young girls body language will be closed and she
will be rocking in the corner of a room. When we film her walking up the stairs
she will walk slowly grasping onto the bannister. We have cast a 16 year old
female to play the role of the mother, we feel she would be able to portray the
distressed mother anxiously searching for her daughter. The woman we have
cast for the mother has previous acting experience and has gained a B grade at
GCSE in drama. During our film opening we are going to get the girl playing the
mother to act distressed and emotionally sensitive. He body language will reflect
her emotional state so that the audience will be able to empathise with her
character.

6. MAKE UP & HAIR
The child will not be wearing any facial make up as her face will be
covered by a mask. Her hair will be neat and tidy with a bow in it.
This connotes the child’s innocence before she was possessed. We
decided not to use make up on the child as typically children don’t
tend to wear any make up and we also thought it would be creepier if
she had a mask on, fitting with generic conventions.
The mother will have natural make up on as she will have been
sleeping before she realised her child was gone. She will have eye
bags to show her tiredness. Her skin will be marked with scratches
and mud as she has been searching for her child in the woods for a
long time. She will have sweat on her face to show that she is worn
out. Her hair will be un-brushed to show she doesn’t care about her
appearance and she just wants her child back. Her look will connote
how distressed she is and how all she is concerned about is finding

7. PROPS
During our film opening we will be using minimal props as we do not
want to take away from the storyline. We will be using a sign written in
Latin, by using the Latin language it adds a mysterious edge to the
film opening and it makes it more enigmatic for the audience. We will
also be using a mask on the child’s face, we decided to hide her face
behind a mask which is only revealed at the end of film opening so it
adds to the enigma of who is that girl? And why is she here? What is
she doing? By using the mask it means that the audience would want
to watch the rest of the film to watch the story unveil.

8. SETTING
The setting for our film is a derelict
manor house surrounded by
woodland. We chose this setting
because it fits with generic
conventions for this genre. It also
has items which have been left in
the house from the previous owner
which makes it look used. There is
an old swing set outside which will
be useful as there is a child hiding
in the house. The house is easy to
access as it is only 12 miles away
from where I live meaning I don’t
have to travel very far.

9. CONCLUSION
To conclude through using CLAMPS I believe that we can create
an enigmatic and disturbing atmosphere for the audience and
also bring out the characterisation of the actors through their
costumes, make up and acting skills.
I also believe that the setting, props and lighting add to set the
tone of our film opening as they fit the conventions of our
genre and also create a distressing atmosphere along with the
other elements in CLAMPS.