The opening titles of the film Nightwatch use mise-en-scene elements to set the tone and leave the audience with questions. The dark background, light blue title font, and blurred writing create a mysterious feel. The first shot shows a woman who appears blindfolded under harsh lighting, leaving her situation unclear. Early locations are dark and outdoor, suggesting a cold, unsettling tone. Characters wear uniforms, but their purpose is unknown. A close-up of red lips could foreshadow blood or passion. The first clear image shows a man drinking, allowing viewers to judge his character. Elements like color, expressions, and props are used to subtly provide insights while maintaining mystery.

1. Miser En Scene Analysis of the opening titles
NIGHTWATCH (1997)

2. THE OPENING SECOND…
Right from the very beginning we instantly have a feel for the type of film we are
watching. The opening title of the film has an extremely dark background. The
colour of the black instantly connotes to the genre of the film. The darkness of the
background relates to the darkness of the film, this is something that the viewer will
instantly relate to the genre horror. Black is an extremely polysemy colour, the
viewer could see the black as being an insight to the dark mysterious film, or
maybe they are relating this to the title: “Nightwatch”. Either way, these are both
related to horror films.
The font of the title follows this theme also. With a light, fuzzy blue colour it is
almost difficult to read, this brings the viewers attention closer to the text as they
need to focus in order to see what the text says. The awkwardness in the visual
also contributes to the theme, with the blurred writing giving a mysterious and
scary feel.

3. A FEW SECONDS LATER…
The first shot we see in the film is of this women, who appears to be
blindfolded. She has a harsh, brighter light on her face which contrasts to the
low key lighting on the left side of the screen. As one side is extremely dark,
and another extremely bright, our attention is instantly set on the women.
The piece of costume placed on the character is also brought to our attention.
As it is not completely clear what the prop is, the audience are left
unanswered. This is a key element of mise en scene in horror films; making
the audience want to ask questions.
Although we can’t see what the item on her face is, we
can see that it is covering her face. This means that the
character is unaware of her surroundings and is clearly
in distress. The audience therefore feel sympathy for
this character. I believe that the questioning of the prop
relates to the questioning of the characters situation.

4. THE FIRST LOCATION…
The first location we see is an
outdoor location. The setting
appears to be dark, and they
look to be near a wood, or a
forest. This cold relate to the
coldness of the movie, and
how unsettling it is.
The characters in this setting are wearing uniform, this is telling us that they’re
significant as they’re doing an important job. It is unclear to see exactly what they’re
looking at, so again this leaves the audience asking questions. We can also mention the
fact that colours are dark. Following the theme of the previous images, the dark colours
connote to the film being scary and intense. Again, this is essential in horror films.

5. THE CLOSE UP…
The first clear image we see is this extremely close up of the mouth. The red on the lips
could be used to signify danger, which could be a foreshadowing a scene later in the
film. Like black, red is also a polysemic colour. The red could be a visual metaphor for
blood, again meaning that this a foreshadow. As well as this, the red could be linked to
love or passion. Therefore, this is leaving the audience asking questions about this
character. The use of mise en scene is giving mixed message and therefore leaving a
sense of mystery.
We can also see that the opening titles are
positioned inside the character mouth. Maybe
this is telling us something significant about this
character.

6. THE FIRST CLEAR IMAGE…
The use of the shot glass is giving the audience an
instant insight to this character. It makes the viewer
more inclined to judge this character, as he is doing
something negative (drinking). As a result, if a
viewer is watching this clip, comparing themselves
to this character will mean that they maybe feel
better about themselves. This is because they’re not
the one in the bad position.
We can also see that the character is wearing a hat. Not only is this telling us about the
culture of the character, it is also giving us an insight to where the movie is set. However,
as we can see the character is drinking and having fun, it makes the audience ask is he
wearing the hat as a joke for his party outfit, or because of his culture? Again, the audience
is left unaware and in need to ask questions.

7. TOWARDS THE END…
Towards the end of the movie we have a reappearance of the character in the close up. This
time we see more of her face, infact almost her eyes. This could be a representation of how
the film slowly reveals things as it progresses.
For second time in the opening titles we are see the return of the lips. This has emphasis
towards our initial thoughts of the red being significant.
There is also another element of mise
en scene in this imagine. The
characters facial expression is smiling,
almost like an evil smile. This adds to
element of horror as it is creepy.

8. MY REFLECTION…
For me, the benefit of me doing the mise en scene analysis is that I have identified
certain elements of mise en scene that I would like to use in my film.
• For example, I have realised that using a dark, stock location is critical.
• It is essential that I use colour to connote to different aspects of the movie, this is so
that I leave the audience asking questions, and a sense of mystery.
• Costume and props can reflect on a characters social class, therefore I need to take
this into consideration when I choose the costumes.
• Facial expressions tell us a lot about the character, therefore my actors need to use
appropriate facial expressions.