Reasearch Mise En Scene (Setting & Iconography)

Mise En Scene (Setting & Iconography)

Setting is where a film or a particular scene will take place in. The setting allows the audience top understand the meaning of the film or the scene. For example if the thriller was set in a house then the audience can understand from this that the film will be mainly based in the house and that there will be spirits and other paranormal activities.

Iconography is an object or something that is significant in the film or in the scene. For example a knife this can connote or mean that this is a knife and it is dangerous however the denotation is when this knifes meaning could be to use this as a murder weapon.

The typical settings for a thriller is in houses and this has become a very common and modern setting. The setting in houses has taken a great liking to the director in thrillers as people feel most safe in their house however with more and more thrillers being set in house it has changed the perception of the audience feeling safe at home. Thriller have turned a house that is comfortable, cosy and peaceful into a very dark and intimidating environment for the audience and fro the characters in the film. The thrillers are set at home now as this way the film can connect with the audience and play with the audiences emotions.

Here are examples of thrillers that are set in houses:

Insidious is an example of a thriller that chills the audience and is a very successful film in playing with the audience emotion and giving the audience a chilling response because of where the thriller is set. The thriller is set in the house where the family feel safe.

The conjuring is another example as this thriller is set in the house which makes it a very scary and chilling film for the audience.

Fright night is also set in the hose and the common trend fro the thriller setting can now be seen for a thriller to be effective it needs to be set in the house to give the audience a chilling response.

Also there are other common setting s in thrillers and they are dark settings. For example in forests where there is little light and inhabitants. The dark setting is used to isolated the audience and allow the audience to lose themselves in the dark locations. Also the dark location unsettles the audience as there are many question that arise in the audience head and the audience fear the worst as they know that in a forest there can be a murder or a mystery.

Other settings are in warehouses, derelict areas and in alleyways. All of these settings have one thing in common and that is that they are in isolated area that are dark and chilling. These settings are used to chill and to make the audience feel insecure. The settings have a big part to play in delivering the scare factor to the audience.

The typical iconography that is used in thrillers is a knife. The knife in thrillers has become a very iconic and significant object in thrillers. In the modern day knifes are seen as a very common weapon as in the modern age a lot of people are murdered with the murderer using a knife. When the audience see knives the audience know what will happen for example they know that there will be a murder committed or someone will be attacked by a knife. The denotation of the knife is a hard hitting fact that the knife is dangerous and it will be used to kill someone. The knife is used to get the audience ready for the attack that will take place and the knife helps the audience get ready for the attack that will take place.

This is an example of  a common weapon that is used and that is the knife. As soon as the audience see the knife the audience begin to panic as they know that a murder will take place.

Another common iconography is blood. Blood is a very common and most used iconography. The blood is very significant as blood can indicate danger and the colour red can also indicate danger.  The blood worries the audience in what has happened and how the character has been injured. This creates a lot of questions in the audiences head in what has happened.

This is the scene form scream that i will be analysing the setting and iconography.

The setting of scream is very conventional to thriller as the setting is in a house with  dark surroundings. The setting is in the house to unsettle the audience and when the audience see that the setting is in the house the audience know that something bad is about to happen. Also with the dark surrounding s around the house the audience begin to think that there is some sort of mystery and and  could there be someone lurking around the house that could be dangerous to the victim. Also the dark setting shows the audience that the victim in the house is isolated in the house and there is no where that the victim can go for help. This outlines that the victim is helpless in the house.

The iconography that is used in this scene is the knife that the antagonist brings with him into the house. The knife is used by the antagonist and the antagonist pauses with knife in the hand to show the audience that the antagonist has a knife with him. This is intentionally done to chill the audience as the audience can sense that the knife is dangerous and the knife can be used to harm someone. The audience fear that the antagonist will hurt someone and someone will fall victim to the antagonist.

Another iconography that is used in the scene is blood. The blood is from the victim when she is stabbed and on the wall near the front door the antagonist has written in blood which the parents discover. The blood is used to shows the audience the scale of the attack that is taking place on the victim and the blood chills the audience as they know that the victim will be killed and the victims death will be pain full. The writing on the wall with the victims blood sickens the audience as the audience are disgusted with the killing and then the antagonist writes on the wall with the victims blood. This chills the audience as they now know that this is a cold blooded killer. The audience watch anxiously thinking who will be killed next.

Conclusion:

I have learnt from this post that in thrillers there is a new and more common use of setting and that is the house. The thriller have adapted well in the house which gives the audience more chilling responses than other settings. Also i know have learnt that blood and knives are a key sue of iconography in thrillers and it would not be a thriller if the knife is not the murder weapon.