Mise-en-scene Blog Tasks

1) 

The shot of the man here (Michael Myers) reiterates his position as a powerful and fearful being. It is shot at a low-angle, quite high up, making Michael look intimidating. His costume is dark and sinister, and the lighting in the scene is very gloomy and full of shadow. Both these features symbolise to the audience that Michael Myers is an evil man without saying he is directly. The actor playing him further reinforces these feelings, as his posture is quite stiff and lifeless, almost as if he isn't a man. Whilst there is no make-up present on Michael Myers' costume, it is quite rough and grimy. The setting, going along with the lighting, fits the scene and actor quite well, as you wouldn't typically see killers/villains be out in broad daylight; this is quite a common stereotype for horror movies to have, and for good reason - it would be unfitting for a murderer to be killing people in a colourful environment.

2)

The cinematography shown in this clip reiterates the character's fear as she tries to defend herself against Ghostface. The camera-work is handheld for this exact reason, as to make the scene look shaky and panicky, which matches the actor's expression, as she cries and yells. We see her get increasingly more desperate as she gets more and more wounded, slowing down as she loses strength. Her costume is clean for the most part until it gets bloody and stained when Ghostface attacks her. The setting reinforces this feeling of fear as we're in a cramped, claustrophobic location - the house she's in is quite small and the lighting of said house is quite dimly lit, which further adds to the thrill and fear of the scene. Both actors wield knives as props to attack each other with.

Just like the last clip, the cinematography here (in certain scenes) is shaky to reinforce panic. However, it tends to be more exaggerated, along with the acting/actors and setting, as this movie is not a horror movie; it's a comedy movie. The zombie actors and their make-up are quite exaggerated when it comes to their movement and behaviour. This was done on purpose to reiterate to the audience that this movie is not meant to be very scary. Additionally, the settings shown, while post-apocalyptic and gloomy, are still quite bright and colourful compared to your traditional zombie movie. They are also not traditionally what you'd expect from a zombie movie (e.g. football field, toilet stall, birthday party, etc.), which subverts stereotypes. This also ties into the lighting of said settings. It's not that dark; most of the settings here still have quite bright undertones to them. The props shown here also vary. Not all of them are super serious.