Research into miss-en-scene - Miss Georgia

  se7en Box scene

Mise en scene

                                                         Setting - abandoned desert- The abandoned desert throughout the whole scene is very stereotypical of a thriller, the isolated area is typically used to provide suspense as it is unlikely that the characters will escape, in this case in means no one can stop brad pitt from shooting the antagonist but himself, providing suspense as to whether he will go through with murdering the antagonist, the audience build a relationship with brad pitt, the fact that he now has power over the antagonist who has killed so many creates a sense of fear of him within the audience as he is now the dominant one

Facial expression -

The character of morgan freeman at this point is looking into the box, containing brad pitts wife head, at this point we do not know what the contents of the box are and this creates suspense as we are wondering what is in there, also we are shocked when we find out that it is brads wives head, it is very stereotypical of a thriller to build up suspense wondering what is about to happen, due to his shock we know that the contents of the box are unexpected and surprising, the audience now build a closer relationship with morgan freemans character, they feel a lot closer as they know that dialogue is not needed to tell what he is thinking, this helps engage the audience into watching due to a close bond being fromed with Morgan Freeman





At this point brad pitt knows about john doe killing his wife, but he is in denial, we are not 100 percent sure whether john doe is telling the truth so we are in suspense, then when morgan freeman's character explains that this is true we are shocked at what has happened, shocking moments like this are typical of a thriller, shocking the audience which therefore engages them, also they build a relationship with brad pitts character as they sympathise toward him as they know he has lost a wife and kid.


Here john doe is calmly staring at brad pitt while he is pointing the gun at him, at this point we know the reason he is doing what he is doing, he wants to finish off his seven deadly sins punishment, even though we know this we are still surprised by the composure of john doe at this point as he is about to be killed and he is pushing brad pitt to do it, the audience are in suspense, waiting for brad pitts character to shoot him, this is stereotypical of thrillers as the antagonist is usually a psychopath and isn't fearful of the thought of death and very different to an everyday person, this helps create a relationship between john doe and the audience, they fear him as he is in power even though he doesn't have a weapon on him and brad pitt does, this shows the true dominance and power of him, therefore the audience have an extreme fear of him, the fact the camera is at a high angle even though he is on his knees helps create this effect of dominance from him.








Body language

Here brad pitt looks in control physically although we know psychologically john doe has the upper hand, brad pitt is hysteric at this time and the body language isn't an accurate representation of what is actually happening, leaving the audience confused as to who is the dominant character, this is typical of thrillers as the protagonist constantly looks like he/she has the upper hand yet somehow the antagonist get their own way, this creates suspense as they are unsure as to what is going to happen as brad pitt looks in power yet the audience know John Doe is really the superior one at the time, this helps the audience create a relationship with the antagonist as they fear him

Lighting
At this point the lighting is dull, showing the dark atmosphere/feeling in the scene, dark lighting is typical of thrillers as it represents the dark mind of the antagonist, the audience unconsciously notice the dark background, this creates an eerie feel to the scene and we are in suspense, waiting for a shocking moment to happen as the darkness represents danger, this helps the audience create a relationship with the antagonist because if anyone is going to do something dangerous and shocking it will be him, making the audience fear him



Positioning
Here brad pitt is looking over john doe, creating the effect of authority and power, although we know that john doe is in control of this situation, the audience are in suspense as to whether brad pitt or morgan freeman will take control of the situation, the false authority of the protagonist is typical of a thriller, causing conflict in the audiences mind, this helps the audience create a relationship with the antagonist as they fear the superiority he has even without a weapon.




Iconography - gun, knife, box, handcuffs, cars, helicopter
The gun used throughout this scene after the antagonist has been caught and is seemingly in a bad position, the gun makes the audience weary as they know that the antagonist is pushing brad pitt's buttons as he wants brad to kill him, Morgan freeman tries to stop brad from shooting the antagonist but we know that eventually brad pitt will not be able to hold it, the fact that brad pitt is trying so hard to resist the urge to shoot is creating suspense, leaving the audience on the edge of their seat, the gun is very stereotypical of a thriller, especially the protagonist because usually the antagonist has a knife and the protagonist has a gun, leaving the protagonist in the better position, in this case the antagonist is in a completely helpless state, with no chance of fighting back yet somehow has dominance over the two protagonists, creating fear within the audience

Because of this research I now know what mise en scene is, what it is used for and why it is used, I know how to use it in my opening sequence now and can use it effectively, this is key to making a good thriller sequence, I shall try to use the mise en scene effectively to create suspense, enigma, shock and suprise and to help the audience build a relationship with the character