Planning mise en scene

Mise en scene is key in thriller, it is all the scenery and iconography, these are very important in thrillers as they are used in the narrative, they can also be used to set the tone of the scene, the use of this must be thoroughly pre planned to be used to maximum effect, the use of this could be the difference between a good or bad film.

Setting

Firstly the setting is in a forest, this is very isolated and away from the public, meaning the audience will be in suspense as to how she will escape due to there being no help, also it is very surreal for the audience because the forest is an everyday place, the audience may possibly see/walk through a forest everyday, making it that bit more shocking. The audience will build a relationship with the protagonist as they will feel sympathetic for her due to the situation she is in, meaning the shock will be even  bigger when she is killed, also the audience will be fearful and suspicious of the antagonist due to the environment he has surrounded himself in, it is quite a strange environment to lurk around in. This setting is conventional in thrillers as it is used very often to create suspense, the restricted view of the audience and protagonist create suspense as they are unknowing of the full picture and do not know what is around the next turning, finally in our research we found out that the majority of our audience preferred the setting being in the forest so we decided to use it.

Iconography

The iconography we will use is a knife, this will be used by the antagonist against the protagonist, this will be used to create shock and suspense among the audience, they will be in suspense as to whether he is going to use it to kill the protagonist or whether its a scare tactic and they will be in shock when he pulls it out and when he kills/injures her, the knife is again an everyday thing so it will be surreal to the audience the damage that the antagonist causes with it, we will try to emphasise the weapon so that the audience realise the real importance of it. It will make the audience fear the antagonist and really worry about what he will do with the knife, It is conventional to a thriller as the knife is a typical weapon used, it portrays the power of the holder and puts them in a strong position, making the audience fearful of them.

Lighting/colour

The lighting we shall use is low key, this along with the dark colours also used will create a tense atmosphere and really set the dark mood the scene wants, the fact that this restricts the view for the audience makes this even more tense and audience are really in suspense as to where the killer is, this helps us hide the identity of the antagonist as well, the low key lighting resembles the fact that it is later in the day, adding to the fact that she will be isolated as not many people tend to be around later at night, especially in a forest, possibly creating surprise when Tony is seen wandering around, making the audience very suspicious of him. It helps the audience relate to the protagonist as they feel sympathetic for her due to her  having to walk through the forest on her own. This is conventional as it is usually used in thrillers to build suspense or shock due to the audience not being able to see the full picture.

Costume

Tony (my character) will wear a tracksuit possibly a dark colour or grey, symbolising that you need to be weary of that character and that he is a possible danger to the protagonist. Chloe (Amys character) will be wearing everyday clothes, representing that she is an everyday person, she will be wearing bright colours representing that she is not dangerous or suspicious or she will wear white clothing to portray her innocence, finally, Marius will be wearing very dark colours, creating a enigma as to who he is and suspicion as well as fear, the black represents the danger he brings to the scene and is the person the audience so fear. The audience will relate with Chloe more as she is wearing brighter clothes, making her seem much more likeable as a character in the sequence whereas the audience will fear Marius and possibly Tony due to their darker clothing. This is conventional as thrillers need a antagonist and protagonist, they need someone to like/sympathise with and someone to fear, the clothing indicates to the audience which character is the protagonist or the antagonist.

Facial expressions and body language  

The facial expressions of Tony and Marius will be unknown while wearing their masks, but once off you will be able to see the pure hatred in their faces, this will make them feared by the audience will, also they will not show any sign of remorse for their actions, making them even more frightening for the audience. Chloe will be very innocent, before the strange occurrences begin to happen she will be extremely happy, making her much more appealing to the audience as a character to relate to, once the antagonist enters the scene she will seem much more frightened and the audience will sympathise with her, in suspense, hoping she will escape. The body language of the characters will be very visible throughout, Tony may be slightly careless and not as devious/sneaky as Marius but will still seem like a evil character out to hurt Chloe, this will make the audience dislike and fear him. Marius will seem very suspicious and sneaky, his body language will make him look like he is about to do something serious and extremely violent, the audience will fear him as he is following Chloe without her knowing and will seem as if he is going to attack her. Chloe will be innocent, she will be extremely relaxed and careless until she begins to become paranoid, then she will become extremely tense and cautious, this will shock the audience as to how much her body language has changed and make them fearful as well. This is conventional to thrillers as they usually use body language and facial expressions to let the audience know how the characters feel without the use of dialogue which makes them feel much closer to the character.