Research into Mise-en-scene - Miss Georgiou

Mise-en-scene is the french term meaning of the arrangement of everything that appears in the framing.In simple terms miss-en-scene is everything the audience sees, there are five elements setting & iconography ,costume (hair and makeup), colour & lighting and body language & facial expressions.

The film I'll be exploring Mise-en-scene is 'The Woman In Black' Opening scene 

Setting & Iconography

The children's bedroom

Firstly, setting and iconography are the first parts of mise-en-scene. In the film The woman in black opening scene the setting is in a children's bedroom where the children play with their toys. As the bedroom in this particular scene is used as the setting, it shows privacy and could represent the characters mindset, as a room is somewhere you feel comfortable in to do anything you want. But however privacy can always be broken, so this foreshadows that theres going to be some kind of threat that's going to happen. This is conventional to a thriller as the antagonist always breaks the victims privacy i.e killing them at their homes or where they are at. Also it is conventional as privacy is when you isolate yourself, so this could represent the children's isolation from the world and the woman in black demands this as they are possessed. The audience can relate to the characters and connect with them as they are vulnerable children having fun in their bedroom but this creates suspense as something could happen to the innocent children. Furthermore, the use of this isolated setting when the antagonist kills the children could mirror her feeling alone when she was alive. And could create sympathy for the women in the black as she has always felt alone. Moreover it foreshadows her past which is revealed later in the film, when her son is taken away from her, and the location of her house was cut off from the marshes where her son died as well. Usually as child the colours of the room would be bright and vibrant to show life but however the colour of the walls in this scene look like a mouldy green, which could represent that death is closing in on the young girls in the middle. Furthermore, the colour of the wall juxtaposes the norm of the girls that are sitting down playing with their toys as they're having fun but it looks like death is taking over them. Foreshadowing that they're lives may be taken soon, making the audience feel tensed as they watch which is conventional to a thriller. 

The girls playing with the dolls 

In this scene the iconography used are normal child's bedroom properties such as bed,tables, toys. However in this scene  the girls are playing with their dolls having a tea party, this represents their vulnerability in the scene as they're getting on with what is seen to be what normal children do. Furthermore the focus on the little girls playing with the dolls shows that they are in control of moving the dolls, this foreshadows on whats going to happen to them, as the woman in black likes to control children to kill themselves. Also implies that the antagonist, focuses on all children and doesn't only target one, this is conventional to a thriller as the antagonist usually has more than one person planned to kill. Making the audience start to wonder what is going to happen to the possible victims in the rest of the film and why the antagonist goes after them. 

ribbons in their hair 

Costumes (Hair and makeup)

The children are wearing old Victorian like dresses, this can represent that their from quite a wealthy background. Also all of their hairstyles are down, with pink ribbons in them, this exaggerates their innocence as ribbons are often used to show 'cuteness'. Thrillers sometimes often use children in their films as it is conventional because it  makes the audience connect with them even more as they are young, making them want to protect them. Also because this film is rated 12A, the target audience who are the parents that are watching the film with their child will feel on edge as they would want to protect their children. 

Facial Expressions, Body Language & Positioning

The girls smiling

In this scene we see two different facial expressions from the characters. The first facial expression we see is when the girls are smiling in their natural state whilst playing with their dolls.This builds a closer relationship with them as it shows that they are having fun and enjoying themselves and not being worried about what might happen to them. This makes the audience feel warmth inside but because this is a thriller film, it makes them suspicious and worried about what could possibly happen to the innocent, happy girls.

Girls looking at the window

However, in contrast it all changes after the girls look across the other side of the room, looking at something in the corner. The smiling turns into a serious facial expression as they look at the corner then to the window, this indicates that someone is in the room with them. The straight faces, makes the audience feel curious on why they have suddenly changed the way they look as they were having fun a moment ago. This facial expression from children is conventional to a thriller as it takes the key element away of children being happy and playful and shows them being serious which makes the audience feel uncomfortable and intrigued to see what will happen to them. 

Girls looking outside the window

Also, as the girls look over to the window they are in a fixed position whilst standing up, their body language suggests that they were being possessed or controlled when they walk over to the window. This implies that they're not in control of their bodies, emphasising their vulnerability in the situation also makes the audience curious and worried on whats going to happen next. This is conventional to a thriller as children are usually always made to do something odd, as this makes the audience sympathise them because they are young. Also the girls are positioned in the middle which is conventional to a thriller as it draws the audiences attention straight at them as they're in a neutral position in the frame. This makes the audience feel tensed and suspicious as thats the only thing that they're focusing on at the moment. 

In this shot, there is a black woman figure positioned in the corner just standing over looking at the room after the girls have jumped out of the window. The high angle implies that the figure is the antagonist because her identity is hidden and most antagonist's hide their identity which is conventional to a thriller as it states that the figure is powerful and threatening to the children as it appears after the little girls jump out the window. Thrillers often place the antagonist in a high angle to show that their more powerful in the situation than their victims and that they're the ones that are in control and dominant.  When the audience see the dark figure, it actually makes them jump because the screen zooms out and then you see it. This creates tension and suspicion in the audience as they do not know who this person is and how they got inside the girls bedroom. 

Colour & Lighting 

The colours used often in this scene are, black, grey and a muddy green which stay the same through out the whole scene creating a gloomy atmosphere. Dark colours are conventional to a thriller as it makes the audience and protagonist not see clearly of the surroundings making them feel tensed and on edge on what is about to happen. The Key light in this shot, is coming from the window which shines on the three girls whilst they stand in front on it. This highlights the fact that they're little girls but also it may suggest that something is going to happen to them as it makes the audience focus on them as they are the clearest. This makes the audience create a closer relationship with them as they're young and it makes the them feel anxious on what is going to happen so the audience would want someone or themselves to protect them from what is going to occur. A key light is conventional to a thriller as it highlights whats in danger or a certain object making the audience think what is going to happen to it, which created enigma and suspense in the audience. 

The back light light in this shot, comes from the door. This sharpens the subjects in the room and shows a black figure at the back of the room. This makes the audience curious on what the figure is and engages them making them question the girls safety building a closer relationship with them. As you cannot see the figures facial expressions, the audience feel unease because of the hidden identity which implies that the dark figure is not safe to be around with.

Finally the filler light is from the walls as it removes the sharpness of the objects in the bedroom. This eliminates the objects in the room making the audience suspicious on whats going to happen because they were used to seeing the children's toys. The contrast of the wall from when they were playing toys to the girls walking towards the window, makes the audience feel anxious in their surroundings as it is quite dark at home so they may think the same thing may happen to them. The use of this is conventional to a thriller as the filler lights highlight whats in danger or who is dangerous in the scene. So it makes the audience feel alert and suspicious on whats going to happen to the highlighted object shown. 



In conclusion, i have learnt that mise-en-scene is all of the visual aspects to help convey the story, the elements help set the mood,environment and create relationships with the characters. It also makes the audience have more understanding of the film,and more interesting so they will engage into it. Mise-en-scene clarifies every ones position in the film for example, the girls are the protagonists and the black figure is the antagonist in this film. Also the way they were positioned, as the woman in black was standing over where the girls were places before , showing that she's the antagonist and is powerful. Furthermore, the use of hidden identity will be used in my thriller as well as it was in this opening scene for the antagonist, so that it creates enigma and suspicion within the audience.With the woman in black the mise-en-scene used were quite simple, this will help me with my thriller as it inspired me to use less as it builds up more tension because the audience expect more. I will definitely refer back to my Mise-en-scene research when I'm creating my own thriller because it will help and give me ideas on what I should include in my piece to connect with the audience.