Shutter island
In the film "Shutter island" mis-en-scene is used to show the codes and conventions of a typical thriller. For example, the characters positioning (Teddy Daniels/DiCaprio) is right in the middle of the shot, this is when there is a noise and DiCaprio turns and it shows him smaller in the wide corridor. This shows the DiCaprio is the main attention and has the audiences focus. The fact that the audience see him smaller now shows that he is not powerful so this conveys to the audience that he is not powerful, this therefore creates suspense which is conventional to a typical thriller.
In the next shot we see a clear use of low key lighting when he lights the match and the camera is now a close up of the face. The lighting is low key, the key light is the match, the filler light is the one shining down onto his clothes and the back light is the light just behind him to the left. As the lighting is low key, we can only see our protagonist. This implies that there could be something lurking in the shadows around him as we also cannot see much else. The audience relate to DiCaprio as both the audience and the protagonist cannot see much, this creates suspense for the audience and they feel fear for DiCaprio, the lighting here is conventional to a thriller.
We see another element of mis-en-scene whilst DiCaprio is walking down the corridor of cells, we see a small glimpse of one cell holding several prisoners without any clothes at all. This is to show that the prisoners are vulnerable and that they have been striped away of even the most basic of items that they may hold. The audience feel sympathy for these people as they've been treated very cruelly and cannot even have clothes, this is quite a dark theme which most the time is conventional to a thriller film.
In another shot DiCaprio nearly gets grabbed by a prisoner and just after this he lights a match and we can see his facial expression. This is another use of mis-en-scene as the protagonists face is clearly worried. This shows that he is shocked as he didn't see the prisoner coming. This further creates suspense for the audience as even our protagonist is scared, the audience sympathies with DiCaprio's character which is conventional to a thriller.
The last example of mis-en-scene is when DiCaprio puts his arm through into a cell to see someone crouched down. The example is the use of iconography or little of it there is. This shows the danger DiCaprio is in as he doesn't have any sort of protection or weapon only a match, this emphasizes the fear that the audience feel for the protagonist, all he has is a match for light and nothing else. This is also conventional to a thriller as the protagonist may be in peril.
In the next shot we see a clear use of low key lighting when he lights the match and the camera is now a close up of the face. The lighting is low key, the key light is the match, the filler light is the one shining down onto his clothes and the back light is the light just behind him to the left. As the lighting is low key, we can only see our protagonist. This implies that there could be something lurking in the shadows around him as we also cannot see much else. The audience relate to DiCaprio as both the audience and the protagonist cannot see much, this creates suspense for the audience and they feel fear for DiCaprio, the lighting here is conventional to a thriller.
We see another element of mis-en-scene whilst DiCaprio is walking down the corridor of cells, we see a small glimpse of one cell holding several prisoners without any clothes at all. This is to show that the prisoners are vulnerable and that they have been striped away of even the most basic of items that they may hold. The audience feel sympathy for these people as they've been treated very cruelly and cannot even have clothes, this is quite a dark theme which most the time is conventional to a thriller film.
In another shot DiCaprio nearly gets grabbed by a prisoner and just after this he lights a match and we can see his facial expression. This is another use of mis-en-scene as the protagonists face is clearly worried. This shows that he is shocked as he didn't see the prisoner coming. This further creates suspense for the audience as even our protagonist is scared, the audience sympathies with DiCaprio's character which is conventional to a thriller.
The last example of mis-en-scene is when DiCaprio puts his arm through into a cell to see someone crouched down. The example is the use of iconography or little of it there is. This shows the danger DiCaprio is in as he doesn't have any sort of protection or weapon only a match, this emphasizes the fear that the audience feel for the protagonist, all he has is a match for light and nothing else. This is also conventional to a thriller as the protagonist may be in peril.
This post demonstrates some understanding of how your chosen sequence follows the codes and conventions of a thriller film. You have made a start in identifying the various elements of mise-en-scene, however further explanation of the conventions is needed throughout. You have started to do this in some of your paragraphs, but this needs to be elaborated further.
ReplyDeleteAim to include a summary to explain how your research will assist you with planning and creating your own production. Finally, aim to include screenshots to support the points that you have made further.