M-E-S AND CAMERA WORK IN THRILLERS

 

M-E-S Research 

COLOUR

Colour carries certain connotations which may add meaning to the scene i.e. red - danger black-death. With this the scene can give off a particular look, feel or mood as the colour create the atmosphere. Colours can also be used for dramatic effect such as triggering audience memories as they may have  specific memories or thoughts with that specific colour. Particular colours in a carefully chosen palette may be recurrent or
contrasted throughout a film, in Thrillers they chose darker colour palettes as it creates more suspense and a eerie atmosphere. The colours can act as a trigger for certain emotion or link to other important moments in the narrative - can link from something in the beginning to the end. It is strongly linked with lighting and will influence all areas of production design - props, costumer and setting ect. The colour of the film also helps create suspense and tension. The darker the colour/saturation of the scene the more sinister the scene seems. The darkness of the scene makes the scene more scary because the unknowing of what will happen is what will keep the audience intrigued. 

LOCATION 

The setting can relate to location, where the scene is being taken place or where a scene is set. This can be an outside location or inside. Locations are a key feature within any movie genre as it helps set the location and set the tone of the film and helps give the audience an idea of what may happen in that specific scene. With a thriller film the typical conventions of setting would be a haunted house, dark ally. The location of the scene sets the mood and supports the action. For example, in a scene in which a man proposes to his girlfriend, a domestic setting sets a completely different tone than a public one. The use of real urban settings can add a sense of realism to a drama, and danger and grit to a crime or thriller. Narrative exposition helps filmmakers reveal crucial details about characters and plot through visual means. Settings can tell us who characters are and what events might have happened in their past. In Thrillers  location is a key characteristic as it changes the whole movie. Thrillers are mainly set in wet, dark and dismal street or in tight closed off areas. If a character is introduced in one of these settings the audience can foreshadow what will happen in later scenes.
A longer shot can cause people to decode the message which could be the sense of being trapped or in an inescapable place, whereas fast shots give off the feeling of intensity. Location can set the scene, the setting can create a whole feeling to the sequence because if it is in a dark eerie place then the audience will be scared as this is the stereotype of whole people are more on suspense than normal. A common location used by thrillers is an abandoned house or building such as an asylum/hospital that is based in or around the woods. The abandoned nature of the building means that the audience is unaware of anything inside that could potentially be lurking within the shadows.

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND BODY LANGUAGE 

Facial expressions help provide a clear indicator of how someone is feeling, the use of these element can help the audience be able to capture the emotion of different characters this includes gestures, postures, and facial expressions by which a person can make clearly by various physical, mental or emotional actions for example, if someone is smiling broadly we can assume that they are happy, however we may make a different assumption if this emotion is accompanied by scary music. Body language can also indicate how a character is feeling towards another character, and also reflects different indications of the state of relationships between two characters. The camera records every blink of the eye and slight change of expression: it’s much closer and i
ntimate. This is reflected in acting style and facial expressions may be more subtle. Even a slight alteration of an actor’s field of vision can indicate a change of thought. Facial expressions and body language in Thrillers can help show which character is more powerful or confident than the other, or when someone is scared and confused. The non-verbal communication has an important role as they have to match the circumstances of the scene e.g. if someone is watching someone getting hurt they are not going to be laughing unless they are the sociopath hurting the person.

COSTUME AND MAKEUP

The use of costume and makeup is what makes the characters like life and more realistic. They way the character is presented will affect they way they affect how the audience will perceive them. Costume is a style of dress, including garments, accessories and hairstyle. With make up you can make actors appear glamorous, with the lack of make up you can make them look like everyday people, Ann in relation to a Thriller's the make up can be used to show who the antagonist is and who the protagonist is, this is done by making them look completely different, as the antagonist normally has a darker tone of makeup. The makeup helps highlight specific facial features which could have an impact on their character development. For example, in thrillers, when a woman so scared that she is crying, you will see her makeup smudged all down her face as it has been used to display her emotions. Costumes can also help give this message across. They can tell us who a character is, their attitudes and how they are feeling. Costume also show us how a character has changed over the course of a story. The interaction between character, costume, props and setting may be complementary or jarring, working together to generate a specific emotion in the audience. The costumes in Thrillers are important as they give the audience the ability to — help build a representation the character. In some Thrillers characters wear normal everyday clothes to create the feeling realism, which is to make the audience feel more anxious as it seems more realistic and they feel like could happen to them. The protagonist is more likely to be wearing everyday clothes (jeans and a coloured top) and the antagonist is very likely to be wearing much darker clothes.

PROPS 

Props are object used by the actors performing in a film; depending on the props used these objects can help determine the narrative, identity of character and genre. A lot of thrillers often use weaponry including guns and knives. This is because in most thrillers there is some form of battle between the protagonist and antagonist. The use of weapons creates a lot more tension because the audience don't know whether someone will die/injured because of that weapon during that fight. In Thrillers the props are a method to support the main theme and idea of the film as the props have a large signicacne to the film such as a gun, 

These are widely used as the most common murder weapon in this genre of film as they can be used by murderers, police officers, detectives, and other common characters in the thriller genre. In psychological thrillers weapons are designed to match the personality of the antagonist so if the weapon is big and dangerous so is the antagonist. The most common weapon used in a thriller is either a knife or a gun as they are more accessible items (makes it the scene more reliable) other than chainsaws or axes which are usually seen in either a Horror Thriller or Horror as they produce more gruesome endings. 

LIGHING

Lighting is important as it helps highlight supreme characters or major objects within the frame. To make characters look more mysterious they can have shading sections edited onto the face or body to make them look scarier. The lighting also helps reflect a characters mental state/hidden emotions - bright = happy, dark = disturbed and a strobe effect =confused. Lighting is essential in Thrillers because it can set the whole feeling of the scene. The lighting is usually able to make the audience feel suspense and tension throughout the scene. During thriller films, low key lighting is most commonly used the lighting can help create shadows and characters appearing from them — this helps reflects the characters role in the plot of the film whether they are the protagonist or antagonists. There are two-forms of lighting there is high key and low key. Thrillers tend to use low key lighting, this is when one source of lighting has been used this makes the object in focus very strong on the eye. This lighting is more dominant in thriller films as it gives selective lighting, covering half an object and leaving the other in darkness this creates a feeling of suspense and tension because the audience are unaware of what is going on within the darkness. This also helps allow the audience to understand the situation that the characters are in. Under lighting can be used to help give a more eerie and mysterious feeling. The colour of the film also helps create suspense and tension. The darker the colour/saturation of the scene the more sinister the scene seems. The darkness of the scene makes the scene more scary because the unknowing of what will happen is what will keep the audience intrigued. The low-key lighting helps produce sharp contrasts of light and dark areas. Low key lighting is created by only using certain lighting and darker colours to changer atmosphere. High key lighting is when more filters are used this can be used to portray a brighter and sunny day.

Camera Work Research

In thrillers there are a lot of different camera angles and shots. The main camera shot used in Thriller is either extreme long shots or long shots this is to help show the audience what something looks like, establish the location and to create the right atmosphere. There are many camera shots used, but close ups or medium close ups are used to help convey the emotion of the character and are sometimes used to show the point of view, an example of a close up is in Psycho when Marion is getting killed, there is a close up towards her face that helps you see the fear in her face as she knows she is going to get killed. Point of view angles are used a lot in thrillers this is often used to show what the character is seeing, this helps give off emotion and helps the audience get mentally etched to the character as they can see their perspective of things as the audience feel like it is happening to them and example of this is shown in Silence of the Lambs as the women who was kidnapped is looking up to see Buffalo Bill and when he looks down at her this makes the audience feel sorry for Catherine, also in this scene there is a low camera angle this signifies that Catherine is vulnerable and has no power towards Bill as his is shown to be more dominant. Also Over the shoulder shots are used, this is to help the audience see everything in the scene, they can see the whole scene and everything in it such as the person speaking and person being spoken to. High shots in thrillers are used to show if someone is vulnerable or weak as it portrays someone watching down onto them. Titled angles can also add a lot of dramatic tension as it can portray a victim's point of view whom arewhich on the floor.

How to read Mise-en Scene

 

Resources 

https://www.slideshare.net/katherinemedia/props-for-thrillers