Mise-En-Scene

Mise-En-Scene analysis of Prom Night

Mise-En-Scene is a French term for everything in the scene. This includes, settings and iconography; costume hair and make up; facial expression and body language; lighting and colour; positioning of characters/objects. I analysed the mise-en-scene of the thriller film 'Prom Night'. 

The first thing the audience notices is the setting. Settings show the characters location, and some settings build up and certain expectations from the audience. In this clip, the setting is a ballroom in a hotel. This gives the audience an expectation of a joyful party scene where all the characters are engaging with each other and having fun, the audience doesn't expect danger. However, due to the fact that this is a thriller film, the audience feels an underlying sense of suspense, because in most thriller films, something always goes wrong when it's least expected to. The suspense keeps the audience on edge and  helps them to engage with the film. This is conventional to films of the thriller genre because the danger always occurs when the characters least expect it, which makes them vulnerable. This vulnerability causes the audience to build a relationship with the characters as they start to feel sympathy and fear for the characters, which is another convention of a thriller film and something the audience would expect to see. This leads the the audience again becoming more involved and engaged in the film.

Another element used was iconography; this means the props used. In this scene there are quite a few props used, such as a fire extinguisher. As the fire extinguisher is red, a colour the audience would instantly associate with danger, blood and violence, all common conventions and themes of thriller films. The fire extinguisher is used by the killer to smash down a door to get to the female victim inside which shows the audience that the victim is no longer safe in her room and is in a lot of danger. This evokes the audience's sympathy and fear for the character, which leads to them forming a relationship with the character, which consequently leads to the audience feeling more involved with the film. This makes their whole experience of the film so much better as themes such as danger are something they would expect from a thriller film. Another element of iconography used was a knife, held by the killer. This again portrays the killers power and dominance over the weak female  victim due to the fact that he has a weapon and she has nothing. Again, the audience fears for the life of the character and stays engaged in the film, getting more and more attached to the character as the character gets into more and more danger. Both these elements are conventional to a thriller film because they give the killer power, which consequently weakens the victim, building the suspense, fear and tension within the film and causing the audience to create a relationship with the characters, engaging the audience further in the film. 

Costumes, hair and make up are also very important to the scene as it gives the audience an indication of the characters identity, personality, society and culture. In this clip, the costumes the characters are wearing are suits and prom dresses. This show the audience that the characters are attending a formal party which, in the context of this thriller, is prom. Prom is something many of the people watching the film have experienced, so can relate to the characters. This is another technique that causes the audience to form bonds with the characters. The theme of prom misleads the audience because they associate the  tradition of prom with a happy, fun time, and they don't expect danger to occur. The female victim also has blonde hair and a white/ivory prom dress. These plain, pale colours connote innocence,s o the audience is instantly aware that this character is the victim. Another thing the audience realises is the fact that her dress is long and slightly big. This gives her a disadvantage because it makes it harder to run away quickly from the villain, causing her to be in even greater danger. This is again conventional to a thriller film because the victim is shown as innocent and weak and the audience feels sympathy for the character, consequently creating a bond with the character. The audience starts to worry about the character and fear what could happen to her, which in turn builds up the elements of fear and suspense which the audience would expect from this type of film. 

Another element of mise-en-scene used was lighting. The clip features lights which are low key, which created contrasting shadow and light and the same time. This puts half the shot in darkness which creates mystery and suspense. Another light technique used was a flashing light, which flashed white and then black when the killer was on the screen. The audience and character could hardly see who he is because the light hides his identity. But his face is revealed for spilt seconds, which is unconventional for thriller films as it gives the audience and character a slight idea of who the killer is. This confuses the audience as the light is never on long enough to clearly see the killer. It also builds the fear  that the audience themselves are feeling, as they fear for the character and they fear the villain himself. The low key lighting is conventional for a thriller as it creates a sense of darkness and mystery, common themes of thriller films. In the context of this film, the low key lighting is very convetnional because it mostly hides the identity of the killer, leaving an enigma and furthermore, builds up fear and tension.

Facial expressions are also important as it shows the audience exactly how the character is feeling. In this clip, the character is scared and crying, trying to hide from the killer and stay quiet. she looks apprehensive, fearful and tense, which the audience would then mirror because being able to see her facial expressions clearly creates a bon between audience and character; by knowing exactly how the character is feeling the audience is able to feel the way the character feels, so a bond can be easily created. This is conventional to a thriller because the weaker female victim becomes scared and beings to cry, which again portrays her weakness, which leads to the audience feel sympathy for her.