Miser En Scene Analysis of the opening titles

NIGHTWATCH (1997)

THE OPENING SECOND…Right from the very beginning we instantly have a feel for the type of film we are watching. The opening title of the film has an extremely dark background. The colour of the black instantly connotes to the genre of the film. The darkness of the background relates to the darkness of the film, this is something that the viewer will instantly relate to the genre horror. Black is an extremely polysemy colour, the viewer could see the black as being an insight to the dark mysterious film, or maybe they are relating this to the title: “Nightwatch”. Either way, these are both related to horror films.The font of the title follows this theme also. With a light, fuzzy blue colour it is almost difficult to read, this brings the viewers attention closer to the text as they need to focus in order to see what the text says. The awkwardness in the visual also contributes to the theme, with the blurred writing giving a mysterious and scary feel.

A FEW SECONDS LATER…

The first shot we see in the film is of this women, who appears to be blindfolded. She has a harsh, brighter light on her face which contrasts to the low key lighting on the left side of the screen. As one side is extremely dark, and another extremely bright, our attention is instantly set on the women. The piece of costume placed on the character is also brought to our attention. As it is not completely clear what the prop is, the audience are left unanswered. This is a key element of mise en scene in horror films; making the audience want to ask questions.Although we can’t see what the item on her face is, we can see that it is covering her face. This means that thecharacter is unaware of her surroundings and is clearlyin distress. The audience therefore feel sympathy forthis character. I believe that the questioning of the proprelates to the questioning of the characters situation.

THE FIRST LOCATION…

The first location we see is an outdoor location. The setting appears to be dark, and they look to be near a wood, or a forest. This cold relate to the coldness of the movie, and how unsettling it is.

The characters in this setting are wearing uniform, this is telling us that they’re significant as they’re doing an important job. It is unclear to see exactly what they’re looking at, so again this leaves the audience asking questions. We can also mention the fact that colours are dark. Following the theme of the previous images, the dark colours connote to the film being scary and intense. Again, this is essential in horror films.

THE CLOSE UP…

The first clear image we see is this extremely close up of the mouth. The red on the lips could be used to signify danger, which could be a foreshadowing a scene later in the film. Like black, red is also a polysemic colour. The red could be a visual metaphor for blood, again meaning that this a foreshadow. As well as this, the red could be linked to love or passion. Therefore, this is leaving the audience asking questions about this character. The use of mise en scene is giving mixed message and therefore leaving a sense of mystery.

We can also see that the opening titles are positioned inside the character mouth. Maybe this is telling us something significant about this character.

THE FIRST CLEAR IMAGE…

The use of the shot glass is giving the audience an instant insight to this character. It makes the viewer more inclined to judge this character, as he is doing something negative (drinking). As a result, if a viewer is watching this clip, comparing themselves to this character will mean that they maybe feel better about themselves. This is because they’re not the one in the bad position.

We can also see that the character is wearing a hat. Not only is this telling us about the culture of the character, it is also giving us an insight to where the movie is set. However, as we can see the character is drinking and having fun, it makes the audience ask is he wearing the hat as a joke for his party outfit, or because of his culture? Again, the audience is left unaware and in need to ask questions.

TOWARDS THE END…

Towards the end of the movie we have a reappearance of the character in the close up. This time we see more of her face, infact almost her eyes. This could be a representation of how the film slowly reveals things as it progresses. For second time in the opening titles we are see the return of the lips. This has emphasis towards our initial thoughts of the red being significant.

There is also another element of mise en scene in this imagine. The characters facial expression is smiling, almost like an evil smile. This adds to element of horror as it is creepy.

MY REFLECTION…

For me, the benefit of me doing the mise en scene analysis is that I have identified certain elements of mise en scene that I would like to use in my film.

• For example, I have realised that using a dark, stock location is critical.

• It is essential that I use colour to connote to different aspects of the movie, this is so that I leave the audience asking questions, and a sense of mystery.

• Costume and props can reflect on a characters social class, therefore I need to take this into consideration when I choose the costumes.

• Facial expressions tell us a lot about the character, therefore my actors need to use appropriate facial expressions.