Mise-en-scene media product analysis.

The media product I have chosen to analyse is the trailer for the film ‘The Woman in Black’ this film was released on the 10^th of February 2010 and has a domestic total gross of $54,333,290, the target audience for the film is males and females under the ages of 25, due to the fact that the BBFC rating for the film is a 12, therefore connoting that the film / trailer is aimed at a younger audience.

            

The genre of the film is horror, therefore the film is full of codes and conventions which reinforce the theme of horror throughout the film, for example, the mise-en-scene used in the film is very conventional to horror films, such as the location and iconography, the film is set the 1900’s in a low-populated old village in the countryside and the majority of the film is shot in an ancient, harrowing mansion, these locations and iconography are very typical locations and eras used in horror films due to the fact that we associate abandoned buildings and ‘old’ settings with being haunted and ghostly as that most ‘ghosts’ talked about in stories and films have old characteristics such as wearing old clothing like bonnets and long dresses, therefore due to the fact that these characteristics are associated with time eras such as the 1900’s these specific settings help create an eerie environment, secondly broken gates and fences surround the area connoting that destruction and harmful elements are around, which again adds to the unease and mystery in the atmosphere, this is conventional to horror films, lastly the weather in the location is constantly cloudy and rainy with storms including thunder and lightning, therefore the weather acts as pathetic fallacy as we associate these weather types with feeling emotions such as being glum and depressed or scared, therefore again adding to the horror theme.

The costumes used in the film are ones such as tailored suits, long blazer coats, farmer hats, long dresses and bonnets, ribbons and smart shoes, these costumes help connote to the audience what time era the film is set in (that being the 1900’s) due to the fact that the costumes represent the way people dressed back then, these costumes also help add to the eerie, horror theme within the film as they’re associated with what ‘ghosts’ are typically seen wearing, due to ghosts being old and from the past, therefore by getting all actors to wear these costumes, it intensifies the daunting atmosphere within the film, secondly, special FX make-up is used to reflect the horror genre within the film, such as: making children’s face’s look extremely unwell and pale or covered in blood or mud, these elements connote that something traumatising and horrific must have happened to these children as it’s abnormal and terrifying to see this type of appearance on a child, therefore reinforcing the horror within the film as we’d never want to see our children go through what these children in the film are suffering, making us fear for the characters and question what else will happen.

Props in used in the film are ones such as authentic little children’s toys and dolls, dolls in which have these type of appearances (big beady eyes and styled in old fashioned outfits) have become a huge fear in recent society as they’re seen as extremely creepy, therefore these props are a typical code in which reflect the genre of horror as they create fear and unease due to people’s phobias of these dolls, secondly, props such as old fashioned cars are used to add to the iconography in the film in which reflects the horror genre as these old settings are seen as eerie due to the fact that the modern generation are not familiar with these types of settings, props such as grave stones are also used, grave stones are a very typical code used to reinforce the horror genre thought out the films as grave stones are associated with death, which is an element in which is associated with terror and horror,  elements such as cobwebs and dust are used to reflect horror as these elements connote that a place is uncared for, meaning anyone or anything could be in that location, this creates disequilibrium and enigma as the audience don’t know what will happen which is conventional to horror films.

Acting gestures denoted in the trailer are ones such as the main actor (Daniel Radcliffe) holding his hands on his face, this acting gesture signifies that he is feeling shocked and uneasy due to the fact that we associate putting our hands on our face as a sign of stress or uncertainty, therefore reflecting the horror genre are we are shown that the character is feeling scared, another acting gesture denoted in the film is the actor raising and waving this hands up in the air, this acting gesture connotes that the character is signalling for help, this shows that he feels he is unsafe, therefore reflecting the theme of horror as feeling unsafe is another convention to horror films.

In the trailer certain lighting is used to create effects such as the use of flashing lights, this makes the audience feel uneasy as one minuet the room is lit and the next it’s pitch black,  therefore the audience doesn’t know what is going to happen between different lighting stages, this creates mystery which is an element in which is convention to horror films, secondly low-key lighting is used within tense scenes of the trailer, this intensifies the scene as you’re unable to clearly see what is happening, therefore creating the feel of danger and fear as anything could happen, this low-key lighting also has effects such as making the mood more serious and moody as it’s this type lighting reinforces the fear of the unknown.

Lastly the colours used within the title pages of the trailer are ones such as reds, blacks and whites, these colours are conventional to horror films due to the fact that the colour red reflects blood, therefore connoting violence and danger, the colour black reflects darkness in which is associated which mystery and the fear of the unknown and the colour white reflects death as this is what you see when you pass, therefore reflecting the genre of horror.