Discussing thriller conventions and connotations of themes in our shots and mise-en-scene

Our completed film:

I have prepared a series of screenshots from our thriller opening and then analysed them in detail, discussing the thriller conventions and connotations of thriller themes in our mise-en-scene.

This is our opening shot, and we are very pleased with it. We especially like the moving camera and tilted angles effects as they connote several film noir themes such as disorientation and confusion. Tilted angles, though, can also be used to represent themes of corruption and distorted justice, something which can be said for The Third Man (1949) and also for our own thriller as corruption, along with crime, greed and murder, are all present.

All of our shots of the building use a low angle shot, quite deliberately, in order to emphasize the height and stature of the building. The low angles are also popular techniques of the noir period and also add to the disorientating atmosphere of the film. Therefore, for these reasons, we are very pleased with these shots. However, we are also very pleased with the effects of shadow and dark lines as opposed to light, as these introduce further themes of noir, such as moral ambiguity (good vs. evil - light vs. dark), whilst the shadows add to the theme of corruption and immorality as it suggests that the events are taking place hidden under the shadows. We feel that, regarding the mise-en-scene, this is one of our most successful shots as it introduces several other fundamental themes and conventions of noir. One of these themes introduced is the theme of the fatalistic nightmare. This is done, as it is often done in noir, via the mise-en-scene. For example, the way that the light reflects off one side of the fence connotes a sense of unrealism, as it is not something we see everyday, thereby introducing the nightmarish theme. The same can be said for the way the light shines off the deep black of the car, and the wet, shiny and textured road. There is also evidence of chiaroscuro lighting in the background, which adds a further generic signifier of the noir period. We are, therefore, extremely pleased with this shot. However, looking back, and if given the chance, we perhaps would have made this a slightly tilted angle shot, just to add that extra dynamism and to increase further the sense of disorientation, in a similar way as its done in The Third Man. There is further, and more obvious, evidence of chiaroscuro lighting in this shot, as the dynamic bright light dominates the shot. And, as mentioned before, chiaroscuro lighting is an important stylistic convention in noirs, as it makes for dynamic shots which add to the theme of the fatalistic nightmare, and this is achieved in this shot also, so we are very satisfied with it. However, we have added a further noir convention in the shape of the blinds. Although not 'venetian' (due to an obvious lack of resources), these blinds still add an important generic signifier, as they suggest that the man in the office is one of immorality and corruption, as the blinds partially hide him from the outside. I say partially, for if we assume that outside the office is the law-abiding, honest world and inside it is the corrupt and immoral world whilst the blinds are the barrier between the two, then the blinds are a very suitable barrier in the world of noir as they are merely a 'partial' barrier, thus inducing moral ambiguity, the merging and inseparability of right vs. wrong and the eternal struggle between good and evil. We feel, then, that, especially regarding mise-en-scene, this shot is very effective in inducing conventional themes whilst also being pleasing on the eye. What we like the most about this shot is the rising smoke from the exhaust of the car, so much so that we emphasized this point by having it rise in fast-motion. We are really pleased with the effect this has, as the smoke adds to the unglamorous setting and immoral deeds of the characters. This is another of our favourite shots. Apart from the obvious noir conventions, such as the chiaroscuro lighting, the use of shadows and, this time, regarding characterisation, the unfriendly, smoking henchman doing dirty work for his boss, there are several other conventions present. One of the most important of these is introduced via composition. As we can see, the criminal (Leon Hogarth's Aidan Quinlan) is to the far right of the image, whilst the bright, white light is to the far left, and the middle of the image is made up of trees through which the light shines to create some dynamic silhouettes. In a similar way as we did in the shot inside the office, if we assume that the white light represents good, whilst Quinlan represents evil, and the trees represent the, again, 'partial' barrier, we have once more the theme of moral ambiguity. For these reasons, we feel that this is an effective shot and are extremely pleased with it.In this shot, we are pleased with the further presence of chiaroscuro lighting form the car's rear lights and also from the street light. Also, as you can see, the street light here is quite far in the background, so if we go with our previous assumption that the light represents good then this suggests that the events taking place in this shot are very far away from being classed as good. This is a relevant suggestion as it is at this point in the opening sequence that the dead body is first taken out of the car and exposed to the viewer, so the previous shots of Patrick Callaghan (Phil Buttinger) in the office and of Quinlan (Leon Hogarth) in which there were suggestions of the good vs. evil theme were mere hints towards this shot, in which the evil is present so much over the good that the light representing good has been distanced from it. Here, again, we are pleased with the lighting and the effect of the blinds.This extreme close-up proved to be one of the most popular shots after receiving audience feedback, and we too are very pleased with it. The prolonged eye-contact within close distance causes the viewer to feel uneasy and claustrophobic, especially as this man is assumed to be (and is) an immoral, evil man that the viewer probably doesn't want to relate to, but this ECU is almost forcing them to. Claustrophobia is another key theme within noirs and thrillers in general, so this is an effective shot and so we are pleased with it. Unfortunately it was difficult to capture a clearer image of this shot for there's a lot of movement, and in the darkness. This is a low angle shot of the two henchmen carrying the dead body into the woods. We are especially pleased with two things in this shot. The first of these is the lighting, as once again dynamic chiaroscuro lighting is present, shining down at a nice angle to create its usual dynamic effect. We are also very pleased with the positioning of the camera, that is to say that we like how the shots filmed from inside the woods, with several branches partially obscuring the image. This composition adds to the theme of immorality, as it further suggests that these actions are covered up and hidden away, behind the, again, 'partial' barrier between good and evil in the world of noir. Here, we are pleased with the same things as in the above. However, we also like very much the flash of light from the torch, as this just adds a bit of extra dynamism to the shot via chiaroscuro lighting. Personally, regarding the mise-en-scene, this is definitely one of my favourite shots, and quite possible the favourite. Initially, we weren't sure whether we were going to include it (which would have been a great shame) because, according to our initial ideas, we intended to end the sequence with the dead body dropping to the ground, making this shot (where the henchmen come back from the woods and get back inside the car) non-existent. However, due to a lack of light, we found we were unable to obtain usable shots of the body being dropped, so we decided to use this shot as an alternative confirmation that the body had been disposed of. In the end, we are pleased that it has turned out this way, as we are extremely pleased with the mise-en-scene in this shot. Regarding the composition, we like the way the road cuts across the image diagonally, as this creates a vanishing point which is another very common thriller signifier. However, the main thing we love about this shot is the lighting, and how it almost makes the road look silver, with extended shadows from the trees and darkening the backsides of the wooden stumps lined at the edge of the road. Apart from making the shot pleasing on the eye, these effects all add to the sense of unrealism and the fatalistic nightmare, so we are very pleased with this shot. We also like this shot as a final shot as it creates quite an abrupt yet effective ending. We speeded up the slamming of the boot for some stylistic effect and to emphasize the point that the deed is now done. We also cut out the music at the point that the boot shuts to further emphasize this point. We restarted the music with its main tune when the title comes up largely for stylistic purposes, and we feel that this works well as the main tune of the music is quite catchy and therefore works as an effective backing to the plain title screen. Also, the loud and catchy music contrasts with the plain black and white title screen. Furthermore, this contrast can be perceived as a metaphor for the four men that were responsible for this murder (the three henchmen and the boss in the office), that at face value (represented by the title screen) they appear calm, composed and rational after the deed is done, but behind it (represented by the loud backing music) the evil is still there and still at work.