The opening scene is started with a longs hot of a house which tells us that it is a dark night in a very detached normal family house, theres also a pumpkin on the porch which identifies its halloween night, but this is already identified in the Mise-en-Scene The use of cameras in this opening sequence is a simple old fashioned hand held camera. This is acceptably to use as the audience is is a POV of the boy Michael, by using a hand held camera it create's a realistic view as it isn't perfectly smooth, this creates the audience member feel engaged and apart of the action. Camera circling the house suggest that Michael is aiming to get inside the house. We know its a POV shot as Michael picks up a mask as its covers up most over the camera but leaves to peepholes which is how it would be seen if you physically wore a mask. The POV shot also unveils the big surprise that the person is only a child , this is to hide that it was a child.
Lighting
Very naturalistic as it's night time so it creates a sense that there is no abnormalities about the shot of the exterior and interior of the use. The house is naturally lit up using artificial lighting this is to make a feel that nothing as drastic as the murder especially is very unexpected, if the lighting was very dark and hard to see then a murder would come at less of a shock.
Setting
The setting of the shot is in a very normal american housing estate, this creates an image that the family are living comfortably and a very stable normal family, they have a nice garden, everywhere inside the house it neat and tidy , which suggests the family has no problems. As the shot moves through the ouse and into the dining area you can see a perfectly made dining table with candles and four chairs which suggests that the family sit down to eat tea/dinner , and may use it for celebratory events such as Thanks Giving or Christmas, this then further shows they are a happily family that do not conflict with one another. The fact that it happens in a normal house it makes the audience feel as if it could happen to them , if it happened in a expensive mansion people would think that theres no chance of it happening to them which makes that even more frightening.
Costume
The boy Michael is wearing a clowns outfit, this is only later discovered after the shot changes from POV, it can be slightly noticed as he reaches for a knife in the draw and as he reaches for a mask when he walks up stairs. This hides the fact that the person is just a child.
Performance
Michaels sister and another boy are being very normal teenagers just doing what normal teenagers do just chilling out and spending time together. This is to make the shot look as if there is no danger threat, a murder would be totally unexpected in this normal atmosphere.
A good piece of work Billy with some good references to things we have covered in class. You have explained fairly convincingly how meaning has been created in this scene.
ReplyDeleteWWW- Good use of terminology in the section on camerawork and you have nicely explained how meaning is created and not just described what you have seen. I also like how you have shown contextual knowledge by the discussion about the social habits of America.
EBI- You had explained in more detail the meaning and the significance, both literal and ironic, behind the decision to use a clown's costume in the film.
Literacy point- don't forget to use apostrophes appropriately for possessive examples, e.g a clown's outfit.
Show me- Reply to this post and explain the importance of the use of the clown's costume in the film.
The importance of a clown costume is that clowns are meant to be happy and fun but instead the costume is used in a very dark and sinister way, this shows that anything with innocence can be used in a very scary way and could even be more frightening than something that is meant to be scary like a zombie or a monster.
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