In Blade Runner (dir. Ridley Scott, 1982), one scene which stood out for me was the death of Zhora, one of the escaped Replicants. This scene occurs around half way through the film, and is significant for a number of different reasons.

The costumes used in this scene are very different for the characters of Zhora and Deckard. Deckard wears a long coat and scruffy clothes, which is quite a simple outfit. This reflects the typical costumes that detectives would wear in this neo-noir genre of film. On the other hand, Zhora’s outfit seems more futuristic, due to the see-through coat she’s wearing. Both costumes have elements of eighties clothes in them, but also futuristic qualities to them, which both sets the scene of 2019 but keeps it grounded in reality for the 1982 audience. The costume designer for this film – Michael Kaplan – would have thought carefully about the costumes for each of these characters. Deckard’s costume has been used to reflect his personality as a Blade Runner, while Zhora’s strange style makes her easily identifiable to Deckard. The detail that has gone into these costumes helps to immerse the viewer into the advanced society, making it more believable for them.

In this scene, there are also lots of extras, making the city street seem very overcrowded. This is important, as it helps the audience to imagine the city life in future Los Angeles, which makes it more realistic for them. Also, the confusing noises and sounds of a typical street help to increase the believability of this scene for the audience, as normally a futuristic world would be difficult to imagine. Many of the extras featured in this scene are wearing clothes that would be typical of Eastern cultures, such as China. This is because, in the film, these cultures have become more prominent in America as the countries became more wealthy. Some of the props that the extras use also help to remind the reader of the futuristic society that is in place – for example the man with flashing glasses or the man whose umbrella has a light in it.

As Zhora falls through the series of glass panes, there is harsh neon lighting which fills the screen. This helps to capture the scene, as it contrasts against her dying. Again, it creates verisimilitude for the audience by making the world of 2019 Los Angeles more real for them. The heavily lit background around Zhora also contrasts the darkness that surrounds Deckard. This section of the scene also has sad music in the background while Zhora is dying. This could have been used as a way to show Deckard’s empathy for Zhora, as he didn’t really want to hunt the Replicants down at the start of the film. It helps to create a poignant tone to the scene, and makes the audience feel sorry for Zhora, even though she is just a Replicant.

In the background of this scene, there are also some neon advertising signs, for example the Atari sign. These small details in the set design make the city appear to be well thought out by the designers involved in production. It also adds a bit of context for the audience, as it helps them to understand the culture of the 2019 society. There are many neon signs with Chinese writing on them, as well as many umbrellas designed like traditional Chinese paper umbrellas. This is anther way of showing the audience the Eastern cultures that have dominated the society.

The moments when Zhora is shot are in slow motion, emphasising her fear that she feels just before she dies. It also could be representing how she is helpless to do anything in this situation. The fact that it is in slow motion means that the flickering of the neon lights are captured more than they would have been otherwise. However, this is quite effective, as it adds a dreamlike quality to the scene, making the audience relate to the suffering that Zhora faces in her last moments. The sound of gunshots bring the scene back to reality, rather than allowing the dreamlike qualities of it become too intense.

I have chosen this scene from The Shining (dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1980) as it is an interesting example of a long take. Creating long take scenes are very difficult for directors, as everything must be filmed in one continuous shot, with no stopping or camera cutting. This means that the entire scene must be well rehearsed, especially when it contains lots of extras. If anything goes wrong in the scene, then the entire thing must be started again. Even though this scene doesn’t contain a lot of characters, it is still difficult to get something like this right. This scene adds to the suspense of the film, as the audience thinks there could be something around any corner.

I think that this scene from Thor: Ragnarok (dir. Taika Waititi, 2017) has used the idea of spacing very effectively. The director has chosen to have the Valkyrior coming from above, and for Hela to be positioned below, which creates a stunning contrast between the two. The audience could also interpret this as having a symbolic meaning – as the Valkyrior above represent heavenly angels. This was a very good decision by the director, as the positioning emphasises how Hela is bad and could bring chaos to Asgard.  Even though nearly the entire scene was made using visual effects in post production, it still looks amazing.

The Sixth Sense (dir. M. Night Shyamalan, 1999), has a clever use of color throughout the film. For example, whenever something bad was going to happen or ghosts were going to appear, red would appear in the scene in some way In this scene, when Cole goes into the tent, he sees the ghost of a young girl who was killed by her mother. The red tent symbolises that the ghost will come, making the audience already feel tense before it happens. The use of red throughout this film is very clever, as it is a subtle hint towards the ghosts appearing, as red is usually associated with danger.

I think that Planet of the Apes (dir. Franklin J. Schaffner, 1968) has an excellent use of makeup, and the level of detail that went into the apes’ faces was incredible, even though the movie was made in the 60s. Their faces were applied using a mixture of makeup and prosthetics, which would have taken a long time to apply. As there were many extras in the film, a lot of time would have been spent applying everyone’s makeup. More modern Planet of the Apes films use post-production effects for the large cast numbers, which is more efficient than applying each person with makeup. However, this doesn’t look as realistic as the prosthetics do, because CGI effects can start to look outdated.

I think that the lighting used in The Conjuring (dir. James Wan, 2013) is very effective and well thought out. This is because, in scenes like this one, there is only one main light source, which increases the amount of darkness that the scene contains. The audience will find that this helps them to see things from the main character’s point of view, and it could make them scared of what could be hiding in the shadows. Using little lighting works well in horror films like The Conjuring, as it creates a tense atmosphere, and adds lots of suspense for the viewers.

I think that Bilbo Baggins’ costumes from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (dir. Peter Jackson, 2012) are incredible, as they are so detailed and clearly reflect Bilbo’s personality and the difficulties that he faces while travelling to face Smaug. For example, this shot shows the comfortable lifestyle that Bilbo is used to living. This contrasts to the clothes he’s wearing at the end of the movie, which are dirty and torn. As the movie goes on his costume become more ruined, it makes it seem more genuine for the audience, as it shows how he has been travelling on the road the entire time, without chance to stop and properly get cleaned.

I have chosen the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars (dir. George Lucas, 1977) as an example of a well designed set. This is because lots of detail has been put into this, and lots of time must have been spent creating the individual switches and buttons. Also, the slightly dirty look of the set helps to immersive the viewer into the movie, as it makes it look more realistic and used. Part of what makes this cockpit look so good is the fact that it was all built and used in the movies, rather than only building half the set and having the rest added in during post production.