This low angle shot from The Avengers presents the antagonist of the film, Loki, to be a powerful villain. This would make the audience feel like he is a serious threat to the protagonists. The low angle shot also displays how the character sees himself as more powerful and important than humans, and enjoys the feeling of being powerful, as in the next shot, humans are kneeling below him.
This high angle shot from the film Dune, uses the high angle to present the character as powerless and vulnerable against the Sandworm. This contrasts the low angle shots also used in the scene to display the extreme power of the sandworm.
This birds eye view shot from the film Knives Out emphasizes the emotions of the character Marta, as she had just gone through a lot and now it is all over, so she can relax. The high angle shot is often used for displaying crime scenes, so this shot mirrors a crime scene, especially since she is laying down with a knife. This might suggest what could have been if the knife was not fake.
The establishing shot is used in the Lord of the Rings. It establishes the setting of this part of the fantasy world to the audience. By showing the whole setting, it allows the audience to get a feeling for how dangerous and frightening it is, as you can see the giant scale of it.
In Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, this close up shot is used to emphasize the strong emotions Luke was feeling, making the audience feel bad for him. The shock on his face also may have reflected the audiences own shock of the revelation.
This extreme close up shot is used in Blade Runner (1982). It is used to allow the audience to take in the sci-fi setting and see the eye’s overwhelmed feeling because of it. It also may be used to set up the eye symbolism throughout the film.
The extra-diegetic gaze is used in the film Deadpool and Deadpool 2.
The extra-diegetic gaze is used to make the film Deadpool stand out from other superhero films, as they usually take themselves very seriously. This breaking of the 4th wall also adds to the comedic tone of the film, which also makes the film individual, as superhero films of the time were usually very serious.
An example of the intra-diegetic gaze is in film is in Titanic, when Rose and Jack are dancing.
It is used to help the audience connect with the characters, allowing them to feel the romance and joy of the scene as if they were experiencing it for themselves. Since they have connected with the characters, this makes the ending even more heartbreaking for the audience.
The diegetic gaze is used in many films to express what the director wants them to see. This is used in films such as The Shining.
The use of the extreme close up in this scene. Focuses the audience’s gaze on the fact that Jack has become insane. This may create fear for the audience, as they don’t know what he will do next.
In the scene where Deckard is trying to find Pris, the director uses many different techniques to create a different atmosphere. Deckard enters a chaotic and unorganised messy room. The room is lighted by dull low essential yellow lighting. The room is filled with ‘child-like’ toys and feminine things like dolls and pink flowers. Deckard struggles to find Pris as she wears heavy makeup and has dyed and cut her hair differently. Once Deckard starts to look sceptically at her, she kicks him in the stomach, and a fight scene begins where the camera moves to a different part of the house into a darker and emptier hallway.
This scene alone uses many different Mise-en-scene devices, including lighting, props, costume, hair and makeup. With the use of all of these devices put together, it created an intriguing and frightening scene.
The director used low-key yellow-tinted lights at the beginning of the scene. This was used to add the sense of a warm and welcoming environment. The warm hues give a sense of reassurance that the room is a safe place. However, as the scene progresses and Pris kicks Deckard into the hallway, the lighting changes to a dark, cold, low-key hallway. This creates an immediate atmospheric change. This shows the audience a clear contrast in mood and action. It also creates an unnaturalistic feeling as a home should feel safe and not a hostile location.
The use of props also conveyed different emotions to the audience. I believe the director chose to have a chaotic and messy room. One of them could be so that the audience is constantly looking around since there are so many things. This creates a sense of uncertainty and adds to the chaotic and unorganised scene. I think that the director also could have included this to make it so that the audience has to try and find Pris and make it so that the audience can interact with the scene. It can also create emotion and competition between Deckard and the audience to find Pris the quickest. However, as Pris kicks Deckard into the empty hallway, this removes all of the excess distractions, guarantees that the audience is not distracted by the background, and focuses on the action scene.
Lastly, makeup was primarily utilised. Pris is covered in a white base. This already gives the audience a very unnatural and abnormal feeling as it is a skin colour you would not normally associate with humans. This could be a reason that the director desired to do this since the colour of her skin can help persuade the audience that she is not a human and, in fact, a replicant. On top of the white base, the director covered Pris’s eyes and the bridge of her nose in black face paint. Pris also had a very prominent circle of green blush on her cheeks. I believe that this look was used for her to look more animate, just like a doll, as that is what she was feigning to be. However, it could also signify how she looks like a clown. Clowns are typically represented by children and have altered personalities. This could justify how Pris acts identical to a child since she is only four years old. This doll look could also connect her to her lost childhood, which is how she plays with toys.
In conclusion, the director used Mise-en-scene to accentuate his vision for the scene in a very vivid and intriguing way for the audience.
The use of this diegetic close-up in ‘Moonlight’ highlights Chiron’s stirring emotions in this scene. The lack of bold colours or distractions in the background forces the audience to focus on Chiron’s facial expressions during this dramatic moment. The blood on his face from a previous altercation is also brought to the audiences’ attention with the use of this diegesis.
Intra-diegetic:Kill Bill: Vol 1 (2003)
In this infamous scene of the Deadly Viper Squad, the camera is placed in the POV of a violently injured Beatrix, after her attempted murder at the hands of the four. This dramatic use of diegesis allows the viewers to better understand how vulnerable and violated beatrix would be feeling, the low angle of this shot also adds to this sense of vulnerability. This shot may act as a precursor to the acts within Kill Bill, as Beatrix sets off on a course for bloody revenge.
Extra-diegetic:Come and See (1985)
In ‘Come and See’, extra-diegetic shots are used effectively throughout the movie to better achieve the film’s purpose: to persuade against war. These stark looks directly down the lens shatters the 4th wall, further adding realism and verity to the character Florya and the scenes of war that take place around him. Without these extra-diegetic shots, it may be easy for viewers to dismiss the events portrayed in this movie as ‘just another fictional war movie’. However, these shots add compassion between viewer and character, causing the horrendous acts of war to have an even deeper emotional effect on viewers.
DEPTH OF FIELD- this is the distance between the nearest and furthest objects in a scene that are in focus; this includes shallow focus which keeps one part of an image in focus while the rest is blurry and out of focus and deep focus which keeps all elements of an image in sharp focus to highlight all key activities in both the background and foreground.
PAN- a pan movement is when the base remains in a fixed position, but the camera pivots left or right. This is used to allow the audience to see more of the scene and see where the character moves. An example of this is in Wolf of Wall Street when the camera shifts to Jordan before he speaks. This causes the audience to focus on him and the background characters.
TILT- In Captain America The Winter Soldier, tilt is used in this scene to shift our attention on Steve walking in and highlight the importance of the situation which is indicated by their facial expressions; this camera movement is direct and spontaneous.
ZOOM IN – by using the zoom in effect the audiences attention is directed towards a specific point in the scene. In this scene from “American Horror Story- Cult” we are zoomed into Ally as her phobia of clowns starts to show. In this scene Ally finds her son’s Oz’s comic book of Twisty the Clown Chronicles and at that point the audience realiez her paralyzing fear that she is experiencing .
LOW ANGLE- a low angle shot is used to emphasize on the power and danger that a character may have. This can be used to make another character seem dominant over the other and the effect this has on the audience is to make them view the scene through the inferior character’s eyes. An example of this is in “Home Alone 2” when Kevin sees Marv and Harry in New York. The low angle used in this scene puts Kevin in a vulnerable and inferior position causing the audience to feel frightened for him.
EYE LEVEL SHOT- an eye level shot is when the camera is positioned at a characters eye level. This scene from “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” , is an example of an eye level shot that makes us focus on Katniss and wonder what her thoughts or next decisions might be. This scene is suspenseful as the shot focuses on Katniss’s cold gaze and eyes which appear full of rage and pain while she remains composed .
BIRDS EYE SHOT- this shot makes the subject appear small and powerless/isolated as it looks down directly on the subject. This type of shot is also used to give us more information about the surroundings in a specific scene. In this scene from Kill Bill: Vol 1 the birds eye view is used to give us more insight on what is about to happen while isolating our subject which might make the audience feel unsettled and fear the safety of our subject.
