Research: Mise En Scene - Setting & Iconography - Mrs. Quinlan

Setting & Iconography

What are Setting & Iconography?

Setting and Iconography are elements of mise en scene which are important for presenting where an event is taking place. Settings generally convey the atmosphere of the scene and iconography is present when a significant event occurs. For example, a setting in a forest could show dark tones and something bad about to happen, it can also build suspense to make the audience feel anxious. Iconography is a significant item on set, usually a prop. An example of iconography would be a gun, if it is the main item in the scene then the audience can assume it is going to be fired at another character or it will be used for bad intentions, this is conventional in a thriller as it makes the audience nervous.

Typical thriller settings

Typical thriller settings are generally dark, sparsely populated areas. Examples of this are forests, empty houses or warehouses, hospitals and confined corridors. Although this does vary by sub-genre. Forests and empty houses are settings that are used to create tension and suspense, these are usually because they have dark tones and an ominous atmosphere. Other settings like vast open spaces, deserts and mountains for example, are used in action thrillers to demonstrate chase sequences properly, or they can be used to present isolation for a character.

Forest Setting

A Forest setting is used in the supernatural thriller film The Forest (2015), it is used to show isolation for the protagonist who is seen in a forest alone, this creates an extremely nerve-wrecking atmosphere for the audience as it fills them with suspense. The audience are unaware as to what will happen to the character and the dark tones further connote this. This is a typical thriller setting as it brings out a very strong, frightening reaction for the audience. 

Desert

In this trailer for Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) we are able to see a conventional action thriller setting of a desert. A desert is used in the context of this film to promote thrilling chase sequences, the audience is able to see everything that is going on and the reactions of characters. This also creates suspense as anything can happen to the characters, due to it being a high speed chase we can see that they are putting their lives on the line. This ultimately thrills the audience and makes them feel very anxious.

Street/Beach

In the opening scene for It Follows (2014), the start of the scene has a woman running away from a house, wearing white. We can assume that she is a victim as the white promotes innocence, and she is quite exposed and looks flustered. This part of the opening is conventional as it is seemingly a normal street where there are a lot of people, this is conventional for a thriller as this could be where an antagonist could have taken his victim as this is a place where less people would expect it. Later during the same opening, we can observe that a woman is alone on a beach, this is also a conventional setting as a beach is a place where bodies could be dumped. Beaches are also places where there are not that many people during the night, therefore there is a lot of space and time for murders to occur, which is also a convention to a thriller.

Setting and sub-genre

Sub-genres are important to setting as they are usually used as the foundation for a setting, for example an action thriller would require open spaces for events to occur. If an actual thriller were to take place in a small room it would not be effective.

Action thriller

Action thrillers are generally placed in deserts and open spaces, this is for observation of events occurring and for the audience to see the whole setting for excitement and tension.

Sci-fi thriller

Sci-fi thrillers are usually set in spaceships or laboratories. This is as sci-fi involves science and the events that take place would make the most sense in spaceships ect. these are usually works of fiction too. This is effective on the audience as if they are viewing a setting they are not used to and in a large, empty area which is outer space. This can terrify audiences as they do not know what will happen on an environmental scale.

Psychological thrillers

Psychological thrillers are mostly set in hospitals and empty houses. This is to convey dark tones as hospitals are quite closed in and empty houses can be linked to a frightening atmosphere. Psychological thrillers create a lot of suspense and mystery therefore hospitals and houses are good settings as the audience cannot always know what is going on.

Disaster thriller

Disaster thrillers are predominantly set on very large scales. A lot of establishing shots are used and a lot of buildings are seen. Usually placed near oceans or large cities, this is to scare the audience as they can relate to these areas and imagine themselves in those positions.

Iconography

Iconography varies according to sub genres as different sub genres require different types of iconography for effect. For example cars and car chases would be seen in action and crime thrillers as opposed to psychological thrillers, this would confuse the audience.

Action Thriller

In action thrillers, common iconography includes cars, drugs and guns. All these connote danger and create an exciting response from the audience. This iconography is generally used in high speed chase sequences and fights. These are common in action thrillers as the protagonist usually has a certain goal they have to achieve by defeating the antagonist. The iconography is usually used as support for them to achieve this.

 

Psychological Thriller

Psychological thrillers generally have a lot of mystery in the story, therefore common iconography are forms of communication such as mobile phones, knives and guns. These denotations connote danger and suspense as there are victims in psychological thrills, also usually someone with loss of memory or other mental health problems. Weapons are used in scenes of distress, for example a mentally unstable person may threaten characters, creating fear amongst the audience. Phones or mobiles can be used to also threaten or for warnings, this creates a lot of suspense and makes the audience anxious.

Crime Thrillers

Crime thrillers have very strong connotations of violence and crime, therefore the detonations of guns, knives and cars are appropriate for this genre. This iconography causes the audience to have an excited yet frightened reaction as there is usually killing involved in a crime thriller, a lot of violence is depicted in crime thriller as protagonists may carry guns for protection and antagonists use guns and knives for attacking or keeping people hostage. The examples below are the guns and masks which are used in The Town (2010), this iconography scares the audience as the masks conceals identities and the guns are used for violence.

Scene Analysis - Setting and Iconography

The opening sequence from The Sixth Sense (1999) presents many examples of various setting and iconography. The scene begins at 2:40 in a dark room with only one light bulb, we quickly learn that this is a basement in someones house. The setting has a dark tone to it as it is an empty, dusty room which clearly depicts that it isn't regularly visited, furthermore after the woman grabs a wine bottle, she shivers and clutches onto her arm, showing the audience that it is a cold room. This setting demonstrates a dark tone to the opening of the scene and creates suspense and a chilling response for the audience. As the scene develops there is a rapid cut to candles and a lot of colourful cards, creating a contrast in the scene, there is low key lighting which is a continuation of the dark tone, although the woman is now upstairs in her living room. The changes in scene present the woman and her husband as possible victims as they seem to be unaware of anything troubling, however as the scene develops and they are in their bedroom, they discover a broken window. There is a troubled man in their bathroom and he eventually presents a gun and shoots the male character in the chest. The use of iconography (the gun) is surprising to the audience as the scene has developed very quickly, the audience do not expect the shooting to occur and it creates a frightful reaction.

Conclusion

In conclusion, my research has helped me to decide what sort of setting and iconography I will use in my thriller opening. The dark tones are very effective in an empty house or an abandoned loft, therefore creating suspense for the audience, these are conventional settings and I will most likely be using them, especially because the audience can relate more to an empty house and this will bring out the most thrilling audience reaction. In terms of iconography, I will use weapons such as knives and bats as these connote a sense of danger, filling the audience with fear and excitement. This is very important to a thriller opening.