Film Opening: Mise En Scene

Setting

There was a variety of setting that we could have chosen which would have emphasised the gothic theme we were aiming for. For example, a forest, an abandoned building or an old barn, as featured in The Exorcism of Emily Rose. We eventually decided that we would set the film opening in a church and graveyard setting. This not only tied in well with the religious plot line we envisioned for the movie, but also could be nicely manipulated in order to create the gothic theme.

Costume

I decided to choose a costume that was simplistic: black trousers and a white floaty top. The contrast of the colours was effective as it replicated the religious contrast of heaven and hell and also the moral contrast of right and wrong, both of which would have been prominent aspects of the movie. The colour white has connotations of purity, innocence, light and goodness. Jesus Christ is also primarily depicted as wearing white. However, the colour black has connotations of power, death, evil and mystery. The colour is still considered as a very prestigious colour, despite its negative connotations and associations of fear and the unknown. 

Religious Imagery

To aid the prominent religious theme throughout our film opening, we decided that it was fundamental to include a lot of varied shots, with differing camera angles, of religious imagery within our setting: the Church. Images of religious scripture, candles and crucifixes. Also, panning shots of stained glass windows.

Lighting
In the two shots which include the before and after versions of the character Christa, we used natural light from the windows behind and either side, to fill the dark space. This made the character appear more central to the frame and creates an angelic aura around the character. We used lit candles to create a sense of warmth around the religious symbols within the Church.

The warm ambient lighting contrast against the dark and cold natural lighting being let in through the windows, as you can see from shots used in our film opening above. The contrast symbolises the religious contrast of heaven and hell. However, the warm ambient lighting makes the crucifix (center photo) appear as a silhouette.