Mise-En Scene Of 'The Exorcist Of Emily Rose'

I am analysing the first 3 minutes of the opening scene from ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’. I am going to be looking at costume & makeup, lighting, body language, characters, framing and the different screen shots used.

At the very start of the scene, all the audience can see if a black screen, slowly followed by some quite high pitched music. This denotes that the film is quite weary and scary, as high pitched and slow toned music is commonly found in horror films. Whilst the music is playing small, dark titles are appearing in the top left of the screen. They are appearing rather slowly, yet because they are quite ‘gloomy’ it is had for the audience to read them. A short while after these have appeared, and the screen is still black, the music starts to play a very deep toned & high toned mix of music. Shortly after the music is decreased and the audience can hear what almost sounds like a young girl screamed/crying. Then, ‘based on a true story’ appears in the middle of the screen. Again, this is in the dark grey font, making it quite hard for the audience to read. After this, the screen then again goes black and the audience starts to hear a girl calling “Emily”. We can now make out that there is more than one girl in the background music. One girl seems to be crying out, and the other seems to be crying for the girl. The background music that first appeared has now decreased in volume so that the audience can hear the character speaking clearly.

From there, a white screen then starts to appear. They have used a ‘fading’ effect so that the white screen appears slowly, increasing its purity. This could give off the idea that the film is innocent, because white is quite a pure and clean colour. However, it could give off the idea that the film is dark, cold and psychological because white is quite a basic colour. Whilst the black screen is fading and being replaced by an increasing white screen, the scream of a girl gets louder and louder. The white screen then begins to fade, almost turning into some sort of fog. The audience then starts to see a dark object on the left hand side of the screen, that turns out to be a post. The white screen fades to reveal a scene in what seems to be a field. The post is linked to some barbed-wire. The white screen turns darker, and then the film title appears on the right of the screen. The title is in a red colour, maybe symbolising blood or death. This denotes that the film is quite dark and gloomy because of the colouring used. The screen then turns black again, and the music that was originally playing in the first few seconds of the opening, starts to play again.

The screen then switches to a field with some crops growing. They have used a wide shot so that the audience can get a general idea of the scene and the surroundings. There are some crops that are blowing in the wind. The noise that the crops are making, as they are blowing in the wind is diegetic, but the audience can still hear the music that was played in the opening seconds, only the volume has been decreased quite considerably. The shot is on the crops for quite a while before it moves on. The sky looks grey, like it is about to rain. As the audience, you get a general feeling of the un-known before of the scene setting and the crops blowing. You can also hear the wind, whistling through the crops slightly.

The next scene is faded in, and it looks as if they are some pumpkins. It is very dark, so the audience could find it hard to see exactly what they are. The ground looks very dry, as the soil is a light grey. This could give the idea that there hasn’t been any rain, and from the colour of the sky it may storm. This builds up the tension of what will happen next. The music then decreases even more until nearly faded out, then the screen switches to a wide shot of a house, which seems to be in the middle of nowhere. The house is almost like a dark yellow colour, which could give the impression that it is normally a happy household. The weather is still dark and gloomy; however there appears to be snow on the ground. This instantly tells the audience that the film is set around December/January time. The titles appear again in the top left hand corner of the screen; only instead of grey they are orange. This is easier for the audience to read, and it also may give them the impression that everything is normal. The music is very faint in the background but you can still hear it. This gives the audience the idea that the film is about to start and the opening titles have stopped.

As the camera zooms in on the house, a small figure walks across from the bottom right hand corner towards the house. The music has almost stopped now, but you can still hear the wind blowing. The figure seems to be wearing very dark colours, showing his authority. The shot then changes to a close up of the figures foot, after treading in a puddle. The character is wearing black shoes, with black trousers. The noise of the puddle, splashing as he steps into it, is emphasized heavily. This is the diegetic sound, because it is over the music. The music has almost stopped and the crunching of the snow has almost taken its place. The snow seems to be very muddy, like it’s been there a few days. Also, because the character trod in the puddle, the audience knows that someone has been out of the house before then, therefore causing the puddles. The next shot is of the character walking off; the audience can still only see his feet though. It is still a close up, and the character walks off of the shot. There is also a crunching sound of the snow under his feet. The snow is quite bright, in comparison to the colour of the house and surroundings.

The shot transition then changes to reveal the character walking up towards the house. The windows of the house are dark, and it looks as though the blinds are drawn. Immediately this gives the audience a threatening feeling and it leaves them wondering what is going to happen to the male character, and who he is. The audience can hear his footsteps still, but because he has reached the house, it isn’t the sound of crunching snow anymore. It’s the sound of stepping against wood, as that is what the house is made from. The music that has been playing on and off from the start, increases again, making the audience ready for something that may or may not happen. Its also builds up the suspense.

The screen the turns to a mid-shot of the character. For the first time the audience can see his face. He is a middle aged man; I would say late 50’s. The character is wearing a black duffle coat, and a black hat. This could make the audience wonder if the man is trustworthy. Typically, he looks threatening because he is dressed in all black with a hat. This could symbolise death, or a threatening behaviour. The man wait’s a bit before knocking on the door. The audience can’t see through the door as it looks boarded up. The paintwork on the house is chipped, so it gives the impression the house is uncared for, or whoever lives in it can’t or hasn’t got the time to look after it properly. After knocking, the man then looks through the door. This is quite threatening and the audience is then thrown into suspense because we don’t know what will happen.

The shot is then switched to a wide shot of the house and the character then starts to walk away, and off the decking, back into the snow. The music is still playing but the diegetic sounds, like the footsteps are made known. Then screen the moves to a mid-shot of the man, and he seems to be looking at something. This leaves the audience wondering what it is that has made him stop. The shot them pans round to show a wide-shot of an old barn, and a tractor. Both looks very run down and have a scary essence about them. The weather is still dark and the sky is still grey. Music is still playing quietly in the background; however you can hear the movement from the weathervane on top of the barn. The, the shot pans round to show a close-up of the weathervane. It is quite rusty, so looks as though it has been there for some time. This is quite threatening itself as it’s quite a weird and uncomfortable sound. Also, the audience can see an entrance to the barn, but it is dark so we cannot see inside. This leaves the audience in suspense as to what is inside.

The next scene is of two cats running into the bushes. It is completely unexpected, so may give the audience a sense of confusion. The cats seem to be growling as they disappear into the bushes. Commonly, cats are seen as quite creepy in scary films, so the audience may start to get in to the film. The screen then turns and an over-the-shoulder shot is used, to look at the back of the character and what he is facing. This is the barn and the tractor again. As the man is standing still, the audience can’t hear anything, so the music is then increased in volume to make the shot seem more dramatic than it is. The weather is still dark and gloomy, and looks cold. This could be a reason as to why the man is dressed up in black, heavy clothes. The character then turns around so we can see the front of him, and then also still see the barn. The character then starts walking towards the camera, making the shot into a close up of his face. The background starts to fade; so that the audience can barely make out that it’s a barn behind him now.

The characters facial expression is almost confused and bewildered, and because he hasn’t said anything yet, this leaves the audience wondering what is bothering him. The shot then flicks to what looks like a bees nest, hanging from the house. The music dips, and you can hear the buzzing from the bees. This is quite a weird extra so the audience may start to feel bewilderment as to what is going on. The shot then pans back around to show the character. It is still a close up, but his face still remains the same. At this point, due to his facial expressions, the audience may start to believe that this man is harmless rather than threatening, and maybe trying to do a good thing?

The next scene is off the character looking up at a window of the house. They have used a high-angle shot in order to make the house look big and threatening. There is a sort of orangey warm colour coming from the window, this could give off the impression that the house inside is warm and away from the cold outside. At first, the audience don’t realise that there is a figure standing at the window, but after a while it becomes more obvious. The music is still playing, but there are no diegetic sounds. There is then a close up of the mans face again, as he still looks bewildered. The face then disappears from the window, leaving the curtain moving. If the audience has missed the face at the window, then it would become very apparent that someone was there after that shot. The camera then moves, and displays a wide shot of the house, and the back of the male character. Suddenly, the camera moves to display a women coming opening a door form the house. She opens it in quite a rush so it could give the audience the feeling she is nervous, or maybe scared.

The woman is wearing a skirt and a cream top, with what looks like a coloured cardigan. This makes her seem quite innocent, and not as important as the male character that is all dressed in black. She doesn’t make sure an impression, as the male character did the first time that the audience has seen him. They have used a mid-shot so that we can see the top half of the women, but also the pillars that are holding the house up. As the woman comes out from her house, the audience can now know that the man is a medical examiner because she asks him if he is. Then, shot-reverse-shot is used from the women to the male character. There is still a close-up of the male however, and when he nods his head, the audience now know what the man is. He isn’t just a man in dark threatening clothes anymore, he has a purpose. The next thing the audience will want to know is why he is there.

The male character then walks forward and there is a close-up of his bottom torso walking towards the camera. The next scene is a close-up of a characters hands, clenched around a cup. It then pans out to display a mid shot of a man, sitting at a table. His facial expression looks dull and upset, making the audience ask the question, what’s wrong with him. The camera then pans out to display a wide shot of 4 characters sitting around a table, and the very first male character walking into the house. The house is very dark and not homely or welcoming. The music is still playing, but is lowered so that we can hear the closing of the door and the males’ footsteps. This automatically gives the audience a cold feeling, and a feeling of the unknown. Also, one of the female characters at the table is crying, therefore making the mood solemn and quite.

The shot then moves to a close up of the women in front of the banisters, as she continues to walk on, the male figure looks around. Still wearing his hat, it gives the audience the impression he doesn’t feel very comfortable, as normally it is common courtesy for a man to remove his hat when he enters a building. The camera shot then pans out to show a third character. This time the character is standing gripping onto the top of a chair. The character looks distraught and very scared.
The lighting in the house is very dark, almost darker than it is outside, making the house look gloomy and scary. The walls look dirty so it’s as if they don’t look after the house at all.

The body language from all the characters makes the audience wonder what is going to happen, therefore grips them to their seats and makes them watch the film. This is exactly the reaction that a film company want from there film.