Mise-En Scene: The Shining 1980

To begin with the diagetic sound is very quiet, the only extra diagetic sound that can be heard is music /sound outside of the scene. The sound of music is very high pitched which creates tension for the audience. You can hear the surroundings but there is not much noise happening. This makes a bigger impact when the character Jonny starts to talk. It makes his voice sound very clear and could be seen as threatening. The next thing we hear after the character speaking is the axe going through the door, followed by a scream. The sound of the axe hitting the wood is very loud, which gives it a lot of impact as it could make the audience jump or feel fear. The scream is very sudden and high pitched, showing utter fear which shows the audience the emotion and feelings of the woman. As the screams are sudden and continuous, it puts the viewer on edge. At the point of the speech ‘Here’s Jonny’ the music becomes louder as it crescendo’s and also becomes higher in pitch, the lets the audience know something is about to happen. The way the words ‘Here’s Jonny’ are spoken in such a way which adds more fear, as he sounds very confident, like he does not care what he is doing. The screams become louder and more desperate, and as she cuts Jonny’s hand his shriek shows his pain.

The costume of the character Jonny consists of a red coat and the rest of his clothing is all very dark, this connotes a few things including: death, blood, danger, warning, darkness etc. This could show the audience that someone is about to be killed, or bleed, or be in danger, along with him being a bad person. Jonny is also very under groomed, showing that he does not take any care in his appearance and making him look rough, like he is not phased by doing anything which he should not do. It also shows that he is probably the one who is going to inflict one of these things. The woman is wearing very bland and plain clothing which could symbolise her simplicity, and that she is helpless and innocent. This is also shown in the colour of the walls of the bathroom which the woman is in, they are bright white, which symbolises innocence and purity, making the audience know that the victim is not deserving of what is about to happen. Along with the woman’s make up, it is very natural, which makes her look younger, again showing innocence.

The lighting in the room is coming from lights, a lamp in the bedroom, and ceiling lights in the bathroom, it is not coming from outside of the set so it looks very natural. The room in which Jonny is in contains a lot of dark and heavy shadows, it makes the room appear more eerie, creating suspense and making the audience think that something bad is about to happen. The room in which the woman is, is very brightly lit, which could symbolise heaven, showing she is a good and innocent person. It again, also symbolises innocence. The bathroom also looks very sterile and clean, almost like a hospital room, and the fact that it is so clean looking will make the impact of her being murdered (if she is murdered) even stronger, as the colour of the blood would stand out a lot on the bright white walls and floor.

There is a big contrast in the lighting of the two rooms, as the bedroom looks very warm and calm, whereas the bathroom looks cold and uninviting. This is to show the bathroom as the place where something bad will happen, and by setting up this contrast, the audience can get an idea of what is going to happen in this situation before it happens.

The camera angle to begin with is a mid shot to close up. This clearly shows Jonny’s face and his expression, it is used so the audience can see his confidence in what he is about to do. When the woman picks up the knife, there is a mid shot of her holding it, the camera angle is high which makes her look small, showing her to be little and scared. The camera shakes as she picks up the knife, maybe to show how nervous and uncomfortable she is in this situation. There is a close up of the axe coming through the door which also adds to the fear for the woman and for the viewer, as the seriousness of the situation is realisable. As well as a close up of the axe, again, the camera also shakes as it hits the door, this shows the real impact of the door being broken. As the woman screams a mid shot/close up is used to show her expression, and her desperation. This really helps the viewer to see what she is feeling, as her facial expression is very clear, and you can see all her movement. The use of a mid shot on her also shows that she is trying to huddle up to herself, the shot is used so the viewer can see both her expression and body language. There is a low angle shot of Jonny as he has almost broken through the door, this shows him to be powerful, bigger and taller than the woman, adding more fear. A close up is then used to show Jonny’s hand being cut, this allows the audience to see the blood, informing them that he is actually cut.