Micro Essay

Explore how  Mise-en-Scene and Sound is used to construct meaning and provoke audience response in the film 'The Shining'.

This essay will analyse how audience meaning and response is created in the film 'The Shining' (1980), Focusing upon the 'Danny Come play With Us Scene' featuring Danny and The Twins.
The focus micro elements in this essay will be sound and mise-en-Scene, -to  explore how the film instils fear and mystery in the audience, by solely focusing upon the 'Danny Come Play With Us Scene' featuring Danny and the twins.

The Film is set in a hotel. Generally, hotels are associated with safety, somewhere you go for a break where you can relax and enjoy yourself. However, it is sparse and agoraphobic this creates a contrast to the stereotypes of hotels, creating an understanding for the audience that Danny and his family are alone in a place that is difficult to escape from. Furthermore, it makes this scene quite scary as it's an unexpected place for negative things to happen.

Danny, a young boy, is in a hallway. It's very bright which refutes the stereotypical lighting in a horror film. The room is very sterile, and old fashioned resembling the interior of a hospital. This creates a negative impression for the audience as Hospitals hold connotations of illness and pain.The setting has green/mauve colours which aren't very friendly and are quite dull. This heightens the dense atmosphere created they have a 'suffocating effect' such as decay. Furthermore these colours resemble that of camouflage as though Danny and his family are isolated.There are plates and metal cutlery to the side which looks a lot like a prison. The audience will question why a family with a young child are in such an unfriendly dull place.

The next hallways lighting is similar to a candelabra, it's quite dark and hellish notifying the audience that the scene is getting darker both literally and metaphorically. The decor is old, there is a vending machine which is empty. This shows the audienceRed exit signs and red alarms hung up around the hallway act as subliminal warnings to the audience, also stand out against the pale decoration. The props pre-warn for the audience of what's about to happen. A significant prop in this scene is Danny's bike. A bike requires him to sit down therefore making him smaller and emphasises his vulnerability to the audience. Bikes have connotations of fun, however ;this bike leads Danny to danger. Bikes are for outside use,however he is inside, trapped and excluded from the rest of the world. This intensifies the danger in the scene as the audience can see he is unable to escape outside. The bell on the bike is red which has connotations of danger, Danny must ring the bell as a warning sign.

The setting is old fashioned in decor, allowing the audience to prepare to go back in time, to the twins who are from the past. The fact that its in the same setting frightens the audience as the massacre was in a nice supposedly safe setting and happened to innocent children. Finally the setting is of major importance as it takes the audience on a journey, the transfer through the different hallways represents the shift from safety to danger, the danger aspect worsens the further Danny travels down the hallways. The fact that the murder scene and present day has the same setting warns the audience that nothing has changed, implying it could happen again, and the twins are still present in spirit.

Another aspect of mise-en-scene is makeup, hair and costume. Danny is wearing modern clothing- suitable for the time setting of the film. His costume is jeans and a t-shirt. The twins costume allows the audience to recognise that they are from a different time period. They are wearing blue victorian dresses with lace frills, the fact they are wearing the exact same, warns the audience they are twice the danger.When the girls are dead their  neat pale clothing becomes ripped and full of blood, this major contrast is more drastic and shocking for the audience connoting a brutal murder.

Facial expression and body language in this clip allows the audience to understand character motive and emotion. The twins stance is very awkward, they are stood up straight and very still, making the audience on edge as this is a rigid posture for children, making the twins appear emotionless. The girls are also holding hands, this shows the audience that the girls are united as a team and are 'unbreakable' as they are linked together as one. Their facial expressions are blank, making it difficult for the audience to read their emotion. The body position of the murdered twins appears unnatural and staged, as their arms are twisted in an awkward manner across the floor. This tells the audience that their death was very brutal and forceful.

Danny abruptly stops on his bike as he is faced with the twins murdered bodies, the audience see the shift in his body language as he braces himself  in a tense manner. The audience empathise with Danny and feel motherly towards him. The fact that he peaked through a hole in his hands further encourages the protective instinct in the audience. The difference in body language between the twins and Danny highlights Danny's vulnerability as the audience can see he is exposed to unexpected dangers. The props on the wall are knocked sideways which represents the disruption of peace and shows the panic and anger as it has been knocked during an intense murder. The main colours used within this clip is Red and also pale cream colours, these contrasting colours act as a permanent reminder to the audience of flesh and blood.

Both diegetic and non diegetic sound is used in this clip to create suspense and affect the audience. The diegetic sound of Danny cycling down the hallway is accompanied with a very high pitched violin strings crescendo which increases in volume. It is an uncomfortable sound which creates tension and prepares the audience for a build up to an event. This noise continues until a loud low pitched piano chord is played suddenly. This abrupt contrast shocks the audience, preparing them for danger. The loud crash of a cymbal signifies to the audience that Danny has come to the end of his journey. A low pitched drum beat sounds like a rumbling noise along with this is a very low pitch brassy noise. The low tones create tension and instils fear into the audience.

The twins both say in sync 'Hello Danny' in an expressive tone. They then say 'Come play with us'  in a whisper tone. Their voices sound very sinister allowing the audience to understand that they are dead. The fact that a rumbling noise is played when the twins speak shows that the twins are very negative and adds to the suspense and tension.

A non-diegetic piano chord is played loudly, which represents the dead scene as its an uncomfortable noise. Music shows the difference in the twins being alive to them being dead. The sound is very dramatic and unexpected which would scare the audience and help them to understand the change in scenes. Again there is a low drum rumbling noise which is played underneath the twins speaking. A spiralling violin crescendo sound is heard as it gets louder and higher in pitch. This tells the audience the situations getting worse and is a build up to what they're about to say.

The diegetic dialogue of the twins whispering 'Forever' in unison has an echo effect which is further exaggerated by the repetition of the words 'and ever and ever'

Danny then says 'I'm scared' in a child-like innocent tone allowing the audience to hear his vulnerability, making them respond with sympathy. He starts talking in a low croaky voice using his finger as though it is a pretend person talking to him. The tone of his voice is lower than usual, representing his alter ego - Tony. This forewarns the audience of his alter ego, allowing them to understand his complex character.

To conclude, sound and miss-en-scene are used within this clip to provoke audience response. Both emotionally and physically. The micro elements create both suspense and mystery, a constant theme throughout the clip. Furthermore, this clip is a constant battle of trying to break free, subliminal messages are hidden throughout that Danny is trapped, from the rest of the world and also within himself with his alter ego (Tony) all of these aspects add to the effect of verisimilitude of the scene and create the illusion of reality.