From the opening scene of Saw I can conclude that the film is of the horror genre. The film builds tension to engage and provoke emotion within the audience throughout the opening scene. The film does this through the use of horror genre conventions such as at the beginning the use of a dark and dirty room, where I man is submerged in water. These things could often be thought of as people’s fears. These conventions continue to be used throughout the scene as well as a dead body and blood.
The use of Mise en scene develops tension throughout the opening scene through the use of props such as chains for example that are tied to both characters bodies. We can denote that the men are being held against there will as they try to set them selves free, props such as chains connote things such as prisons and locking something away, this evokes a sense of worry in the audience for the characters as they want to know how and why they got to this point. This creates enigma and the audience will want to know the answers to their questions. Another aspect of Mise en scene is used, for example the lighting is dark and dingy, this connotes a sense of fear for the unknown and the things that the characters and audience cannot see. When the lights are turned on there is a blue tinge to the lighting which still creates these feeling that despite the fact the characters can now see, the lighting may forebode that all is not clear and things are not going to go well for the characters as there is still no natural light which reinforces the idea that they are trapped and an escape is not easy.
A range of camera angles are used in the opening scene but the cinematography used in Saw is mainly medium shots, this creates tension as you can see the character’s emotion as well as the are surrounding them which will evoke the most sense of horror within the audience due to the dirty, dingy and strange location the characters seem to be stuck in. As well as this as the cameras angle change the shot starts of either zoomed in, which gradually zooms out to reveal the setting, or the shot starts off blurry and unfocused which then become clear. This would create tension as the audience may feel as though they are there in the room and experiencing the situation as well as it creating more of a build up to reveal the setting, therefore building tension.
In the opening scene of Saw non-diegetic and diegetic sound is used to build tension. At the beginning the sounds of splashing in water and choking are heard, this is diegetic sound, this creates a build in tension, as the man seems to be struggling, when he finishes chocking more diegetic sound is heard to create enigma, piercing screams for help create this emotion. This connotes that the character is in trouble and wants to get away from where he is. This as a result causes the audience to question and become intrigued by the story line. This also foreshadows the events to come in the film and the bad events that will happen to the main characters as the narrative continues to develop.
At the beginning we cannot tell character types as two characters are seen in distress and neither really do very much about their situation apart from helplessly screaming and trying to set them self free. But this in its own way develops tension as the audience will want to know more about the characters and are therefore interested in the story line and what their characters are like.
In my opening scene, I can use aspects of the conventions and features displayed in Saw, as they create and build tension well, as well as engaging the audience and making them feel emotion which is what the audience want to feel, due to the results of our questionnaire and focus group, when watching a horror. For example, I can use the screeches for diegetic sound for similar effect to express the horror the character in my opening scene is experiencing creating a gripping opening scene. This will develop enigma and make my opening scene more effective towards its target audience.
The use of Mise en scene develops tension throughout the opening scene through the use of props such as chains for example that are tied to both characters bodies. We can denote that the men are being held against there will as they try to set them selves free, props such as chains connote things such as prisons and locking something away, this evokes a sense of worry in the audience for the characters as they want to know how and why they got to this point. This creates enigma and the audience will want to know the answers to their questions. Another aspect of Mise en scene is used, for example the lighting is dark and dingy, this connotes a sense of fear for the unknown and the things that the characters and audience cannot see. When the lights are turned on there is a blue tinge to the lighting which still creates these feeling that despite the fact the characters can now see, the lighting may forebode that all is not clear and things are not going to go well for the characters as there is still no natural light which reinforces the idea that they are trapped and an escape is not easy.
A range of camera angles are used in the opening scene but the cinematography used in Saw is mainly medium shots, this creates tension as you can see the character’s emotion as well as the are surrounding them which will evoke the most sense of horror within the audience due to the dirty, dingy and strange location the characters seem to be stuck in. As well as this as the cameras angle change the shot starts of either zoomed in, which gradually zooms out to reveal the setting, or the shot starts off blurry and unfocused which then become clear. This would create tension as the audience may feel as though they are there in the room and experiencing the situation as well as it creating more of a build up to reveal the setting, therefore building tension.
In the opening scene of Saw non-diegetic and diegetic sound is used to build tension. At the beginning the sounds of splashing in water and choking are heard, this is diegetic sound, this creates a build in tension, as the man seems to be struggling, when he finishes chocking more diegetic sound is heard to create enigma, piercing screams for help create this emotion. This connotes that the character is in trouble and wants to get away from where he is. This as a result causes the audience to question and become intrigued by the story line. This also foreshadows the events to come in the film and the bad events that will happen to the main characters as the narrative continues to develop.
At the beginning we cannot tell character types as two characters are seen in distress and neither really do very much about their situation apart from helplessly screaming and trying to set them self free. But this in its own way develops tension as the audience will want to know more about the characters and are therefore interested in the story line and what their characters are like.
In my opening scene, I can use aspects of the conventions and features displayed in Saw, as they create and build tension well, as well as engaging the audience and making them feel emotion which is what the audience want to feel, due to the results of our questionnaire and focus group, when watching a horror. For example, I can use the screeches for diegetic sound for similar effect to express the horror the character in my opening scene is experiencing creating a gripping opening scene. This will develop enigma and make my opening scene more effective towards its target audience.