The Village

The Village; M. Night Shyamalan

Opening Scene

Youtube Link;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hVevQea4h0&feature=related

First Point; Noises from the Woods + Man Laughing 

Whats that Noise?

Camera Angle and Shot

• This particular part of the scene shows a reaction shot from the whole table. They are turning in the direction of where a mysterious noise is coming from and has grabbed everyones attention; even the people in the background informing the viewer that everybody knows what this noise is. 
• This shot is on eye level with the people and therefore neither makes them vulnerable or powerful towards this noise. They are more mutual. 

Sound

• The sound is both Diegetic and Sound Effect. The diegetic sound is coming from them moving their cutlery and plates around the table.
• Sound effect is coming from the woods; which is like a howling or moaning sound which is quite loud as they can all hear it.

Mise En Scene

• They are all wearing quite dull colours and this therefore make them blend in with the house therefore suggesting that they may be becoming part of the town. The main colour is brown and therefore this may signify that they have security in each other and that they are safer together
• The composition is quite Horizontal which signifies placidity and safety and therefore shows that this may be a town and that they are safer unified.
• The people in the background are placed on either side of the screen showing that they haven't got much significance. The main table are placed in the middle as though they have more significance and importance. 
• It is quite a tight shot as all the people are put into it also making it very dense. This could imply that these people haven't got a place to run and that the source of the noise is trapping them within their community. 
• Fast film Stock with a Wide angle lens. 
• They are quarter turned to the camera which is very common in film making which make intimacy but not an emotional contact with the viewer.
• Only one man isn't face towards the woodland as though he is most afraid of what is in it and doesn't want to turn. It adds the element of fear and mystery to the viewer as they will want to know why this man is so afraid to look at what the others are looking at.
• They are at social distances and therefore implies that they know each other.

Editing

• This scene then has a jump cut to this establishing shot of the woodland.

The Woods

Camera Angle and Shot

• This is an establishing shot of the woods, it shows them next to the village and therefore may imply that they are a threat. 
• The angle is a wide angle to show the depth of the scene and therefore it has a deep depth of field. The angle is eye level as it is being shown from the Point of View of the people sitting at the table.

Sound

• The table now goes silent so there is no diegetic sound for this part of the scene. By making it silent it increases the importance of the sound coming from the woods and that nobody wants to be heard
• There is still the sound effect of the howling/moaning coming from the woods.

Mise En Scene

• The woods is darker than the rest of the scene. Compared to the green of the grass the woods are a very dark green perhaps implying consumption or ill health, with also an element of mystery.
• There is now vertical lines present in the scene from the bell and also from the trees. This contradicts the horizontal lines of the screen shot before as though the thing in the woods contrasts those of the people in the village. Maybe the vertical lines v horizontal lines acts as a warning as they are not the same.
• By having the bell in the shot it adds significance to it. It also connects the bell with the woods as they are in the same shot together however they do juxtapose each other because you do not link a bell with the woods. The bell therefore must be the way of informing people of danger and by putting this with the woods you can infer that the woods are the danger. 
• This quite a Loose Frame because of all the space that it has in it and compared to the other screen shot this shows that the woods have more power over the people as they are constricted whereas the woods are free. 
• The dominant is the Woods and the subsidiary contrast is the Bell.
• There is a main made path going down the hill which vanishes; this means that they can leave but implies that no one will because when the noise occurs no body moves.

Editing

• This is Eye Line Match editing because it goes from the people looking in a particular direction to the camera showing you what they are looking at and panning forwards towards it.
• This then jump cuts to a man who seems to be crazy and starts to be disruptive amongst the silence.

• Camera Angle
• This is a low angle of the character giving them some sort of power over the others as though he is now taking control of the scene.
• Sound
• Still has the sound effect of the noise coming from the wood.
• Now introduces the diegetic sound of his laughing and clapping his hands.
• Editing
• This then switches to the scene below in which the camera Cuts away from him and to the people sitting around him.

• Camera Angle 
• This is again a low angle shot of the man that is standing up as though to imply that he has the main power.
• It is also an over the shoulder shot of the lady in the foreground of the shot.
• Sound
• Diegetic sound has now taken over the sound effect and now the audience can mainly only hear the laughing and clapping.
• Editing
• This shot then Cuts-away back to the man laughing at the table as if to show his reaction to their reaction and the noise that is coming from the woods/ not afraid?

• Camera Angle 
• This is again a low angle shot and as he stands up he is in the same position as the other man as if to challenge the power of him.
• There is a hand coming from the left hand side trying to make him sit down.
• Sound
• Still only mainly of the man that is clapping. Now the Sound effect is starting to creep back into the scene to re establish it being there.
• Editing
• Cuts- away to a shot of the forest and then back to the man sitting at the table just listening.

Mise En Scene

• The man that is laughing and clapping is wearing green and therefore could imply an illness of the mind as what everyone else finding terrifying/worrying he finds funny and is applauding it. He also has dishevelled hair which compared to the other people at the table is very strange. Everybody else's hair is either tied back of slicked down and when compared to his long and shaggy hair it singles him out from the other people as he is not the same. (Strange for him to be sitting on the main table)
• The man standing at the other end of the table is wearing dark blue as if to enforce his masculinity and by wearing dark blue it makes him stand out amongst the others wearing browns and whites as though he is the protector or their source of protection.
• When the man is getting him to sit down you see him tug on his sleeve as if to put him back in his place as nobody else is finding the event amusing. This therefore may mean that the man trying to make his sit down is a carer or close friend as they are having intimate contact.
• They look down upon him.
• For this part of the scene he is the dominant as he is the main focus due to his disruptiveness. 
• In the top picture you can see that the table has created a diagonal across the shot as if to imply that there is something wrong either with him or the situation that the people are in. 
• The pot in the corner of the shot in the first screen shot represents him as the pot is chipped and not well cared for with paint missing. His hairs and clothing makes him similar to the pot and therefore there is another juxtaposition.

This scene conforms with the genre PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR because it has already introduced elements that play on peoples minds until their mental questions are answered. By also having psychologically unstable character in the scene it is personifying the genre within a person. The strange sounds and the interest the people have in them make the audience wonder what is in the woods.

Second Point; Burying the Red Flower

Seeing the Flower

Camera Angle 

• This is a Low Angle shot revealing the flower at the bottom of the screen with the two women looking down at it. This should give the women more power however this is subverted because in this scene is seems that the flower has more power over the women as they look afraid at its presence therefore making the flower the dominant over them.
• It is also a reaction shot as it shows their expressions due to the flower being there.

Sound 

• There is no diegetic sounds in this scene only a non diegetic score in which violins are being played over a sequence of shots in order to imply serenity and calm but the flower appears it shocks the women.

Editing

• There is not much editing apart from Continuity editing in which is shows something happening over time. There is no other editing and therefore makes it quite a simple scene in the technical area.

Mise En Scene

• The flower stands out quite prominently in the scene due to the majority of the set being white washed including the maid and the flower is extremely vibrant red. This therefore means the flower could signify danger and power when linked back to the woods scene and that the flower + colour have a connection.
• The women are dressed in white and the other has a little bit of baby blue on the top half. The white signifies innocence and purity and the baby blue represents youth and calm. This therefore makes them contrast the flower in which they are looking at.
• The frame is quite tight as you can only see the porch and therefore they have no where else to go as though the flower is constricting their movements.
• Flowers are seen as nice, beautiful and a symbol of nature whereas this flower is seen as dangerous and a symbol of death perhaps 
• The composition in this scene is very horizontal e.g. the decking edge, the seat, the top of the porch cieling and the windows and doors.
• The flower is placed perfectly just so that the two women can see it and therefore the audience can acknowledge it too. Also compared to the second screenshot of the first scene; in the field just before the woods there is only YELLOW flowers and not one RED flower therefore implying that YELLOW maybe be the colour of the towns protection and the red is the danger.

Burying the Flower

Camera Angle 

• The camera angle is a slight high angle shot in which is used to show the two women burying the flower in the ground and covering it over with grass as if to conceal it. This therefore takes the flower away from being the dominant and makes the woman in white the main dominant.
• It is again quite tight framing as if to emphasise the importance of this particular action and therefore lets the audience know that the flower is a danger otherwise they wouldn't have buried it so quickly.
• The camera tracked the womens feet before they reach this point to show them travelling from the porch to the grass and to signify movement.

Sound 

• Again there is no diegetic sound of the women running or burying the flower. There is still the violin score playing in the background.

Editing

• Again limited editing which is Continuity editing in which it just shows the people moving from one place to another. 

Mise En Scene

• By burying the flower instead of destroying it shows that they are trying to conceal it as though it is a warning to their house and family and by concealing it, it takes away any danger that it might be imposing. 
• You can see the red starting to disappear into the green which shows that the danger is disappearing into the ground.
• Again there is a horizontal line running half way through the scene which is created by the broom which I believe is showing a divide between them and the flower. As it cuts the scene in two between the flower being put in the ground and the two women.
• The film maker has cut of the heads of the two women as if to solely concentrate on the flower and therefore shows that they are not the main focus and the flower is.
• However they are at the top of the screen therefore implying that they are more powerful than the flower as they can remove it and conceal it. But the flower is still in the middle of the scene and therefore it shows that it is more important than they are. 
• Even though they are close to the camera there is still a deep depth of field in order to imply that this is a wide space however they are trapped in a tight scene. 

Back to Sweeping

Camera Angle

• This is a slight low angle shot showing the that the two women have gone back up to the porch and have started to sweep again. 
• By having it at a low angle it shows that the women have gained back both the dominance and the power over the flower.
• However instead of tracking back up the path with the women like they had done before; it shows that the camera has not left the place in which they have buried the flower and therefore it still shows its importance.
• It is a full shot of the two women at a social distance away from the camera and at a Quarter Turn away from the camera and therefore this disconnects them from a personal connection with the audience.

Sound 

• Same as above with the violin score playing in the back ground with no diegetic sound. Except at the end of the scene you can hear a mans voice starting to come it in therefore signalling it going onto another scene.

Editing 

• At the end of the scene it jump cuts to another scene in order to show something else that is going on in the village and to give a sense of community.

Mise En Scene

• The scene has become looser now and therefore this shows that after they have buried the flower they have more freedom in order to move around and that they are no longer trapped within the scene due to the flowers over powering dominance. 
• At the beginning of the scene the two women where dancing together and having fun whereas now at the end of the scene they are standing in two separate parts of the scene and are clearly divided by the vertical poles which divide the scene into 4 sections. This shows the viewer that the flower has affected them otherwise they would've gone back to dancing etc. by having them looking at the floor and not talking to each other it shows that the flower is still somewhat dominating the scene as its presence has affected them.
• It has now gone to a more vertical composition by the poles, windows, door etc which suggest strength now as they have buried the flower and therefore they are stronger than they were before. However this could be subverted because although they are at the top of the screen and its filmed at a low angle; they seem more weak and scared than powerful and strong.
• This scene is mainly shot in natural light in order to show that this is an old town and not make it too artificial in order to show the audience that it is shot naturally. Plus they wouldn't have had lights.

Third Point; Red Figure by Lake

Red Figure in the Lake

Camera Angle

• The camera is at a high angle and is pointing into the lake and is revealing the red figure that is reflecting in the lake.
• Camera pans up the lake in order to slowly reveal the red water figure but never exceeds past the lake/waters edge and therefore it doesn't show part of the figure in full and therefore you never see the actual person that is being reflected. 
• By doing this it makes the character mysterious.

Sound 

• There is still no diegetic sound as though the director doesn't want to give this figure a voice and therefore it makes the character even more ambiguous as not only do they not have an identity they also don't have a voice.
• There is a score playing behind the scene which compared to the one that played during the flower scene has now turned more trance like as though this character is not normal. The violins are being played more softly and there is a chime that seems to play at intervals as if to imply that this character is one of fantasy and is not a human.

Editing 

• Again there is limited editing except at the end of the scene where the scene jump cuts once again to another scene in which diegetic sound is once again introduced back to the scene. 
• The camera only pans up the scene in order to show the figure.

Mise En Scene

• The dominant in this shot in the red figure as it stands out against the whites and browns of the lake and it is also the thing that our eye is drawn to the most out of the whole scene as although it is only 20 seconds long we are always trying to find out who this figure actually is.
• There are vertical lines being created by shadows from the trees. These vertical lines suggest strength within a character and therefore this may suggest that this character is maybe stung not just physically but also mentally and this would explain why the people in the village may be afraid of it.
• The lighting key is High Contract as there are strong shadows between the light and the shadowing created by the trees in which have created the vertical lines running through the lake. With the red layered on top of those shadows it creates a very contrasted scene in terms of the lighting and shadows.
• The figure is wearing the same coloured red that is also the colour of the flower that was in the previous screen shots. This immediately allows the viewer to make a connection between the two. This may be the creature that they are afraid of and therefore the flower may be the warning. Also the colour red could be a beacon for these creatures as they are also dressed in the same colour and therefore the flower is a warning beacon.
• It is quite a stark image due to the image being quite bare apart from the figure. I believe the director has done this to not over power the red figure and instead to accentuate them for the viewer by putting them against a mainly dark background. I think this has worked well as though these red figures are isolated by also gives the sense that there may not be just one of them.
• By having the shadows of the trees in the shot you can again make the link that these are the creatures that live in the woods and therefore explains where the noise was coming from. It also tells the viewer what the people in the village may be afraid.
• By having ripples in the lake it hides the figures identity  even more and therefore the ripples are being used to an advantage because the scene could've been easily shot without them; but the aim is to not give away there identity and to make the audience think 'what could that be'.
• They are placed at the top of the scene and therefore this implies that this character has power.
• It is loose framing as the character has room to move across the whole of the scene/set and therefore this adds to their power as most of the scene that have the villages people have been very tight and by having this character in a loose frame it makes them more powerful over the people.
• Deep depth of field in order to show the whole scene. It is also an illusion as because it is being filmed into water the audience does not know how much space this character may have.

Fourth Point; Reading the Letter to the Elders

Reading the Letter

Camera Angle

• This is a medium shot of Lucius as you can see that he is being shot from the knees up.
• It is on the eye level of the Elders as you have gone from not knowing what they are looking at to the camera jump cutting to him to show you.

Sound 

• The sound is dietetic as it is only of him reading out the letter for him to leave the village to find medicines. This is one of the only scenes that is not accompanied by a score or sound effect; it is solely on what he is saying and this has been done so that the audience listen to what he is saying without getting distracted. This therefore highlights the importance of what he is saying.

Mise En Scene

• He is wearing quite dark clothing like the people where wearing at the beginning of the scene and therefore tells the audience that he is from the same town and not just a messenger. The brown coat he is wearing signifies protection and he is wearing dark blue jeans which suggest masculinity.
• The scene is very horizontal which is shown by the windows, chairs, door and the panelling on the walls. This therefore implies that this is a room of strength and that the people in this room are the people who hold the town together like a glue. It also helps the audience bring their eyes across the scene in order to see everything.
• The paper he is holding is very white and this could mean that the message written on it is meant for good and that it is a trued message because they could've written it on dirty or marked paper which could imply that he is telling a lie. By having it on pure white paper tells the audience that he is telling the truth.
• He is the dominant of the scene as he is place in the middle of the scene and therefore is the first thing that the eye looks to. However he doesn't act like a dominant as he is very awkward and his hands are shaking as though he is trying to make himself look smaller compared to the rest of the people that are sat in the room. He isn't confident and therefore subverts what a dominant character should be like.
• It is a very stark scene because apart from him there isn't much else apart from the windows which are bringing in the light from outside. Also the tree outside it of a reddish colour and therefore this implies that the month that this film is set in is autumn.

Editing

• This cross cuts from him to the elders and back to him in order to show their reactions towards what he was saying to them. As shown in the stills below...

Looking at Lucius

Camera Angle

• This is an establishing shot about the elders and shows them in a circular composition by the way that they are sitting.
• It is also a reaction shot towards what Lucius has just asked them as they are all looking towards him in a worried/confused type of way.
• By having all the elders in one shot it show the viewer the whole scene apart from three or four which are shown in the screen shots above and therefore gives a sense of space and numbers.

Sound

• This is a silent scene as if to emphasise the shock of what they have just heard. It also tells the viewer that they are strongly against Lucius going into the woods and therefore there is the connection to the previous scenes that the woods are a place of danger and that people shouldn't go in there.

Editing

• This scene then jump cuts once again to another scene of Lucius at home talking to him mother. This whole opening scene is full of different jump cuts in order to fit in as much as possible and to also show the viewer as much information that they made need.

Mise En Scene

• The elders are also mainly dressed in browns and the women are dressed in slightly lighter colours apart from one lady which is dressed in black. 
• The main elder of the scene who is seated at the back of the scene to the left hand side of the middle person is dressed in dark blue and therefore is enforcing his masculinity towards the entire group and establishes him as the leader of this particular meeting.
• This is a moderately dense shot as there are quite a lot of characters in the scene and therefore there are a lot of expressions and thoughts to be taken in even though there is no sound playing.
• The placed in the back ground of the scene are the most important however they are the smallest, whereas the most insignificant characters are bigger because this is shot from Lucius's eye level and therefore we can only see what he sees.
• The scene is set out so that the audiences eye travels in a circle around the picture in order to take in all the information within the scene.