MICRO ESSAY COURSE WORK

HOW DO MISE-EN-SCENE, SOUND AND PERFORMANCE PROVOKE OR SUGGEST RESPONSE IN THE AUDIENCE FROM THE SEQUENCE IN THE FILM “THE UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS”.

As the sequence begins the audience is introduced to a female character and she narrated a story which helps the audience understand what they are seeing (the visuals). The sound of war and swords clanging is heard and the audiences are shown pictures of supernatural creatures with swords. This suggests to the audience that this is not a story about human s but about something of a different species. She is narrating this story in past tense and this suggest to the audience that she in the present and that the past is very relevant to what is happening in the  in the present.  This foreshadows that the film is about war and that the war is in the happening in the present but it is because of what happened in the past.

The bird’s eye view of the town helps the audience have a quick glance at what the town look like and it gives them an insight of what the characters are like because there is only one guard at the entrance gate, no one is wandering around and the town is not busy. This suggest to the audience that the residents of the town are either very few or under a very strict law. The use of fire light in this scene suggests to the audience that they are not modern and that they are not exposed to the outside world. This scene uses a low key green lighting which suggests to the audience that supernatural creatures reside there. The female character narrating the story also helps the audience because she is telling a story about vampires so this suggests to the audience that the vampires reside there.

The next shot follows a man and a woman carrying a body towards a place that looks like a cell. This shot suggest to the audience that the heroine in this film might be a woman because of the voice over is that of a woman and the prisoner is being dragged by a woman. The prisoners are banded by their legs, hands and necks. This shows how strict their law is and this relates to the bird’s eye view shot that shows only one guard at the entrance gate. The costume of the guards shows how ancient they are and that they are always ready for a battle.

The voice over tells the audience that the Lycans were unable to take human form and they hear the sound of a monster but they also hear the sound of a baby as the voice over says “until he was born”. This creates enigma in the audience because they want to know what makes “him” special and who him is. The voice of the baby and the voice of the monster are heard the same time and are coming from the same place, this creates enigma for the audience as to why these tow voices are heard at the same time. The expression on the face of the guard suggests that something out of the ordinary has happened and the tone of voice in which the voice over said “until he was born” suggests to the audience that the birth of the child could be the cause of disrupt in the present.

The gate flies open and the audience is introduced to another character, Viktor. He is first shown in a low angle shot which makes him look superior and his costume is different from that of the guards. He is wearing a royal cloak with silver edge and in an old pattern. This shows that he is the leader of the vampires because of how superior he is looking and how he is the one that guard called to rectify the situation. This could be related to the way the society is, the high class dress differently from the middle or low class. The expression on Viktor’s face shows seriousness and can easily be portrayed as mean or heartless.

The next shot shows the baby and the Lycan. This provokes fear in the audience and the audience immediately has sympathy for the baby. The Lycan is in the shadow and the light is shining on the baby, this shows the innocence of the baby.  The position of the Lycan and the baby is like that of a mother and child and this creates enigma for the audience as to why the monster is not killing the child and the possibility of the monster being the mother of the baby. The audience is now introduced to another character, Lucian.

Viktor raises his crossbow and fires at the mother and baby but he shots the mother, this creates enigma in the audience as to why he shot the mother and not the baby and what his intentions are. The crossbow Viktor uses is an ancient weapon and this relates to how the film is not set in the modern times and the weapons used in the films are all ancient weapons. The mid shot of Viktor with a crossbow makes him out to be the bad guy in this situation.

The low angle shot of Viktor wanting to shot the baby makes him out as a villain. The voice over tells the audience that Viktor wanted to slay the child but didn't  This creates enigma for the audience as to why he didn't slay the child and what were his intentions for sparing the child’s life. Viktor not killing the child shows his soft side and that he may or may not regret it later.

The shot where Lucian lands on the ground shows how he has changed and there is no light shining on him. This suggests to the audience that he has been stripped of his innocence.

In this scene the voice over tells the audience that the child has grown and he possesses the strength and focus that the ones before him did not.  Lucian is skinny and pale looking boy and he is fighting three physically strong looking men, this shows the strength and focus he possesses as said by the voice over.

Viktor fires an arrow at him and he catches it. This suggests that Lucian is no longer afraid of the arrow and the arrow has lost its ability to kill him. Lucian is seen in a high angle shot which shows that he is still inferior to Viktor and that Viktor still controls him.

Viktor and some members of the council are watching Lucian fight and they are shown in a low angle shot which suggests their superiority over him. Viktor ask Sonja, his daughter if they could make of Lucian. The expression on Sonja’s face shows that she does not support what Viktor is doing but says nothing because of Viktor’s position as ruler.

In the next scene the voice over tells the audience how Viktor is using Lucian to his own benefit and he is making Lucian feed on his slaves. This makes Viktor the villain again and the audience now knows that the reason Viktor did not kill Lucian when he was a baby was so that he could use him to his benefit since he was the first of his kind.

Lucian’s performance in this scene shows how he is in pain and how much he doesn't want to eat the slaves but has no choice. The audience feels pity towards him because they can see that although he is eating humans his performance shows he does not want to and he is being forces by Viktor and cannot control his hunger.

In the next shot the voice over tells the audience how Viktor created more immortals like Lucian to guard them from their enemies during the day because vampires cannot walk in daylight and they are vulnerable during that period.

The voice over saying “or so Viktor taught” suggest to the audience that Viktor’s plan is not going to be successful for a long time and he is going to regret his actions.  This scene suggests to the audience that the repercussion of Viktor’s action in creating more like Lucian will be experienced in the present where the narrator is telling the story from.

The last word said by the voice over “or so Viktor taught” makes the audience reflect back to the first scene when they were shown pictures of war. In the pictures the Lycans were fighting the Vampires. This suggests that the Lycans grew stronger and were no longer Viktor’s slaves and are now the cause of the disrupt in the present.