Further on in to the film, there is a lot more religious iconography shown. For example, there are also quite a few priests in the background. This would show that they have extreme faith in Christianity. It also shows this when Dracula goes to fight in the battle and he still has a cross close to his heart. This shows his love and affection for his religion. This is important as it shows how Dracula’s faith changes.
When Dracula finds out Elizabetha is dead he is really furious, blood pours out of the letter as he reads. Elizabetha also appears on the screen and it shows her falling vastly; this maybe to signify that Elizabetha is falling in to hell. The director may use this technique to make the film seem more interesting to the audience. The blood represents her death more dramatically-it shows that she is really no more. This makes Dracula reject Christianity. He stabs the cross. Blood starts to come out from everywhere from the crosses, candles and even from the eyes in the statue.
It is hectic.
Dracula then drinks the blood and turns in to a vampire. This would tell the audience that he has no faith left in god. This shows his anger. When the blood gets nearer to Elizabetha he gets even angrier; this may be because he blames Christianity and god for her death. This would mean that he does not want anything to do with Christianity anymore.
Further on in the film, mountains come in to the scene. There is a reddish sky. This would create a fiery effect and make it look more interesting to watch. It may also be to symbolise that he is entering in to hell. It also signifies that the film is a horror and is meant to be daunting. At that moment eyes also appear in the sky; this would be to tell the audience Jonathan is being watched. Jonathan is on the train at this time and is reading the letter Dracula had sent him. The eyes may indicate Dracula watching him.
In one scene in the film it is awfully dark which makes the scene look intimidating and when lightening streaks this may have given the audience a bit of a scare: all these things signify that the film is a horror.
The setting is another essential part of any film as this plays a big part and should be thought out very carefully and in great detail; this would make the film look more effective.
At the start of the film the setting in ‘Dracula’ is very much like a church. There are stain glass windows; candles and crosses to be seen everywhere. There is also an altar and gargoyles in the background. This shows there is a very big focus on Christianity and that Dracula is so religious that he has turned his home in to a church. This may make the audience actually think of him as a good person.
Over all at the start of the film his home is set out very religiously, it basically looks like a church. It has a religious setting. But this all changes when it comes to the second part of the film.
Further on in the film during the battles, there is red sky which may be able to represent Dracula’s thirst for blood when he eventually becomes a vampire. Also in that scene when he reads the letter from Elizabetha her face appears on the screen and if you look carefully you can see that is looks as though her face is burning; this would also represent her burning in hell for committing such a sin. This would have been created by technology but I personally think that it looks unrealistic.
Also in the film when Dracula returns from the battle he rushes past the guards which are standing at each side of the door still holding sticks with fire on top of them. Elizabetha is laid their on the floor. This would tell the audience that she made sacrifice for her love. This would make the audience feel sympathetic towards the lovers.
When Dracula sees that she is no more he gets furious and stabs the cross and blood comes rushing out of all the religious items that are in the scenery in the background. The director may have chosen this to happen as he wants the audience to know that Dracula’s faith in Christianity is no more. All the pressure causes the font to knock over. The director may have got this to happen so it could show that Dracula’s faith in Christianity is finished. As the blood gets closer to him he gets even angrier. This links back to the gothic genre as this is where things are going to start to turn horrific.
Jonathan and Mina express their love to each other in a very pure garden; it is colourful and has flowers everywhere and bright green grass. This would represent their innocence and purity. There are even peacock feathers in sight they may have been there to represent how beautiful nature can be. This part of the film would not indicate that it is part of a horror film.
When Jonathan is on the train on his way to meet Dracula the atmosphere changes the sky. The sky turns a red colour with glimmering blue eyes. This would have made the audience feel scared for Jonathan as now they will know that Dracula is going to do something bad to him. They will want to warn poor Jonathan. It will make the audience want to be able to talk to Jonathan. This is a very clever effect created by the director.
As Jonathan gets out his carriage it looks as though a black hand picks him up. Personally, I think this looks very phony as it makes it seem that the hand has given him power to fly. The mise-en-scene does not work here.
The characters in a gothic horror film make a big impact on the film. The characters in the film ‘Dracula’ are extremely entertaining. At the beginning of the film there is a narrator which tells the audience what is happening. This would make it helpful to the audience if they don’t understand what is happening straight away.
The main character of the film is obviously Dracula. At the beginning of the film he is wearing a metal armour, which is in the shape of a devil as it includes horns. So this may tell to the audience straight away that he be wanted to be presented as a devil. Dracula also becomes the antagonist of the film.
Dracula also has an extremely hairy face and long hair. This makes him look shabby and maybe older than he really is. Dracula was a very religious man; he even went to fight for god. This may make the audience think of him as a really good person. But soon this changes when he stabs the cross with a knife. He gets furious when he finds out Elizabetha has left him forever. This turns him against Christianity forever. He then becomes a vampire. As a vampire, Dracula has very pale skin like any vampire would in a film. The director may have wanted Dracula to be presented in this way so that the audience can straight away know what he has turned in to after losing faith in Christianity. He also wears a bright red cloak in part of the film; this may symbolise that he is a vampire and he wants bright red, juicy blood to drink. But still, I personally think, Dracula isn’t scary looking enough; I think the audience wouldn’t really get frightened by him, they may actually even find him humorous. This is because he is too common – to make it look more frightening and interesting the director should have created a unique look.
Elizabetha is Dracula’s wife she looks very innocence and sweet. She looks and basically lives as a princess; she wears a crown which shows that she is Draculas princess.
When Dracula is away battling Elizabetha thinks he is going to die so she throws herself in the river. This is because she didn’t want to be left alone in the world without him. This is then the end of her. This makes a big effect on Dracula when he finds out.
There are also priests in the film that are wearing long cloaks and holding crosses. They also have exceptionally long hair. This may be part of their culture. These extra bits in the film set the scene and make the film more interesting to watch.
Rendfield is someone that used to work with Dracula. Dracula ends up ruining Rendfield’s life and he ends up living in a small room in a mental institution. This is probably included in the film to show that this is what will happen to Jonathan as well.
Jonathan starts to work with Dracula and at one point he laughs at Dracula as he thinks he is joking. Dracula is not impressed at this point and try’s to threaten him. This may amuse the audience.
Mina is Jonathan’s soon to be wife and she looks exactly like Elizabetha. This is because the same actress plays them both. Dracula is jealous when he sees Mina and wants her to replace Elizabetha in his life.
The camera angles used are another part of creating a film that is extremely important. If the camera angles are not accurate this would make the look unprofessional.
At the start of the film there is a low angle shot of the church. This is the shot where you look up for the shot from underneath. The director may want the church to look big and important so that the audience realise its value in the film. This shot sets the scene at the beginning. Moving on from that there is a close up shot of the cross, this shot is from a high angle. So it looks down on to the cross making it look smaller. This may give a clue to the audience that Christianity will start of as a great and important thing and then get weakened and destroyed.
The director also does a close up on Dracula and Elizabetha while they are kissing. This represents their love for each other and to show how important they are for each other.
While Dracula is out fighting the director does a number of medium shots. This means the audience will be able to see what is going on from quite close. At the end of the battle Dracula takes out his cross and kisses it and holds it close to himself. The director zooms in on to him and then at the same time Elizabetha appears on to the screen. This is to show that Dracula is thinking about her. The director has shown this in a speech bubble kind of way. Her face fades away slowly. This creates an interesting effect.
The scene after this is when Dracula rides his horse home. In this scene a lot of scenery has been shown including the mountains of all the battle grounds. This helps the audience to understand the film.
A high angle shot shows Elizabetha jump. It shows clearly how high she jumps as the shot looks down on to her. This makes her look smaller and smaller.
There is also a hand held shot which shows the point of view of the character. This is when Dracula approaches Elizabetha; the director may have done this so he can involve the audience in to the film and make them feel how Dracula is feeling. This may touch their heart and make them feel sorry for Elizabetha. It would also make the audience feel as though they are walking with Dracula.
After that shot there is an extreme close up of Elizabetha. In this shot you can see her sweaty face and also the blood dripping of her face. You can also see the reflection of a cross on her face. This may panic the audience a bit as they may find it disturbing.
An aerial shot is also included; this shot is taken from high above to show very large places. This shot may have been created to show that god is looking down at what is happening and that he really does exist.
There is also a close up shot of Mina and Jonathon is the scene where they are in the garden. The director will want to show the audience how close they both are to each other. This may also be connected to how Dracula and Elizabetha were to each other.
A further example of mise-en-scene that is important in a production is sound. Sound makes the film more realistic and interesting to watch. It may create tension. Personally, I think the film would be boring without it.
In the Dracula there is low based music at the start of the film. This would create an eerie atmosphere. This may also suggest to the audience that something creepy may be about to happen. It gets the audience ready for something interesting coming up on the screen.
The music in the background is diegetic which means that the piece of music has been especially composed for the film. The music sets the atmosphere straight away.
At the start of the film Dracula and Elizabetha express their love for each other by kissing and to make it seem more realistic to the audience the director adds in sound effects of them kissing. This may make their love seem stronger to the viewers and seem more realistic.
When Dracula goes to fight in the battle the music starts of quieter and starts to get louder, this may be because the director will want this scene to look scary and as the music gets louder it makes it seem more tense.
When Dracula goes out to fight in the battle there are many warriors fighting with swords; to make it seem more realistic the director adds in sound effects. This will make the audience more interested in watching. It also creates tension. You can also hear cry’s and screams which make the audience feel sorry for them. This may make you feel remorseful.
In the next scene of the film you can hear a heart beat “ding, dong, ding, dong”. There is also a constant noise of a stringed instrument. This music ends when Elizabetha jumps. This has happened to show the Elizabetha’s life has come to an end. This shows that she is now no more.
The heartbeat has stopped.
There is also choir music in the background when Dracula gets home and see’s that his love is dead. There is a lot of crying; shouting and ear-splitting smashing noises. There is then an extreme splatter when Dracula knocks the font over.
It is all destroyed.
In the scene were Mina and Jonathon are in the garden you can hear birds singing in the background. The makes the atmosphere very pleasant. You can also hear the water running in the garden. There is also a music box playing in the background. It makes them seem very gentle and sweet as the setting is very calm and soothing.
Lighting is very important in a film as this creates a lot of effects and makes it look more realistic. For example, Dracula out on a bright sunny day isn’t going to be very effective in a horror film and it will certainly not frighten the audience.
The light can either be natural or artificial. The lighting in Dracula is very effective. For example at the beginning of the film there is a lot of fog which makes it look dark, this would be natural. The darkness would show to the audience that it is a horror film as this refers to the gothic genre. So the director cleverly starts off with this.
When the map of Transylvania is shown the fire lights it up. This may be because the director wanted it to stand out and wanted to make sure nobody missed it. In the film candles are used a lot this is because when the film was set there was no electricity.
When Dracula goes to the fight in the battle the skies are all orangey red this may mean something. What could the director be trying to tell the audience?
Hell.
When Elizabetha commits suicide it looks as though she may be falling in to hell as the clouds are above and she is falling beneath them. When Elizabetha’s body is laid on the floor the light is shined on her brightly this may be to show her innocence and that it wasn’t her fault even though she has done something very wrong. At that point the crosses are illuminated this may be because the director wants them to stand out. But this changes when Dracula drinks the blood; it goes all dark and shows a threatening atmosphere. This shows that Dracula is now going to go on the dark side. This is a bit like star wars.
On Rendfield’s scene it shows straight away that he is now on the dark side as well. It is all dark and gloomy in the corner he is standing in. There is blue light reflecting on his hair and on the floor. This creates an interesting effect.
In the scene where Mina and Jonathon are in the garden there is natural light and it is very well lit. The sun is out and is very bright. But they then walk in to the shade. This may suggest to the audience that they are also going on to the dark side.
In conclusion I have learnt that the mise-en-scene does work sometimes and sometimes it does not; it really just depends on how use it. I have analysed each section for example the signifiers of genre, the setting, the characters, the lighting techniques, the sound effects and the camera angles. All these topics would make the film look more realistic and more interesting to watch. But this does not always happen as sometimes some of these effects could straight away make it obvious to the audience that they are unreal which makes it look unrealistic.
Personally, I think the film is great and has a good story line. But sometimes the film goes a bit over the top and tries too hard to make it look real but ends up looking fake and scenes that are meant to frighten the audience and make the audience laugh instead. This is quite amusing and seems unprofessional for the film.
The director of this film is famous so this would probably make the film a blockbuster. I also think the more famous the actors are the more popular the film becomes as this attracts more people to watch it. I also think the film fits in extremely well with the gothic/horror genre. So over all the film was quite interesting.