Objectives:
1) Analyze the unique aesthetic qualities of horror art.
2) Understand and utilize some basic principles of film and television analysis
Original posts:
Mise-en-scene consists of details such as color, lighting, actors’ performance, position of camera (camera angle) and framing, production designs, and diegetic sound. One example I found was when the camera was filming the town clock from the bottom of the clock tower. The details of the scene such as, pitch-black night with some clouds in the sky, absence of lights on the street, and the big antique-looking clock tower worked as components to amplifying the aesthetic of this horror film.
Diegetic sound is any voice or sound effect presented as coming from the original source within the film. One example I found from the movie was when people just found out that they lost their voice. There was silence everywhere, including the hallway. As a girl walked in, a guy accidentally dropped his mug, and the mug shattered on the ground. The actual sound made from the shattering glasses in the scene amplified the seriousness of the event of the movie. It also gave a hint that something had gone seriously wrong.
Any sound effect made from outside of the source, or “reality” in the film is non-diegetic. One example I found was the background music/sound effect after the “laryngitis breakout” happened and everyone lost their voices. The background music which sounded very similar to the one from the movie ‘Jaws’, amplified the scariness and its dramatic effect. The sound effect which does not exist in the “reality” or the inside the movie increases the nervousness and the anxiety of wondering what is happening. Thus it adds the aesthetic of horror film very well.
Reflection:
It was very interesting to learn about the different sound effect and details such as mise-en-scene in horror films, and how they provoke the viewer’s emotions and amplify the tensions during the film. I have never tried to understand aesthetic part of horror films until this assignment, because I am not a fan of watching horror movies. But disregarding that fact, I have now new respect for production of horror films. “horror paradox” which gives reason why people would put themselves through such “unpleasant” movies was absolutely intriguing. I could understand the aesthetics of horror film and the horror paradox a little more when I read Stephen King’s quote that said scary movies act as “a safety valve for our cruel or aggressive impulses” (Sine).
Future Intention:
I would have never known the details and roles of the different sound effects, such as digetic and non-digetic, and details like mise-en-scene in horror films. Now I have more respect to them than I ever had. I will be able to appreciate its own genre’s artistic aspect more than I ever did.
