Setting

Setting is the place or surrounding where events take place, for example on the beach or in a house. Setting is used to give the audience a sense of where the film is occurring and even what time period it is happening in. The setting is the backdrop for the action in a film and without it the audience has no sense of what and where certain events are taking place. Setting also gives the audience a sense of what the film could be about just by the location in which the opening is happening in.

Comedy film opening- In the opening scenes you would expect the location to be in a public place which would be brightly lit, but the location could be anywhere which has possibility. Public locations are often used to show how ordinary and down to earth the characters are, places like schools or cities are often used in comedies due to them being open and places which the audience would relate to and are best for showing drama and comical events. An example of a comedy film includes Shaun of the dead, which shows the village which the film is set in with people subconsciously acting like zombies with slow simultaneous movements. You then jump to a shot of what looks to be a zombie walking towards the camera but as the camera moves up you realise it is a person who has just gotten out of bed. This opening shows how even though no one has been affected by the virus yet they still act subconsciously like zombies which are seen as amusing to the audience. It also helps to demonstrate to the audience what could happen in this film, the use of showing most of the village acting like zombies in the opening foreshadows the outbreak which will occur in the film taking over a vast majority of the village. Showing the main protagonist also helps to show the audience what kind of person he is by showing his establishment, telling us he is quiet a laid back person who doesn't really do too much.

Horror film opening- In the openings you would expect the setting to be in isolated, abandoned or locations with hidden pasts, although they can take place anywhere as the setting isn't always what creates the spooky atmosphere. The setting creates a build-up of tension to the audience due to the creepy and mysterious background creating the eerie feeling to the audience.  An example of a horror film opening is The Ring, in it you see a young girl in a house on her own. The use of her seeming alone in the house makes it seem even eerier and the use of dark lighting and shadows also creates the feeling of being trapped and watched by something in the shadows. Having the television turn on seemingly by itself and other various cabinets opening by themselves gives the illusion that she is not alone and that there is someone is in the house with her. This helps create the dramatic sense of fear wanting to be created in the opening. 

Action film opening- In the openings of action films you don't tend to have a specific setting as they are often chaotic and included quick paced scenes from car chases, battles, fights, escapes etc. Action films generally take place in locations where a lot of movement and fighting can take place and often an audience is present. An example of an action film opening is James Bond; in this you are first introduced to the setting which appears to be an island with many mountains. You then see cars racing down the road with a lot of gun fire going off and you immediately know it’s a car chase. The use of thin roads makes the audience feel nervous as they can see how easy it is for the cars to go off the road or get hit by an incoming vehicle. The setting used makes you realise first that the action is happening in a different country, as you know from the first establishing shot used at the beginning, and also that it is happening in a normally quiet area. You can see that all the other cars are peacefully minding their own business and not much action is happening, but the car chase is causing chaos and disruption to the place. The use of a car chase at the beginning of the film helps to establish where the film is taking place (for example in another country) and also helps to give the audience a good sense of what the action in the film will be.

 
Drama film opening- In the openings of drama films again you don't tend to have a

Specific setting but instead you are shown "normal" locations that you would expect the drama to take place in, like schools or towns. An example of a drama film opening is Stand by me, in the opening you see first the location of what appears to be some fields a car parked along the road. This shot helps us to understand where that drama will take place which is obviously in some remote area like shown on screen. You then see a close up of the car which is when you realise that there is a man sitting at the driver’s seat just looking at nothing in particular. You then see him look down to the passenger seat which is where you see a newspaper article which tells the audience that a man was stabbed in a restaurant. This foreshadows the death of another character in the film and also gives an insight to the audience as to what the drama will be, in this case a dead boy. You then see two young boys cycling past the car on the road which again foreshadows to the audience the journey the guy in the car will have taken when he was a young boy which you know from when he narrates about how he was twelve when he first saw a dead body. You then cut to him as a young boy buying a comic book from his local store while you have him narrating about his life over the top. Showing him as a young boy helps that audience understand that this is the time period which the drama is going to occur in. The use of showing his little town also helps to illustrate to the audience how it is just an ordinary setting where you wouldn't expect drama to occur in and also to help establish that this is where the chaos is going to break loose.

Romance film opening- In the opening of a romance film typically you would expect the setting to be in an urban scene like a school or at a beach. This is where you would expect the chance encounter to occur where the guy meets the girl and the feelings they have for each other start to develop. An example of a romance film opening is Dear John, in the opening you first see a soldier laying on the floor with blood all around him and another soldier desperately trying to save him. The setting here is very grim with lots a debris all around as well as some blood which indicates to the audience that this is a war zone and not the initial setting for a romance film. You see the wounded soldier falling out of consciousness which is when you see him as a little boy looking at coins and seeing how they are made. The scene constantly changes from him in the war zone to him in the coin factory showing to the audience how he is dipping in and out of consciousness. The screen the fades black showing him completely falling unconscious before you are shown a new setting of the beach. This is one of the most typical settings for a romance film and its here that you are introduced to the second main character which is the girl. You first see the guy surfing when he notices the girl who will later become his love interest. He fetches her purse after it falls off the pier into the see and then that is when he first goes up and approaches her. The use of this setting helps to show to the audience that this is a romance film by the romantic setting of the beach and helps to illustrate that this guy and girl will eventually get together.              

 

I think that setting is very important in the construction of mise-en-scene and helping to create an understanding to the audience. Setting helps the audience establish where the film is taking place and also what genre the film will be. The use of having the setting in an abandoned house shows the audience that this is a horror film by the creepy scenery and the use of props which indicate this is a horror and another genre. Setting creates the background to a film and helps the construction of mise-en-scene. Many genres of film don't need a specific setting to show what it is so without the use of props and other elements it is quiet hard to tell what the genre is from the setting. An example of this is romance films, most are set in schools but other genres like drama and comedy also can occur in schools, which makes the use of props and other aspects essential in helping the audience understand what genre the film is. Though without a setting films are seen as quiet boring as the audience don't have any background to look at and also find it harder to work out what might happen and what the film genre is.