The Awakening- Film Deconstruction

Three Scenes

Scene 1

• I chose this scene as it is the first time we get to clearly see "the house". The film is based upon a great setting which is the house. Our teaser trailer and film is based on a great setting, the factory, so we could use this scene to inspire our trailer.
• This scene was shot in the evening and in poor weather giving an ominous tone to the scene. You see the whole expanse of the house, giving the feel of wonder and apprehension as you know that something scary waits inside.
• A horizontal pan was used to give a smoth continous shot of the house, the only thing breaking it up was the natural trees and one shot of the female protagonists face.
• The music was non-diegetic classical music to fit in with the era it was set, after world war one. The meloncholy music adds to the viewers apprehension but also adds a beauty to the scence, almost making it cinematic.
• The reflection of the house on the lake adds to the forboding feeling and make s the house seem even more imposing than it already is.
• The fact that there is no lights bar one sugests she is their only hope, and the fact that it is streched in the reflection makes it looked ghostly, which is relevant later on in the film.

Scene 2

• I chose this scene due to the unusual birds eye shot of the characters and the fact that it uses the location to its advantage with the unique stairs.
• Again this scene is also shot in the evening in poor weather condtitions, leaning towards a grey scale scene. There is no colour in mise en scene or even the setting, adding to the misery felt by the houses occupants.
• The birds eye view suggests a supernatural presence, someone watching from above, giving the viewers a God like position, an giving them a distance from the characters.
• The use of the stairs that split off into two suggests the different pathways the main characters can take either metaphorically or physically in the way they react to this haunting.
 

Scene 3

• I chose this scene due to its mise en scene and the fact that this is where the horror built up most.
• The lack of lighting makes the viewer focus to see more clearly and make out what is in the room; what little light there is casts shadows making it have high contrast and therefor reinforcing the scary nature of this scene.
• The mise en scene is accurate in the fact that it looks like a hidden room that hasnt been used in a while, it also depicts the main focus of the scene- the dolls house which has been a consistent feature throughout the film, this is in the centre of the shot allowing the audience to almost see it first.
• The music is subtle ensuring it doesnt detract from the scene but also allowing the tension to build up as the protaganist come to important realisation of the film. It is the most important scene as the audience understands the engima that has surrounded the female lead.