Analysis of Clip 3

ANALYZING MISE EN SCENE

Location

Clip 3 of the Descent is set in the hospital, which the audience is introduced to slowly the the scene goes on. From the start, viewers are welcomed into the hospital by a shot of Sarah on a bed, wearing a hospital gown. Already this allows the audience to make the assumption of where she is. Later in the scene however, we see her walk out into an empty hallway which looks very similar to what a hospital is like, so we automatically assume she is in a hospital.

Lighting

From the very start of the scene, we see everything with green tint in the lighting, produced by using filters and film post production. This sort of lighting on the scene makes the audience notice that what is happening in the clip is surreal and not reality.On the contrary, the latter part of the video turns back into reality and the lighting changes back into the clear white lighting, with no filters. This gives the audience a sense of relief and safety, especially with the introduction to society once again.

Costume

As expected in any scene or film located in a hospital, there will be an actor wearing the typical hospital gown. This costume is used majority of the time, this type of clothing is usually to represent the fact that the character is defenseless. This also makes it more realistic and authentic.

Props

This sequence in the ‘Descent’ shows a few props, which are vital to both the story line, and the setting of the clip. These include the birthday and the heart beat scanner. The audience is first introduced to the birthday cake during the first shots, which hints at the fact that the character in the shot is actually deceased, assisted by the dark room. Later in the clip, the audience is then shown a shot of the heart beat scanner, confirming that the location is indeed a hospital. The scanner also informs the audience about her state, which the producer uses to Segway into the next scene in the corridor.

Acting

The acting in clip 3 of the ‘Descent’ is very realistic and authentic, making it seem as though the actress playing Sarah is living the moment and living through the post traumatic stress (PSTD) of having lost her daughter and husband. Her acting in the hallway running scene also seems as though she is feeling the panic of the moment, with the darkness closing up on her. During the latter part of the clip, the two actors hugging portray the empathy that a friends would show to each other at a time like this.