How mise-en-scene and cinematography effects meaning in the 'People didn't even have five minutes' scene in Chernobyl Diaries

Through the use of different aspects of mise-en-scene within Chernobyl Diaries alters the obvious and hidden meanings of the film. The scene opens with mid-shot of three of the characters walking in; the way it was shot makes me feel like something was waiting for them in that room. The mise-en-scene of room itself is then shown through the use of another midshot. The cinematography here is quite shaky as if it were filmed hand-held, a common convention of the horror genre. This type of camera work makes me feel like I am with the group of people exploring this room because the hand held style of cinematography works to include the audience due to its personal perspective.

The mise-en-scene is drab and rotten from years of neglect so there is wallpaper peeling from the walls and abandoned belongings scattered left, right and centre. The open space in the middle of the floor represents the isolation and emptiness of Chernobyl. An important aspect of mise-en-scene within a horror film like this one is lighting. The mise-en-scene of the lighting inside the room is low key, dull and invokes a feeling in me that makes me feel trapped and on edge as anything can hide in the shadows. On the opposite side of the room towards the window and balcony it is naturally lit as the sun is still shining through the empty space where the window once was. This is a good starting example of binary opposition: dark vs light or good vs evil. The bright natural light represents safety and promise whilst the dreariness of the inside of the building represents chaos and unforeseeable fear. The types of lighting used within film is important because not only does it affect the scene but also impacts on the viewer, personally the more low key lighting used the more likely I am to feel on edge as it is within human instinct to be afraid of the dark, or rather what hides in it.  

Close-ups show specific details of a scene that are important within the story. In this case it is that a character has stood on an old broken picture frame containing a photograph of the family that used to reside within the apartment they are all exploring. The diegetic sound of cracking glass seems to be intensified. This makes me feel odd as it sounds like an ASMR extract therefore making me shudder at the bottom of my spine. The cinematography of this shot affects the mise-en-scene by adding depth to the story; by putting a hint of a backstory in a sequence it makes me think that there will be hidden meanings within the rest of the film. Low-key lighting is used coupled with a point of view shot when looking at the photograph. The use of cinematography here makes me feel like I am part of the group looking and investigating the picture. Subsequent to this, the tour guide, Uri, goes on to explain about how 'people didn't have five minutes to pick up their belongings'. The mise-en-scene is effecting the meaning here once we realise that the reason the belongings are spread everywhere is because of the tragic events that previously took place within the walls. There is an aura of sadness surrounding each object due to its tragic history. One of the tourists proceeds to go to pick up an expensive looking watch off the side table but is told to put it down as it is contaminated by radiation. The cinematography is at a high angle focusing on the watch then quickly tilting up to show a close up of the visitor in questions reaction. The rapid tilt implies the speed that everyone else in the room notices what he was doing but possibly also how fast the previous tenants had to evacuate the building thus not having time to grab any personal possessions. Uri talks about how when looters attempted to take things from Chernobyl they 'got sick' from the radiation after selling the items on the black market; the mention of places like the black market make me feel worried about the visitors because the same fate could have easily happened to them. The cinematography then pans right, back to the man who tried to take the watch and shows his awkward expression. This makes me feel uncomfortable because for a second everyone stops talking and leaves an awkward silence hanging in the air. 

The tour group moves from inside to the outside onto the balcony and the mise-en-scene changes to show more natural lighting. The natural lighting is from the sun but the sky, instead of being the usual blue, is a dull grey and clouds hang down and surround the Chernobyl reactor unit. This makes me feel uneasy because only the vague outline of the reactor can be seen instead of the full building therefore suggesting there is something hiding within; the partly hidden reactor foreshadows the events that will transpire. A low angle mid shot of a portion of the group is shown with parts of natural lighting cast upon them. This type of cinematography shows a current position of power but also regarding the lighting, a binary opposition of good vs evil. This can be inferred because although there is some high key lighting on the characters, a large percentage of their bodies are obscured by the darkness of the mise-en-scene of the room. The mise-en-scene here effects the perception of the characters as it is difficult to figure out how to interpret each one. 

A couple is shown on the balcony in each other’s arms as Uri walks back inside and away from the group. His isolation is apparent by the mise-en-scene being dark, dull and decaying. Uri stands alone on the opposite side of the apartment and takes a glance out of the window with no non-diegetic music present. Unlike the other characters, no natural lighting is cast on him when he does this, suggesting he is a darker, shadier character. The choice of lighting makes me feel as if Uri has a darker past and is not to be trusted. The camera tilts down to follow his eye line as he spots some still warm coals in the corner of the room. The mise-en-scene becomes slightly tense and fearful because Uri's expression changes to one showing nervousness. This makes me also feel nervous also because I realise that no one else should have been within their vicinity for several years so there is no explainable reason as to why there would be a small human built fire. Uri then snuffs out the remains of the fire with his foot in an attempt to hide it and suggests to the group that they should 'go now'.

A diegetic crashing noise can be heard within the building, this makes me jump slightly as the sequence was previously quiet. A backwards tracking shot-reverse-shot is used in between the tour group and the empty exit corridor, effectively creating distance between the characters and the way out through cinematography. The mise-en-scene of the corridor is dark and threatening; I feel mimics the corridor scene in the first Insidious movie. The camera continues to track back during this mid-shot of the tour group, the focus being on Uri. Uri then continues to walk down the corridor but separates slightly from the group to travel forward. The camera pans to follow him but does not track him, suggesting vulnerability and possible harm as he is being shown isolated, a common horror convention. Once a portion of the rest of the group join him, due to the low-key lighting, they're shown as silhouettes. Silhouettes invoke distrust in my impression of the characters because their faces cannot be seen and the eyes show the most emotion. Suddenly, there is a jump-scare of a large bear growling and running down the corridor towards the group. The mise-en-scene changes from tense but calm to fearful and terror because of the large, loud bear. This shot makes me jump as it is the climax of the scene. Coupled with diegetic noises and non-diegetic noises alike, the fast moving mid-shot is easily comparable to the 'window scream' scene in The Woman In Black.

Once the bear has dispersed from the vicinity all the characters rush out of the building through the use of several different cinematographic elements. The main element is tracking, this creates a connection between me and the characters as the cinematographic style keeps us together and makes the experience more personal like in Paranormal Activity with the use of hand held devices.

In conclusion, I believe that through the use of cinematography and how the mise-en-scene of the shot is made up creates new meanings within the film and makes the sequence feel more relatable. Although it is not a critically acclaimed piece, I think Chernobyl Diaries is cleverly shot in order to effectively entertain, which it does.

Past The Point Of Noir Return reflective analysis

My groups intention was to make a short film noir sequence to a good standard and I believe that we achieved this. We included a variety of shots and angles to fit the conventions of the genre, for example, a high angle, a two shot and an extreme close up. The high angle in the middle of the sequence is used to show the area but also to imply weakness within characters; the two characters are walking but the first is being followed by the second but the angle type shows that both are vulnerable. Non-diegetic music is also running throughout the entire feature to create atmosphere. The whole sequence is in black and white to imply it is old and dark. I played the 'femme fatale', a classic character of the film noir genre. There were a couple of things that we could not include due to time issues like a prop gun for the shooting scene which we improvised with a picture of a gun or clouds of cigarette smoke as we did not have an cigarettes readily available. Another well known convention of film noir is a voice over from the male lead character so i scripted our voice over to fit to the shots perfectly and using the same colloquial terms that were used in the original film noir movies. In my opinion, the film came together well as my group all worked well together to produce the final product.