Mis-En Scene

Costume and Make-Up:

My film is set in the present day, so the costumes will be modern clothing. Nothing is known about the male character as he "dies" in this scene, but he will be wearing clothes typical of an inner city teenager. My vampires will not be dressed so typically and will instead have a more Gothic look about them. The more seductive one will have a very revealing outfit on in order to attract her prey, while the scarier one is dressed slightly more modestly. Both will be wearing black in order to emphasise their pale skin. I chose this theme for them to wear as vampires are traditionally the most Gothic characters, especially with the Victorian dress commonly associated with them.

In regards to make-up, my vampires will not be heavily made up as they have an unearthly but captivating beauty about them. Make up may extend to some light eyeliner for the "emo" or "Goth" look, red seductive lipstick, and to make them look slightly paler, foundation  slightly lighter than my actresses' natural skin tone.

Despite being a horror opening the death of my male victim will not be shown. Because of this there will be no blood shown on the victim or vampires. However, because false fangs will not be worn, to further the fact that these women are vampires I may put some (edible) fake blood on the naturally sharp teeth of the seductive vampire and show it in the close up of her teeth. To make them look even scarier the possibility of dabbing fake blood at the corner of their mouths is open. That can also confirm to the audience that they are vampires.

Lighting:

Because my opening will be shot in monochrome to hint it happened in the past, I will have to pay extra attention to the lighting. Because of this I will not be able to shoot in the graveyard I wanted to as there are no light sources. Shadow will also be something I have to pay close attention to because the film will not be as effective if the viewer is unable to actually see what is happening.

Setting:

My scene will be in the St John-at-Hackney Graveyard. Although setting a horror movie in a graveyard is a cliche, the majority of vampire films have scenes set in graveyards and this is usually because vampires have to sleep in coffins during the day. By using this cliche in the opening of my film, I can establish a recurring location, possibly one as the vampires' lair or main hunting ground as the graveyard is used as a shortcut by many people.


Character performance:

As there is no dialogue in my scene, the way the characters present and hold themselves is very important so that the viewer can determine what is happening. Vampires are supposed to move very gracefully, so they are almost flying and this is something that I shall have my actors try to impersonate. They will also have to move their bodies somewhat seductively to accentuate any parts that my male viewers will find attractive. My male character will also have to try to act very helpless to the over-the-top seduction of him and also appear scared, despite his large stature.

Props:


There will be no active props in the scene as I do not want to detract from the simplicity of the scenario. The props will instead be parts of the characters bodies accentuated by close-ups; specifically the eyes, hands and teeth. I have chosen the eyes as eye colour is distorted by black and white footage and they show lots of emotion, which adds to the realistic feel of the story and also draws my viewer in. The close ups of the hands show the control the females have over the male, both in strength and willpower, and the shots of the teeth tell the audience that the characters are vampires and hint at what is about to happen.

Subversion and Representation

Subversion is defined in the dictionary as: 

"To undermine the principles of; corrupt 
To overthrow something established or existing "

When applied to the media subversion refers to reversing common conventions, such as having a female action hero, or, as seen in 'Blade', a black hero against a white villain. Subversion can change the effect a film has and in mine, it shows that not all monsters are male. This is especially effective within my opening as vampires are traditionally undead males, such as Dracula, preying on helpless, young and generally beautiful women.

However my opening can be a very common representation of females, in that they are very vindictive towards males and use their "feminine wiles and sexuality" to entice men. This can be applied to my opening because one of the female vampires wears a very revealing outfit to lure her victim towards her, attempting to seduce him in the process. One representation of women that is not applicable is that women are weak and helpless. This is because my vampires do not hunt with a male; they are very independent and do not rely on a creator or even a Dracula-esque character to help them.


 It was also my idea that if the film were extended to have one of the female vampires fall in love with a mortal man, again subverting the tradition of a male vampire falling in love with a mortal female. This has been seen in many places, such as in film series The Twilight Saga, hit HBO television show True Blood and in the ITV drama series The Vampire Diaries.

Vampire Sexuality

Of all the monsters of fiction, the only one primarily associated with sex is the vampire. However, the vampire of folklore was not a sexually attractive figure; he was a dead man who fed on blood. Bram Stoker changed all that with his novel, Dracula.

Stoker used the vampire as a metaphor for the Victorian view of sex as dangerous. In Dracula, sex with the Count transformed women into seductive sirens and horrific murderesses – the opposite of the Victorian ideal of chastity and nurturing womanhood. Originally, only female vampires were especially beautiful. Other such spirit-like vampires were always ugly in their true form, but had the ability to shift their appearance to that of a beautiful maiden, in order to lure men to them.

An interesting aspect of the vampire’s sexual nature is their freedom from rules and social restrictions. From the earliest myths, creatures we now recognize as vampires, by their behavior and supernatural qualities, were female entities determined to punish men. Their raw, untamed sexuality gave them the power of seduction, where they used this to corrupt the minds of men, and send good girls into demoniac possession. In societies demanding sexual restraint, nothing is more frightening than a liberal minded women.