Props and Costumes Research

Props and Costumes are aspects of the Mise-en-Scene which can help base characters into a period of time or live up to stereotypes of certain people within different cultures. Clothing is something which audiences unconsciously draw upon to build a profile of a character and help them to decide on who is the protagonist and antagonist. The significance of props mirrors that of costumes, if there is frequent use of a prop it enables audiences to associate certain characters which objects. For instance, in the Zorro films we have learnt to connect Zorro with a mask, sword and horse or in the James Bond films it is a gun.

As our film is heavily influenced by Eden Lake, Sorority Row and Blair Witch Project, we had a good understanding of the different representations which we could play around with in order for the audience to visually label the men as the antagonists of the film.

Here is the screen grab displaying the antagonists in Eden Lake, their image plays up to the hyped, thuggish image that youngsters have been branded with today. Their costumes and the current assumptions of youth go hand in hand with each other and help to emphasize the nature of their recreational activities. Also, partly why this film is reagarded as soo shocking is because of the fact that the crimes are committed by such a young group of people, and their age is reinforced by the way in which they dress.
In addition, the only prop which has been used within this caption is the mobile phone which the girl is holding, besides it supporting the stereotypical image of teenagers, it also is generating the feeling of longing and jealousy among the group's two victims.



In contrast, the image above the costume which is displayed on the criminal is clearly a much more theatrical approach and demonstrates, in terms of realism, that this film is purely for entertainmenmt purposes and has no element of real life circumstances in it, whereas the other film has more of a message behind it. The use of black is very effective and is a common colour for 'baddies' to wear. Black connotes fear which is generally derived from darkness and the meaning behind the victim wearing white, reinforces that sense of innocence and purity. In this film, and in particular this image - binary opposites have been used, not just with the colouring of their costumes, but also in terms of props. One of them has a weapon and the other does not, furthemore, the severity and the 'odd' looking weapon adds to the theatricality of the whole film.

In conclusion, these evaluations of the two films show how props and costumes can add depth to a scene and how they are capable of creating a certain atmosphere.