Gone Girl

Ben Affleck's character is the protagonist in this film. In this poster a wide and long shot is used with him in the middle which shows he is the center of attention. His body language connotes that he is angry and miserable. His arms are muscular and are not relaxed which may suggest he is eager to resolve something. His head is facing down and his back his turned to the audience. This connotes that he is in trouble. The editing on this poster shows how the shape of his body is disorientated as its quite disfigured. Which shows the audience that his role is puzzling and misleading and requires deep thought to figure out. This creates a sense of enigma which intrigues the audience and makes them create questions and think for themselves. Additionally, the poster also displays the male isolated from society as the setting is simplistic and deserted only showing buildings, greenery and a lake in the background. His isolation could imply that his character may not be favored by society.  Nick Dunne (Affleck) is wearing casual clothing such as; trousers and a navy short sleeve t-shirt. This conveys the idea that he isn't too concerned on his appearance more on the whereabouts of his missing wife. At the top of the poster there is a an extreme close up of his wife's eyes looking away.This adds more mystery to what happened to his wife and may make some audience members feel he was involved with her disappearance because her eyes are fading away. The large lake surrounding Mr Dunne may suggest to some that his wife's lifeless body is inside the lake. This lake could be an iconic setting in the film as it may relate to his wife's whereabouts. Moreover this poster is for a police crime thriller film genre.  A convention for this poster is the fact that males are predominantly the dominant and protagonist figure because they always try to protect their loved ones and significant others from harms way. However, they can be viewed as the antagonist at the same time due to their violent actions. On the other hand, Above Nick is the tagline which uses an ellipses at the end to make the audience finish the sentence and show that the investigation isn't fully complete. The title is fading away beneath the clouds which relates the title to his missing wife. The names of the actors are at the very top of the poster. These names are very recognizable which encourages the target audience to see the film as they know what famous actors are in the film. The size of the word 'GONE' is bigger than girl. This emphasizes his wife's disappearance. Furthermore, at the bottom of the poster there is a disorientated news headline showing the search for his wife. this is visually pleasing and adds more tension showing how important his wife was to a community. The credits at the end of the poster lists all the important names and the studio who made the film possible. This allows the audience to research more on the film and the people behind it. The release date and film website is also at the end which gives the audience all the information they need to prepare for the films release. The top of the poster is dark blue then changes to a lighter blue in the middle and becomes more clearer towards the end. This may suggest that the darkest areas are more tense and lifeless in comparison to the lighter areas that is more pragmatic. This is called a chiaroscuro effect. The demographic for this film is male and females who are aged 18 and over . Who take interest in watching films after reading the novel or who are just simply fascinated or fans of the police crime thriller genre and also fans of the famous actors. 

DAVID FINCHER

American film director, music and  tv producer best known for directicing psychological thrillers such as Seven (1995) Fight Club (1999) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and now Gone Girl (2014). 

In an interview he spoke about the challenges of directing the film, ‘The Challenge was the tone of the movie’ describing it as a ‘Bizarre Journey’ as it starts of as a mystery it suddenly transforms to an absurdest thriller and ends as a satire. Fincher usually creates movies with a plot twist but the challenging was to try to get all of the actors on the same page and the same pitch. Fincher admitted that it 500 hours shot of material within 100 days, 500 hours is excessive but he did it because he wanted his actors to fully connect with their characters. Fincher usually works with a variate of actors whilst directors tend to stay with same or similar casts he says it creates an ‘Alienation’ a room to experiment new things with a new actor and that he believes the actors he finds are destined to be that character or they have some sort of connection such as Rosamund Pike, he had been looking at her works but never worked with her, but talking to her he found that her life paralleled with Amy Dunne, such as being the only and having a side that the actress does to show to people he said, ‘She will endure all of her dignity’. The key to creating a successful film is that he does not ‘Make films on the spite of who are making them , I make them for the people who finance

There are many key aspects of mise en scene which elaborates and aids in creating a tense atmosphere for the audience.

ACTORS

The audience are immediately informed of the two main protagonists and their significance in the films plot. Because they are the first two characters the audience are introduced to. In the beginning a shot of Rosamund Pike's character Amy Elliot Dunne  is shown in a close up with the camera at a high angle and her looking up. This results in her character being the main focus emphasizing her importance and meaning within the plot. Her facial expression looked very neutral which led to no suspicion as it was shown in the opening scene however as the film developed and we learn more about her character the scene in shown again in the end which makes the audience gain a more in depth understanding of that particular moment and realize her neutral facial expression is quite alarming and nerve racking.  In terms of her clothing we couldn't really see what she was wearing as the her body shoulders down was out of focus only her face and shoulders were mainly in focus this could suggest the intimacy between her and her husband. Moreover, Ben Affleck's character Nick Dunne is stood on a porch outside of  his house for quite a while, which shows the distance between himself and Pike's character. This may imply that there is already friction between the married couple. He looks effortless as he only seems to be wearing lightly coloured clothes such as; a white t-shirt and trousers. This could connote the idea of naivety and innocence. His body language also suggests his fatigue and desperation for change.

LOCATIONS

The majority of shots taken show the particular town the couple live in and the different locations Amy ends up in. The buildings in the town look quite old which suggests that its quite a traditional town. For example 'the bar' which doesn't have many costumers if so they're old, the home of Nick Dunne's ailing father, the courthouse which is a landmark in the area and has stood since 1854 etc. In contrast, the houses such as Nick and Amy's looks very modern. In addition to this the opening titles are shown when the scenes are outdoors which helps introduce the audience to the town where the film is set. As the film begins establishing location shots appear and last for a very short amount of time. This suggests the many clues the film may have to offer. Furthermore, the credits are positioned on top of the visuals. The credits are displayed in the beginning which informs the audience of the actors, producers and the director involved with the making of the film. During the beginning of the film Nick Dunne is already established as the male protagonist when there is an elongated shot showing him in the midst of self company in front of his house maybe reminiscing his past. The film uses cross cutting to differentiate the scenes and show the on going investigation for missing Amy to Amy's disguises and current whereabouts .

LIGHTING

The opening scene takes place in the early hours of the morning, right before dawn. The dark tones and dull lighting puts emphasis on a very moody atmosphere. The shots of the titles look quite dark creating a cold and sombre visual. Furthermore, During this time of day people are usually asleep or just waking up which suggests that nothing suspicious usually occurs during this time period as the atmosphere is calm and relaxed. The lighting is low key because of the time of day. The low key lighting could be a metaphor in relation to the characters thoughts, feelings and actions. In the beginning their lives are quite dull and strategic then it develops into hatred and separation because a terrible event is about to occur that will 'awaken them' which compares to the idea of dawn. The use of dark and shadowy shots creates mystery which intrigues the audience and metaphorically shows relation to the plot.

SOUND

The non diegetic music used throughout the beginning accompanies the visual aspects. Making the opening to the film much more eerie and tense. The sound usually became intense, louder and quicker to suggest the build up of the scene and the characters actions. For instance, when Amy was about to kill her high school admirer. The volume of the sound increased and was repetitive to make the audience feel uncomfortable and shocked as it wasn't expected. The sounds of grasping, screaming and blood squirting was intensified which makes the audience feel no sympathy for Amy Dunn's character as she brutally murdered her lover.