How does mise-en-scene create meaning and provoke audience response in a 3-5minute sequence for the film “I am legend”?

I have decided to study the film “I am legend”, and the micro element that i shall be analysing is mise en scene. The extract that i shall be analysing the scene in which Dr. Robert Neville (Will Smith) returns to his house and makes himself some food and washes his dog. I believe that the directors aims in this scene were to create how normal yet different the character is. The character seems normal as he is dressed in a suitable fashion and seems to be happy, but there are many hints which indicate that he is different and maybe he is hiding something.

At the beginning of the sequence Dr. Robert Neville exits his car and goes to the passenger door and brings out 2 containers. One of which has a biohazard sign on it showing the audience that clearly this man has possession of dangerous chemicals. He then walks away and begins to go up the steps to his house. As he walks up these steps he pours a clear liquid all over them. The audience may be led to believe it may be just water. This provokes the audience as Dr. Neville is acting in a suspicious way. His body language is suspicious, as he seems to be acting strange and being cautious with his actions. This is showing the audience straight away that there is something dangerous out there. However there is a contrast as there are birds tweeting and golden leaves which symbolises how peaceful this area maybe, also the area seems to be empty. This provokes the audience to think what has happened to everyone. Already there seems to be abit of mystery lingering in the audience’s minds. As he reaches the top of the steps and finishes with the liquid he looks left and right to check if anyone is there. This could provoke an audience response as it may indicate that he is being cautious that no-one is watching him and that he is being careful with his actions.

 The first thing that is seen when we enter the house is 3 power boxes. Yet again a sense of in normality as the power boxes must be needed to generate a lot of electricity for something but what? This leaves the audience alert and thinking of what Dr. Rogers may be hiding. Furthermore there is an abnormal amount of food in a storeroom and when he takes out some Bolognese sauce he replaces it with a new jar. This shows us that he has clearly stockpiled on food meaning that there is a lack of food and he is trying to survive, also that he is organised with his food and he likes to keep it all in the same place where he found it.

As Dr. Rogers enters the lounge the television is on and the director makes the audience aware that it is a recording. The recording is obvious as the director places the camera directly in front of the television, so that it takes up most of the screen. this immediately catches the audience’s attention Also on the television there are numbers counting up which show the audience that it is a recording. These numbers are immediately shown to the audience as they are bold white writing and comes off the screen, being the first thing that the audience see’s. Immediately the audience know that something is wrong. This shows the audience that Dr. Rogers is trying to feel normal and live a normal life as if nothing has happened. He acts normal as he walks around his house, implying to the audience that he is trying to live his life as a normal human being. He then shuts the door to the lounge making sure that he is secure and safe. This may indicate to the audience that he is trying to keep everything like windows and doors shut within his house in order to keep something from the outside getting in.

The director uses the kitchen fridge as a prop to give us a bigger perspective on Dr. Neville’s life. Each item on it poses a question for the audience or acts as a clue for his situation. On the front of the fridge are pictures of his family. His wife and children. These pictures may be a memory of what he used to have it makes us feel sympathy for him as he maybe missing his family. There is also a calendar on the fridge. This may mean that Dr. Rogers is trying to keep track of the days. Furthermore there is a magazine cover of him on the fridge. When the audience spots this the first thing they will see is a huge white question mark next to the word saviour. The purpose of this question mark is to show that maybe Dr. Rogers is questioning whether he is a saviour or not. This may signify to the audience that Dr. Rogers may have been a saviour in the fact that he may have saved many people, but he has put a question mark there as he didn’t save what he wanted to save. Maybe it is his family that he didn’t save. This would explain the photos on the fridge used as memories. In addition there is still a large abundance of food within the kitchen/ lounge. This shows the audience that he has a lot of food and that he keeps it organanised. Furthermore as he eats his food his dog (Samantha/Sam) begins to eat her own food. Dr. Rogers talks to the dog as if she is a human. He treats her like a child by saying “eat your vegetables.” This shows the audience that maybe the dog is his only friend/family left. After Dr. Rogers and Samantha have eaten he takes her upstairs to the bathroom in order to give her a wash.

This scene is of Dr. Rogers washing his dog. As he is washing his dog he turns on the radio and seems to be happy as he sings along to this song.  This is the Director is building up a false sense of security scene for the audience. As an audience we are suspicious as everything seems to be okay. This scene is implying “calm before the storm.” The words from the song “everything is going to be alright” may show the audience that Dr. Rogers is reassuring himself that he is safe through the words of a song. Maybe the song makes him feel as if he is in another world? The sound from the radio is diegetic. As he washes his dog the camera zooms out and there is a golden glow of light from the sun which fills the room. The colour gold symbolises a new age, hope and warmth. This could provoke a response from the audience as they could be questioning whether or not this is a good or bad new age as there is so much mystery behind Dr. Rogers. Further on in the scene Dr. Rogers is still washing Sam and a beeping of an alarm begins. Once this beeping begins all the noise in the environment of the room including the music and the water coming out of the shower fades away and all the audience can hear is the sound of this alarm. This can provoke a response from the audience as it shows them that this sound is very important to Dr. Rogers and it seems to make him upset. There is a major contrast between performance when this beeping occurs as Dr. Roger goes from being happy and singing along to some music to just quit and there is a sign of deep thought and sadness in his face. The camera then goes to the dog and the dog begins to bark. This alarm seems to block out the barks from the dog and no facial expression is shown from Dr. Rogers. The barks from the dog show the audience that there is something wrong and that the dog senses it. Eventually all of the sound comes back to Dr. Rogers and he immediately stops washing the dog and gets up from his seat and closes these steel doors/shutters behind the window. This provokes the audience into the response that there is defiantly something dangerous out there and these steel doors are used for protection and that Dr. Rogers realises what world he lives in now. Furthermore the beeping indicates to the audience that Dr. Rogers shuts these steel doors at the same time every day. This final scene answers the entire audiences question about Dr. Rogers’s family, why he has so much food, why he poured that liquid on the steps outside.

In conclusion, i believe that the director was very successful in creating layers of meaning and provoking a response from the audience as he has created the scene so that the audience believe that Dr. Rogers is a normal person and that he is living a normal life, but there are hints around the house and hints in the personality of the character which show that he is living a slightly different life compared to a normal human being. These hints engage with the audience as they begin to ask themselves questions about Dr. Rogers’s life and it begins to create mystery behind the character as he does things that not a particularly normal living person would do. The director then uses the last part of the scene to finally show the audience that he is far from a normal person that is living a normal life and that the life he is living is rather dangerous and survival is a key aspect to living in this new world.