I AM LEGEND.Key elements

By Abigail Faponle

I AM LEGEND. I am legend is a drama, sci-fi thriller that was released in

2007 starring Will Smith. It follows the story of Robert Neville's (Will Smith) journey after a plague wipes almost the entire human race and transforms survivors into monsters. The story line shows Neville struggle valiantly to find a cure.

MISE EN SCENE•Mise en scene is one of the elements that carries this film to success. The scenery, props and costume are used so effectively and precisely to create such suspense to leaving the audience anticipating what comes next. As the whole film is based on the end of the world, the director clearly shows through scenery, the equilibrium at the beginning of the film and end, as shown below:

MISE EN SCENEEven through this poster, the characters costume consists of dark light weight casual clothing which emphasises his readiness and hints upcoming action.

Satchels are usually worn for when someone is going on a journey, so his satchel across his chest shows he is prepared.

The background image consists of destructed buildings and a orange/yellow misty sky which symbolises doom, death and horror. There is also a contrast of a bright light near the characters leg and random growth of plants on the concrete which could highlight a possible sign of hope.

CAMERA There a range of camera shot used through-out the film to create

emphasis on scenery and the environment. This is shown through establishing shots and panning shots. There are also many close-ups to emphasise the main characters facial expressions and emotions.

EDITING

Not much editing is found in this film that you will find in others but I did notice in the trailer there were a lot of fade’s both in and out.

SOUND

A lot of the time when there is no dialog, you can hear tense music hinting upcoming action or a fright. This keeps the audience on the edge of the seat and builds suspense.

I AM LEGEND

All of these elements come together perfectly to create an artistic whole. The film received four nominations for the visual effect society awards.