Dog Soldiers- Evaluation

1) What key features of editing, mise en scene, sound and cinematography can you identify? What meanings do these elements generate?

>Mise en scene:
- The setting is in a woodland and an isolated home. This is to first to fit in with the stereotypical ideas of where werewolves would be found and to create tension in the audience for the protagonists in Dog Soldiers as they are cut off from the world and are surrounded by werewolf territory; increasing suspense and complimenting the horror genre of the film.
- The soldiers are dressed to look like soldiers, and have the weapons and resources a typical army soldier would have; despite these traits, the soldiers are no match to the werewolves, which is a contrast to the real world where soldiers are seen to be there to protect the public. The special opps. agent is dressed differently to standard army officials, this is to represent his possible superiority and specific role in the army. The girl is dressed in everyday clothing, to show she has no affiliations and is allegedly just caught in the crossfire of the werewolves and the soldiers.

>Sound: 
- The use of non-diegetic sound in Dog Soldiers is used primarily to build up the tension and emphasise the urgency of the situation, as shown in the first confrontation of the soldiers and the werewolves in the wood.
- As well as the use of non-diegetic sound to build up tension, the scenes where non-diegetic sound isn't used helps build up suspense; the scene in the wood where the soldier has taken up position to ensure the team isn't followed has no non diegetic sound - making the diegetic sound be recognised as being more important in that clip. As there was little sound, it showed the audience how isolated the group of soldiers were and how desperate their situation was becoming.

>Cinematography:
- There was very little light in most of the film, as the events were meant to be taking place in the night. The scenes always appeared dull and dark, and the lights in the house are very dim. This is to compliment the tension that is created in the events of the plot.

>Editing:
There are Cutaways during the part where the soldiers are at the house. These cut aways show the werewolves point of veiw (which is in black and white) and this helps build suspense because it shows the audience that the werewolves are still at the same location and it suggests that they are planning something or that they are still focusing on attacking the soldiers.
  There are also smooth fades while the soldiers are going to the house and are at the house. This suggests that at that point things are calm. It also shows that the action is happening in the same place as the previous scene.



2) How do the technical elements you have identified help indicate the genre of the film? What other conventions do you think are evident in Dog Soldiers?
The technical elements help to indicate the genre of the film by working together to give the typical aspects of a horror. For example, the isolated house and the wood that the film is set in is a typical setting of a horror movie as it shows a place that is hard to escape from and where people aren't likely to get help. The soldiers are dressed as soldiers but are also looking scruffy, this shows that they have been in a struggle and indicates that there will be more struggle to come which also conforms with the horror genre.
   The backing soundtrack doesn't completly follow the horror genre as a lot of it sounds like a typical war movie music and sounds heroic. There are however some of the soundtrack that does follow the horror genre as there is some eerie music that builds suspense just before the werewolves attack.
  Editing helps to create the horror genre aswell by creating suspense with cutaways showing werewolves around the house. Quick cuts during action also helps to create confusion as it can become hard to follow what is happening and this can scare the audience which is what a horror is for.
  There are some parts of the film that dont conform the the horror genre as there seems to be a slight comedy element to the film. An example of this is when the sergeant gets stood on and his guts fall out of his stomach, and to fix this they just push them back in and say it will be fine and run on. This means that the film is not a complete horror, but more of a horror comedy, similar to the film Shaun of the Dean


3) Are there three clear stages to the film's narrative? Does it: have an equilibrium, dis-equilibrium and new equilibrium structure?

  Due to the fact that we haven't seen the first bit of the film, we don't know if there is an equilibrium. however i am going to assume that there was. And there is a clear dis-equilibrium stage which is shown as the werewolves start attacking. This is the dis-equilibrium because it is unexpected and it changes the whole mind set of the people in the film. After the majority of the film being in the dis-equilibrium stage, right at the very end of the film. The new-equilibrium is shown when spooner steps out of the house after all the conflict and has survived it all. It shows that everything that happened in the dis-equilibrium has come to an end, but that things will not be the same as they were before because of what happened in the dis-equilibrium.



4) How do you think gender is represented in the film?


Men are shown to be in charge; they give out the commands, as shown by Cooper on many occasions. They are also shown to enjoy fighting, one of the soldiers stated that he was enjoying the events and was shown to be able in wielding a sword and hand to hand combat  (boxing with a werewolf) alongside his army-trained skills. One soldier is also very passionate about football, asking if the girl knew the score. They were also shown to show no fear, except for one, who is possibly a misfit in the unit.

There is only one female, whom after the first meeting with the soldiers, begins to take commands from Cooper. She also has to make do with objects from the kitchen for weapons and is easily talked over and interrupted. Her profession is also made to sound very feminine in comparison to the army. She does however show that she isn't shy to question the men's authority and talk back, showing that she believes that she is on equal grounds as men.


5) How does Dog Soldiers represent the armed forces?


Soldiers in the armed forces look to further their career. There is also a hierarchy system in place, Cooper was not in charge of the unit, but he was stepping in for the Sergeant who was badly injured. The Special Opps. unit was also of a higher rank than the unit, but as the members were wiped out and only the person in charge of them was alive, Cooper ignored his authority.
The overall units in the army are also shown to be friends and care and look out for each other, the Sergeant was shown to be on the verge of tears to realise that his men were playing a role of bait for the special opps. This in turn shows that the lower down the rank ladder of the army, the more expendable they are.
They are also shown to take orders very seriously.


6) Who do you think the film is aimed at?


Mostly the male population, in the later stages of teenager up to early 30s, where people are usually part of the army. Horrors are also most popular among this age range and it is also an age where the imagination is able to run wild (werewolves). However, there is also a slight comedy element to it which means it would attract a slightly bigger audience as it isnt as graphic or scary as some horrors.


7) What certificate do you think the film would get and why?

The certificate would be 15. This is because there is considerable violence, strong language and the graphical depictions of death and injury; which are similar in content to the film Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. The level of violence and strong language means it wouldn't class as a 12, however, it isn't bad enough to class as an 18.