Dog Soldiers is about a British Squad who have been sent on a training mission in the Highlands of Scotland against a Special Operations squad. Ignoring the childish "campfire" stories heard about the area, they continue with their mission and come across the bloody remains of the Special Ops Squad. With two mortally wounded men, they make an escape, running into a zoologist by the name of Megan - who knows exactly what hunts them. What began as what they thought was a training mission turns into a battle for their lives against the most unlikely enemies they would have expected - werewolves.
The mise-en-scene for Dog Soldiers is quite typical to a conventional horror film. They are on a training mission in a forest in the dead of the night. They then move so that they have the 'shelter' of an abandoned house. The opening sequence starts with two campers in the forest which raises questions in the viewers minds asking what the significance of the forest is. The first shot we see is an establishing shot which shows a calm lake in between two forests. The audience ask themselves why this shot is shown and what it's importance is?
During the first few shots of the opening sequence the lighting is subtle. It uses a dark daylight to reassure the audience that nothing will happen as yet but it also lets you know that the forest is going to become scary. When the action moves into a more claustrophobic space, the tent, the lighting is very dim. There are lanterns which create the atmosphere for the characters but they also highlight the expressions on the characters faces when the werewolf attacks. Whilst the zip of the tent is being opened it is pitch black apart from the circular torch light which follows the zip. This is important as it builds a suspense for the audience whilst we watch and wait for something to happen.
After the establishing shots I spoke about earlier there is a series of medium close-ups and close-ups to show the characters facial expressions throughout their conversation. There is then a close-up of the knife that is given as a gift. This helps to show to the audience the significance of this knife and also raises more questions in their minds. As soon as the location changes so do the shots. When the characters are in the tent the shots move from medium close-ups and close-ups to extreme close-ups which really show to the audience the emotions and expressions of the characters. There is also an extreme close-up when showing the knife again, this reinforces the importance of this knife. Also whilst in the tent the camera is on slight tilt making it a high angled shot, the characters are also laying down which shows them to be vulnerable and less important than the creature which is opening their tent.
The first piece of editing we see is a cross-dissolve. This is between the calm lake in the middle of two forests and one of the campers taking water from the lake. This cross-dissolve is quite slow which gives the viewer a sense of calmness. The next few shots are plain cuts which use the 180° rule in continuity editing. This allow the audience to follow the conversation at ease without confusing you as to where the camera is. Match-on-action is also used during the opening sequence to show the character opening the box containing the knife.
All of the sound is diegetic sound. The characters in the shots can hear everything which makes the audience feel more part of it rather than feeling as though they are watching it at home. As the sound builds the tension does too which creates more suspense and makes the audience feel more uneasy. It also gives more of an 'on the edge of your sofa' watch.
Blood is used for the gore factor in the opening sequence however not too much blood is used. It breaks the audience in gently and only gives them a snippet of whats to come.
This is the opening sequence of Dog Soldiers (2002)
The mise-en-scene for Dog Soldiers is quite typical to a conventional horror film. They are on a training mission in a forest in the dead of the night. They then move so that they have the 'shelter' of an abandoned house. The opening sequence starts with two campers in the forest which raises questions in the viewers minds asking what the significance of the forest is. The first shot we see is an establishing shot which shows a calm lake in between two forests. The audience ask themselves why this shot is shown and what it's importance is?
During the first few shots of the opening sequence the lighting is subtle. It uses a dark daylight to reassure the audience that nothing will happen as yet but it also lets you know that the forest is going to become scary. When the action moves into a more claustrophobic space, the tent, the lighting is very dim. There are lanterns which create the atmosphere for the characters but they also highlight the expressions on the characters faces when the werewolf attacks. Whilst the zip of the tent is being opened it is pitch black apart from the circular torch light which follows the zip. This is important as it builds a suspense for the audience whilst we watch and wait for something to happen. 
After the establishing shots I spoke about earlier there is a series of medium close-ups and close-ups to show the characters facial expressions throughout their conversation. There is then a close-up of the knife that is given as a gift. This helps to show to the audience the significance of this knife and also raises more questions in their minds. As soon as the location changes so do the shots. When the characters are in the tent the shots move from medium close-ups and close-ups to extreme close-ups which really show to the audience the emotions and expressions of the characters. There is also an extreme close-up when showing the knife again, this reinforces the importance of this knife. Also whilst in the tent the camera is on slight tilt making it a high angled shot, the characters are also laying down which shows them to be vulnerable and less important than the creature which is opening their tent.
The first piece of editing we see is a cross-dissolve. This is between the calm lake in the middle of two forests and one of the campers taking water from the lake. This cross-dissolve is quite slow which gives the viewer a sense of calmness. The next few shots are plain cuts which use the 180° rule in continuity editing. This allow the audience to follow the conversation at ease without confusing you as to where the camera is. Match-on-action is also used during the opening sequence to show the character opening the box containing the knife. All of the sound is diegetic sound. The characters in the shots can hear everything which makes the audience feel more part of it rather than feeling as though they are watching it at home. As the sound builds the tension does too which creates more suspense and makes the audience feel more uneasy. It also gives more of an 'on the edge of your sofa' watch.
Blood is used for the gore factor in the opening sequence however not too much blood is used. It breaks the audience in gently and only gives them a snippet of whats to come.
This is the opening sequence of Dog Soldiers (2002)
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