A Quiet Place N A M E :
F R O M C I N E M A T O C L A S S R O O M C L A S S
Family Values... Watching the film...
There are clear tensions between the family members in A Quet Place. What main event do you think may have caused many of these? Are there any other factors at play?
What does the loss of a child at the very beginning of the film say about what comes after? Is the director making a statement by having something so horrible happen right at the start?
The film seems more centred on the experience of teenage daughter, Regan. How does she feel towards the rest of the family and how does the film show these feelings:
Her father, Lee Her mother, Evelyn Her brother, Marcus Her youngest brother, Beau
Her relationship with her father is the most difficult one. Pick a scene where their conflict is at its worse and explain how the director highlights this.
Lee is very protective of his family. Are there any points where you feel is being over- protective?
What is the most ironic thing about Lee in this film where people cannot speak? Think about what Regan wants from her father and what he struggles to give her. A Quiet Place N A M E :
F R O M C I N E M A T O C L A S S R O O M C L A S S
A New Normal... Watching the film...
After the harrowing opening scene, we pick up with the family some time later where they have fallen into a routine of family life on the farm. Their ways of keeping quiet are pretty ingenious and highlight their strong problem-solving skills.
Highlight 3 typical things in their home life that they have managed to adapt in order to keep quiet. Describe what they are and how they have managed to do it silently.
If you had to be as quiet as the family in the film, what would you miss the most?
Think about how much sound you make in a day. What would you have to change in order to keep safe? Look around the room you are in right now and think about how much noise you are making while working on this task!
In A Quiet Place, the filmmakers cast deaf actress Millicent Simmonds to play Regan, who is also deaf and who discovers how to defeat the creatures.
In what way is the film a step forward in terms of casting?
How does the film normalise Regan's deafness and how has it equipped the family for a life of silence? A Quiet Place N A M E :
F R O M C I N E M A T O C L A S S R O O M C L A S S
Creating the Apocalypse... Making the film... WATCH: The film's opening sequence
Mise-en-Scene literally means "placed on stage" (or screen in the case of film). This can include props, costume, hair and make-up, and use of colour.
Highlight how the director uses mise-en-scene in the opening scenes to establish that a disaster has occurred. Try to select three things and explain how each one tells us that something terrible has happened.
Why is using mise-en-scene an effective way to convey backstory in a film like A Quiet Place?
Pick any other scene in the film that you think effectively uses mise-en-scene to convey information about either the current situation the characters are in or tell us more about the characters themselves.
Think about the design of the creature. What elements of the design alert us to its heightened sense of hearing?
What did you find particularly frightening about the monsters?
What do you think makes a good movie monster? Think about some classics to get you started: Dracula, The Creature From the Black Lagoon (think Shape of Water too), the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, Godzilla. A Quiet Place N A M E :
F R O M C I N E M A T O C L A S S R O O M C L A S S
The Sound of Silence... Making the film...
WATCH: How The Sound Effects In 'A Quiet Place' Were Made (5 mins) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnozP8OWeik
As seen in the clip, Foley Artists are the people who create sound for on film. They can be used to heighten noises we are used to or make strange ones we will never hear in real life.
Pick your 3 favourites seen in the video and explain how the artists made the noise in an unusual way and why you liked it.
The Foley Artists stated that this was an unusual film to work on for them because there was so much silence in the film. What problems did this present for them and how did they go about solving these problems?
Pick your favourite scene from the film where sound is key. Explain how sound is used to enhance this scene and why you like it so much.
Do a bit of Foley Artist research! Find out a bit more about what Foley Artists do and note down which sounds surprised you the most. It might be how dinosaur noises are created, how weather sounds are made or anything else interesting you can find!