Mise en Scene

Mise en Scene

The word Mise en Scene is a French phrase that is used in cinema to describe whats actually in the scene or frame. In our media lessons we use CLAMPS as an acronym for the factors in Mise en Scene, Costume, Lighting, Actors, Make-up, Props and Setting. We used this powerful picture from the film Skyfall it shows James Bond standing staring across London. Costume: The black coat shows that it's Winter in London and also shows the location (not carribean), the coat also shows darkness and danger. The coat makes the actor look like a villian. Lighting: The lighting looks natural in this shot as it looks like its taken midday or in the morning. The lighting shows all the building and there condition. Actors: The only actor is Daniel Craig he is famous with this franchise and is very respectable. Make up: Make up isn't majorly important in the picture as you can't see his face particularly well. Setting: The background is very important in this shot as it expresses his location. The way the shot is taken makes Bond look powerful as how he looks as big as the buildings. The condition of the buildings look old and worn which could link to Daniel Craig's career as James Bond. This also makes Bond look in control of the city and gives him connantations of a superhero. The city itself has connatations of danger and crime which hekps the action genre.

Storyboard for Juno opening scene

 

Storyboard

 

The storyboard was based on the opening scene of Juno, the first thorty seconds were done by me and then the second by Robbie Duncan. I found commenting on the editing and the camera shots easy although adding detail to the picture if found difficult.

Genre Tasks

Oculcus

The film Oculus displays the genre horror and has a very powerful trailer frightening the audience whilst also giving them an idea of the storyline.
D and I: A yound woman finds a mirror in a basment that wth the help of her brother try to destroy it although whilst doing this the  mirror haunts them and creates deceptions.
S: The film takes place in a large house but in many different location withtin that house, for example the basement. A basement has connatations of fear and empitniness which gives it a great set for a horro film. The film largely takes place at night although some scenes are shot outside which along with the lighting give the audience a break from the panic of the horror.
T: We sense from the trailer that the themes of the film will be revenge this is from the mirror haunting the two characters in the past. Although we sense from the film that it is revenge from both sides as the characters want revenge for what the mirror has done to them.
I: Obviously the main icon in the film is the mirror, we sense that the film revolves around it. The mirror instantly has connatations of fear and horror due to the past it has been associated with. Although other key props such as the light bulb may be influencial in the film.
N: From the trailer we can infer that the film will be a battle between the two characters and the mirror. We sense that the mirror always has the upper hand as the people are the ones who are trying to destroy it.
C: The trailer shows that Karen Gillan is the main character plaing the woman who is deceived into thibnking the light bulb is an apple and she is supported by Brenton Thwailer who plays the brother.
T: The clever editing helps to create suspense amongst the audience with several cuts between locations and cameras. The producer refrained from using transitions between shots as that would allow the audience to settle. Non diegetic loud dramatic music develops the genre as well as dark background lighting to enhance the horror effect. The trailer shows flash backs throughout the film which changes the order of narrative.

Rom-Com '80 years straight' Film Pitch

The story of our film is a romantic comedy which features famous actors like Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson, Blythe Danner and Meryl Streep.

The story is of two older couples who meet again after 50 years, where two old school friends relive old memories. The two actors then realise there love for each other and leave there wives for each other.
 We knew our actors work well together due to there collaborations in the past e.g. The Bucket List.

Evaluation

Was our title relevent/ intiguing/ catchy?
Our title is relevant to our film as it links to there sexuality and the age in which they realise it. This makes the audience think about why they have been straight for so many years and question why they have turned gay now. The title is good becuase it is short and funny, this makes the audience remeber it. The feedback we got for the title was good and scored 8's and 9's out of ten. Some feedback showed that people didn't understand the title however once the rough narrative was told the title became cleare. This is not a problem as hints of the story will be shown in a poster or trailer anyway.

Interesting characters approriately cast?
The characters are approriately cast bcause of there age as it links to the age you must have to be in this film. The actors/actresses are were successful and well aclaimed which is important in a Rom-com as people like to see famous actors. The two women Meryl Streep and Blythe Danner have appeared in several romantic comedies before which is good as they have experience of acting this way. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman have worked togetyher in the past in the Bucket List and so we know they work well as a pair. The feedback for this section was more mixed as the audience thought that the cast was very expensive and famous, as a result we scored mainly 6 and 7. 

Did you create interest for the target audience? Is it different/ interesting enough?

The interest is created in our film by the twist on the conventional romantic comedy film by introducing a gay twist. This will appeal to gay people aswell as the usual market for this genre older women. The feedback was once again mixed for this section as some thought that not giving too much away was a good technique however some tghought that this would turn people away. After consideration we decided to keep the short trailer as the stars would bring enough attention on there own. We scored a range of marks from 9 to 6.

Does the narrative fit the genre? Are the conventions in place?

The narrative that two people fall in love whilst having comedic value within our film and therefore the narrative fits the genre. There was a common acception of the fact that our genre fitted the narrative and we mostly got marks of 8 out of 10.  

Marketing the film? Well thought out, some good ideas? In the right places?
The marketing technique's could have been improved and therefore suited more to our target audience. For example the posters could have been shown in Bookshops or other shops that our target audience are likely to visit. The techniques we installed were too generuc and therefore we only recieved 5/10.

After taking rough averages of the scores we scored 39 out of 50 which is good but could be improved upon. Our major downfall was the marketing which will be easily resolved with alternate techniques.

Genre Photo Tasks

Comedy Genre



The task was to take photos that

 would display a certain genre

that was given to us on the day

and with limited time and resources.

Generally it was difficult to alter light to add effect however the clear, bright light was useful for some genres such as superhero.

 

The first image is of the comedy genre and displays 3 people supposedly standing on one persons hand. The front person has a blonde wig although obviously being a male. The picture is taken in a school which has connotations of learning and safety however popular shows such as the inbetweeners take place in a school. I think a school is an ideal place for a comedy as it holds many different experiences.

 The theme of the picture is humour as it displays as supposed giant in a school. The icons that stand out in the film are the wigs on the front character as well as the tiny people standing on his/her hand. The photos gives indications of a future entertaining relationship between the small people and the giant and there events at the school.  The front character is a white teenage boy who has a blonde wig on. The audience wouldn't be sure of his sexuality due to the wig and the mans body, although the character looks middle class due to his clothes and cleanliness. The photo has been taken from an upward angle, there is intense light in the photo due to the time of day and the location this has connotations of happiness and safety. The setting of the photo is in a school and looks safe and clean. The confused expression on the face of the character in the front conveys humour as the audience will want to know what he is confused about. With more time I would improve the picture by choosing a location with less shadow and that suits the trick of someone standing on hand better e.g. a longer flatter hill.

Semiotics

Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols for there use and interpretation. Denotations and connotations are important in film posters. They are used to conveys themes in the film as well as brief character descriptions. No country for old men has a very dark poster towards the top which conveys how the film will be sinister and evil. However moving towards the bottom of the photo the background becomes brighter.

This gives connotations of the terrain used in the film. There are three expressionless faces at the top of the poster which shows the viewer the three main characters that will feature in this film. The middle face shows a dangerous looking man and since he is the main face we can assume he is the most pivotal figure in the film. The two faces either side display two older men looking sternly towards the central character. Although they both are looking frustrated the lighter effect on there faces gives the viewer connotations that they will be the good characters in the film.

The image in the bottom of the film poster is of a man running whilst be chased by a car, this gives connotations of danger and fear and gives an indication of the genre of the film.

Review of Semi Pro 'somebody hit somebody'

Semi Pro which stars Will Ferrel is a story of an ex songwriter and his basketball team 'the tropics.' Will Ferrel plays a key role in this film as he is the forward for the tropics as well as manager and owner. In this clip the producers have used strong light to show there location (on a basketball court) as well as the basketball kits to represent the activity and the two sides. The clip turns violence into humour as they organise the fight so that a certain person doesn't see it. It is almost like there are siblings fighting in a certain place so that their mum doesn't find out.

The clip also uses rude language to convey the pain from the mascara 'it feels like i've got cat piss in my eye.' Another example of how the film uses humour is when Will ferrel shouts somebody hit somebody which shows how the fight isn't sincere and therefore allows the audience to laugh at the violence.

Finally towards the end of the clip the famous song 'Why can't we be friends' plays which adds to the sarcasm in the fight and that it is in fact light hearted.