Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene is the image seen in the frame. It's a french term originating from theatre and from what you could see on the stage. Mise-en-scene communicates information to the audience as every aspect of a film has a meaning.

There are 5 elements to mise-en-scene;

1. Setting & Props - The setting is related to the storyline of the film, so certain characters will have a certain reason to be there. The setting of the film isn't just visually interesting, but it also communicates information about the type of characters you might find there and where the plot may go. Likewise, with props. Props help us to determine the time period as well as hint at where the plot may go. For example, if there is a close up shot of a bag, it implies that this is something important or may contain something important which unfolds throughout the story.
2. Costume,Hair & Make-up - This instantly lets the audience know the time period of the film, the personality and status of the character and also what society and culture they belong to. Certain characters may wear symbolic colours to represent their characteristics, values or emotions. For example, a young child may wear soft pastel/white colours to imply innocence and purity whereas a dominant character may wear bold colours such as reds and blues to show authority. The picture above on the right could be implying that the women is jealous because she is wearing a green stripey shirt and leaning on a green wall which seems to reflect onto her and i think she even has green eyes.
3. Facial Expressions & Body Language- These can show the characters emotions and their characteristics. If a character is outspoken and uses open hand gestures and body language this tends to imply that the character is quite confident. Body language and expressions also help the audience to determine relationships between characters.
4. Lighting & Colour- Lighting can instantly set the mood of the scene or the entire film. If a scene is shrouded in dark shadows with barely any light this gives the sense that something horrible is imminent. Wheras on the other hand if something is brightly coloured and bathed in lots of light it can give a lighter and happy mood to the scene.
5. Positioning of Characters & Objects in the Frame- where things are in a frame can allow the audience to determine authority of characters and importance of objects. If a character is set in the background of a scene whilst another is in the foreground. This could imply that the character in the foreground is more authorative or dominant over the other character. The shift of positions of characters in a frame can show the shift of dominance and authority of characters throughout the film. The same applies for objects. If something is in the foreground it may be of more importance to the story line and to the unfolding of the plot.

Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980)

Alfred Hitchcock was an English film maker/director who greatly influenced the thriller genre with his silent film, The Lodger (1926) which was based on the story of Jack-the-Ripper. He then went on to produce his first sound film called Blackmail (1929). These early films made Hitchcock be considered as the auteur of the Thriller genre by creating suspense and capturing the audience with the reality of the storyline.
Many of his films placed innocent characters into a life threatening or strange situation and even includes a plot to try and distract the audience from the real plot which unfolds to create even more anxiety and suspense.
All of these ideas conform to what we would call a typical thriller genre however nowadays, young film makers try to break these moulds.

What are the key conventions of the thriller genre?

1) Creating;

• excitement
• suspense
• anticipation
• heightened expectation
• uncertainty
• anxiety
• tension

2) The main aim of a thriller is to keep the audience on the edge of their seat. This usually happens when the main character is placed in a situation which is dangerous and seemingly impossible to escape from.
3) Usually, it involves death of a character(s)
4) Thrillers are usually hybrid genres such as;

• Action thrillers
• Sci-fi thrillers
• Crime thrillers
• Film noir thrillers

5) Usually have a certain stereotype of characters;

• Criminals
• Assassins
• Innocent victims
• Police
• Psychotic individuals
• Revengeful people from relationships

Fargo by the Coen Brothers (1996)

One thing that stands out to me about the film Fargo is that it breaks the mould for stereotypes. This film is a crime- thriller and would be expected to have the typical male, heroic person of authority who saves the day. But in the case of the Coen brothers, its the complete opposite. It's a pregnant woman who doesn't really pay much attention to the traditional codes of ' feminine beauty' with her unflattering police uniform.
Also, Marge's relationship and role is seemingly unconventional as she is the working woman in a position of authority whereas her husband stays at home. Yet however odd the couple seem at the start, by the end of the film you realise how sensible and stable they are in a world that is seemingly falling apart.
Another thing that strikes me as unsual about this film is that it is classed as a thriller and yet everything is white. Considering this is an unusual theme for a thriller it still seems to work because absolutely everything is white which puts emphasis on the isolation of the settings and the people within it which is a popular occurance in thriller genre films.
This film also has a comical element to it. The regional accent of some of the characters and the situations they are in come across as quite comical which is a contrast to the typical seriousness of a thriller and is quite unexpected.
Finally, one more thing that strikes me is that this film is so slow moving and often has scenes which don't move the narrative on. This seems odd because it is as if there are loads of pointless scenes in the film. Having it so slowly paced and dragged out seems to decrease the suspense which is what a thriller is all about.

The Coen Brothers Filmography

1. Blood Simple (1984)- This is a crime film and 'blood simple' is a term to describe the fearful mindset of people involved in or exposed to prolonged violent situations.
2. Fargo (1996)- is a comedy crime film that had 7 academy award nominations, won the BAFTA award and the award for best director at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival
3. The Big Lebowski (1998)- Comedy genre
4. O brother, Where art thou? (2000)- this is another comedy film and the accompanying American folk soundtrack won a grammy for Album of the year in 2001
5. No country for old men (2007)- this is an American crime thriller and won 2 golden globes, 3 british Academy of film awards and 4 academy awards
6. True Grit (2010)- This is an American western film which was nominated for 10 academy awards.
7. Barton Fink (1991) this had numerous Oscar nominations and 3 major awards at the Cannes Film Festival.
8. The man who wasn't there (2001)- was different to the brothers usual style and was set in the 1940's filmed in complete black and white.
9. Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
10. The Ladykillers (2009)

In need of Inspiration...

At the moment I don't really have any ideas of what I could do for my opening 2 minutes. All I know is that I don't want to do a typical Gangster type film that involves shooting and drugs like what a lot of people do. I want to do something different to what would be expected from a 6th form student and something that will perhaps stand out from other peoples work.
Maybe with a bit of research of film openings, hopefully I will get some inspiration for my own!

5 things i've learnt in Media Studies

1. Film is a visual media!
2. Mise-en-scene is the most important aspect of creating a film
3. You communicate across more to the audience through image rather than dialogue
4. Everything in a film has a purpose
5. Using older/ younger people in your film will look more effective than your own age group.

What to do....

Today I was given the brief of the task we have to carry out. We have to create an opening 2 minutes of a feature film in any genre.


This sounds like I could have a lot of fun with this task although it seems like a lot of hard work will need to be done.