Film & TV Language: Mise-en-scene

1) Find a distinctive still image and write an analysis of the mise-en-scene. Use each of the aspects you've learned in the lesson.

                                                        

This still image is from the movie 'Annabelle'. From this image I can tell it comes under the genre horror due to the use of very dark colours and the very dull lighting. The border of the image is very dark which puts a lot of emphasis on the lighter object in the middle of the picture which is the main aspect of the image. The actor as such is a doll and from the image, you can tell that the makeup on the doll is not very bright or neat which implicates the purpose of the doll is to be scary. Use of the rocking chair as a prop also adds to the creepy genre of the film, because rocking chairs in horror movies are generally depicted as spooky. 

  2) Find three film or TV extracts on YouTube from different genres (e.g. horror, sci-fi, costume drama). Embed them in your blog post and write a comparison of the mise-en-scene in each.

Throughout the trailer, the distinctive features of the clown such as the stark white makeup on its face, the fire yellow eyes and the red marking under the eyes all contribute to the horror aspect of the movie; the makeup allows the audience to remember this characters features even after watching the movie as it is very exaggerated. The use of the red balloon a prop through the duration of the movie is very significant because the balloon represents the clown, reminding the audience that whenever they see the balloon in a scene, they know something is going to happen which builds suspense for the viewers. At the beginning of the trailer, the lighting is very bright which contracts the genre of the film, however, as the movie clip continues, you see the lighting getting darker which in turn foreshadows the nature of the movie. In terms of setting, the use of the gutter where the clown heads is very effective because no one really knows that's in gutter when you go further down, which leaves a lot of imagination to the viewer.

Similarly, the movie 'The Grinch' also uses special effects makeup to create a unique character, however, this is a fantasy/comedy based movie where as 'IT' was a horror. The lighting is very dark which creates suspense because in the scene he is addressing the fact that the little girl has come into his area and the fact that he looks scary makes the audience question what he is going to do. The little girl is very short compared to the Grinch which empathises shows that the Grinch the main character that the director wants the audience to focus on. Compared to 'IT', the movie is not as scary due to the fact that the Grinch is made out to be scary which his minimalistic makeup and no costume. Also, the little girl in the clip is always smiling/laughing which suggests to the audience that do not need to be scared, where as 'IT' portrayed the children as very scared linking to the genre of the movie.

   

In this final clip from 'Cinderella', there is a lot of flashing lights and bright colours which adds to the magical theme of the movie. At the beginning of the scene, Cinderella is wearing rags which the Godmother then transforms into a sparkly blue gown; this is effective as a fairy-tale because it makes little children feel as if they can feel and dress as a princess too if they wear sparkly big gowns. Compared to the other two clips, this is a fairy-tale/romantic movie, which is shown through the elegant makeup of the two women and use of golds and silvers of the props.