MISE EN SCENE
AIM: Within this section I will be defining the term mise en scene and analysing (in terms of the mise en scene) a clip from the three films "Modern Times" by Charlie Chaplin, "Ill Manors" by Ben Drew and "Connections" by Steve Oram and Nick Lear. I will also explain and illustrate the typical conventions of each genre in terms of mise en scene.
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this page the reader will be provided with a definition of mise en scene, an explanation of mise en scene, denotations and connotations of the mise en scene and an explanation of how I have implemented these conventions in my film.
DEFINITION: Mise en scene can be defined as an arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play or movie is enacted.
EXPLANATION AND A LIST OF WHAT MISE EN SCENE COMPRISES OF: Mise en scene comprises of location, set, lighting, costume and character movement.
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this page the reader will be provided with a definition of mise en scene, an explanation of mise en scene, denotations and connotations of the mise en scene and an explanation of how I have implemented these conventions in my film.
DEFINITION: Mise en scene can be defined as an arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play or movie is enacted.
EXPLANATION AND A LIST OF WHAT MISE EN SCENE COMPRISES OF: Mise en scene comprises of location, set, lighting, costume and character movement.
MODERN TIMES
DENOTATIONS AND CONNOTATIONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE GENRE CONVENTIONS IN TERMS OF MISE EN SCENE : The location of the clip from "Modern Times" is a factory. The factory used in the film is larger than life and simpler than a typical factory of the times. For example the machinery is twice the size of what is normally found in a factory. The connotations of setting the film in a factory is that the film focuses on working class and the industrial
element of society. A factory could also connote the introduction of modernity because the factory represents technology. The fact that the machinery is large
and simple creates a sense of comedy. The machinery conveys the genre of a physical comedy because like the character movement, the set is
exaggerated.
Like in most films, the location represents the social elements of the era or class it is portraying; therefore Modern Times conforms to this genre convention. Modern Times specifically looks at the way the common man is a slave to technology. This is conveyed by the setting in the scene below. In the scene below the machinery is moving too quickly for Chaplin and the other factory workers. This enhances the comedy of the film, and constructs a reality rather than represents one. The fact that the machinery is moving too fast for the workers comically portrays the takeover of technology. The reality here is being constructed because typically in a factory, the workers would have control of the technology not the other way round. Specifically in this genre, the films main focus is the working clas and the location reinforces that.
element of society. A factory could also connote the introduction of modernity because the factory represents technology. The fact that the machinery is large
and simple creates a sense of comedy. The machinery conveys the genre of a physical comedy because like the character movement, the set is
exaggerated.
Like in most films, the location represents the social elements of the era or class it is portraying; therefore Modern Times conforms to this genre convention. Modern Times specifically looks at the way the common man is a slave to technology. This is conveyed by the setting in the scene below. In the scene below the machinery is moving too quickly for Chaplin and the other factory workers. This enhances the comedy of the film, and constructs a reality rather than represents one. The fact that the machinery is moving too fast for the workers comically portrays the takeover of technology. The reality here is being constructed because typically in a factory, the workers would have control of the technology not the other way round. Specifically in this genre, the films main focus is the working clas and the location reinforces that.
These images show explicitly how simply Chaplin's set was in comparison to a real factory.
As you can see, the image above shows a factory. This factory has been constructed for the film to enhance the comedy. If compared to the image of a typical factory of the time, I can infer that the machinery is a lot simpler in Modern Times, the workers are dressed ccomically for example their trousers are hoisted high up their waists and lastly due to the shadows on the ground, it is clear that there was a use of very bright artificial lighting.
Chaplin's character represents a working class man, his the fact that he works in a factory and costume shows this. Chaplin's character makes fun out of the dominant ideology through his character movement. Typically within a physical comedy, the character movement is exaggerated and silly. The movements generally consist of dancing, pointing gestures and silly facial expressions. These movements are generally used to position the audience in way to laugh at the upper class. Take the example from the clip below. Within this, Chaplin dances around the factory while squirting oil in everyone's faces. In terms of reality, this scene implies the fact that the working class has the ability to run rings around the petite bourgeois.
The image above demonstrates a clip from Modern Times, where Chaplin is positioning the audience to laugh at the petite bourgeois by dancing around them and squirting oil in their faces.
The costumes portray a divide within the society and thus create a hegemonic structure (which is the separation between classes, in other words there is a dominant ideology or the petite bourgeois and an inferior ideology or the working class). The workers are in work attire for example overalls and the owners/business men are dressed in what looks like expensive suits (as shown in the image below). These costumes deviate from the typical costumes of a physical comedy as the protagonist (The little Tramp played by Charlie Chaplin) would typically wear a suit, a bowler and as a prop would have a walking stick. From my research, I understand that Chaplin's famous character would typically wear the costume mentioned previously. However this film deviates from a typical Chaplin film in terms of costume because the attire reflects the class of the characters at hand. In addition, the costume constructs a reality rather than reflecting one because the workers have their trousers hoisted up for comedic affect, whereas in a normal factory they would be dressed appropriately for work.
The image above demonstrates Chaplin in his work attire, which consists of pin stripe dungarees and a white t-shirt.
The time of day in which it is set seems to be during the day around midday. I have come to this conclusion because when Chaplin leaves the factory, the sun seems to be shining quite brightly. However, in contrast to the outside, inside the factory the lighting doesn't change. This seems to be because the windows are frosted. The implications of this could be that the factory owners don't want their workers to know what time of day it is and can therefore have them work for long hours. Typically, the lighting within physical comedies is bright and artificial. The bright lights would typically make the films seem more theatrical.
In terms of the character movement, within the clip below there is a reversal of the normal relationship between humans and machines. For example the scene below shows the protagonist (charlie chaplin) being fed by a machine, this is comical because typically humans feed themselves but in this clip, the human is relying a machine to feed them. Furthermore, the character movement is very fast and frantic. An example of this would be in the clip below where Chaplin fights to keep up with the machinery, his movement is out of control, this adds to comedic element of the film because in a normal scenario of a factory it would be quite a uniformed and assembled atmosphere. Furthermore, this particular character movement makes the audience sympathise
with the working class, which physical comedies of the time would generally do.
with the working class, which physical comedies of the time would generally do.
The image above illustrates the typical "assembly line" which occurs in a factory.
EXPLANATION OF HOW THIS LINKS TO MY FILM: Within my film the location will reflect the social elements of my protagonist, similarly to Modern Times. The three protagonists will be hoodlums or gang members, this reflected through the graffiti on the bridge and the location of an estate, this way I am conforming to the typical locations of a social comedy. In terms of lighting my film will be in black and white. Hopefully, it will be a grey day to create the dark atmosphere of thefilm. The costumes will be baggy track suit bottoms and hoodies. The character movement within my film will be exaggerated and a quite fast. In terms of class, I will be showing a dominant ideology (the police) and an inferior ideology (the gangsters), thus I will be conforming to the typical conventions of a social comedy. However, I will not be using any form of artificial lighting to exaggerate my character movement.
ILL MANORS
DENOTATIONS AND CONNOTATIONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE GENRE CONVENTIONS IN TERMS OF MISE EN SCENE: Typically within british social realist films, the location consists of a run down council estate (which is used to reflect the class of the characters, however not the status of them), the location is also used to reflect the mood and atmosphere of the film, which is quite dark and dramatic, it could also be a reflection of the narrative because by the end of the film everything collapses. Within the film Ill manors, the director, Plan B, conformed to the typical conventions of a social realist film in terms of mise en scene by using his locations as a reflection of the films content and narrative, for example in the scene below the location is a prison. This location reflects the narrative of the film because it is a downfall narrative. The main locations of the film are a prison, a drug dealers home, outside a council estate and a drug den, as the films content revolves around the lives of drug dealers, I have come to the conclusion that these locations reflect that. The constant motif in terms of location is the prison, this is implying a circular narrative because no matter what the situation, they always end up in prison.
The lighting within this film is mainly natural lighting, however as a lot of the drug dealing is done secretly, there is a use of street lamps at night. Within this, there is an implicit meaning, the fact that this scene is set at night, it gives the film a dark atmosphere. In addition, the genre of the film is British social realist drama, and the fact that a lot of the film is shot at night creates the dramatic sense of the film, whereas the day light reflects the realism of the film.
The costume typically reflects the stereotypical attire of someone who lives in a council estate. For example, hooded jackets and tracksuit bottoms. Once again the film Ill Manors conforms entirely to conventions of a British Social Realist film in terms of the costume. Furthermore, by looking at the characters costumes, the audience can immediately identify the class of the individuals. In addition, the film's target audience can relate to the costumes because it's everyday attire.
Lastly the acting. Typically the character movement of this genre consist of something mischievous. The character movement within this film reflects the
issues at hand. Take the scene where a woman is injecting herself with drugs, the womans facial expressions, body language etc show the effects the drugs are
having on her. This reflects a dowfall narrative.Typically, in this genre, the actors are prodimenently black males. This is explored slightly in this film because it is mainly an all male cast however this film explores actors of all ethnicity's.
issues at hand. Take the scene where a woman is injecting herself with drugs, the womans facial expressions, body language etc show the effects the drugs are
having on her. This reflects a dowfall narrative.Typically, in this genre, the actors are prodimenently black males. This is explored slightly in this film because it is mainly an all male cast however this film explores actors of all ethnicity's.
The acting style, unlike Modern Times is naturalistic, this is because Ill Manors is reflecting a reality that people of that class or in that situation can relate to. As previously discussed, Ill Manors is a British Social Realist, so the acting style impacts the commentary of the film. By this statement, I mean that Ill Manors comments on the life of young working class British individuals who are trapped in a cycle of drug dealing, the acting style then impacts this because it is naturalistic and therefore easy for people to relate to.
EXPLANATION OF HOW THIS LINKS TO MY FILM: Within my film the location will reflect the social elements of my protagonist. The three protagonists will be hoodlums or gang members, this reflected through the council estate in the background, this way I am conforming to the typical locations of a British Social Realist film.
In terms of lighting my film will be in black and white and it will be filmed in the day so their will only natural lighting used. I am hoping that the day I choose to film
will be quite gloomy and grey to then reflect the mood of the protagonists. In contrast to Ill manors, my film will not be filmed at night because it is a comedy not a drama. I am conforming to the typical costumes of this genre because the stereotype the individuals. However, I will be deviating for the stereotypes of this film genre because I have a prodimenently white cast and the protagonists are female, therefore they don't reflect the typical stereotype of gangsters in their looks.
In terms of lighting my film will be in black and white and it will be filmed in the day so their will only natural lighting used. I am hoping that the day I choose to film
will be quite gloomy and grey to then reflect the mood of the protagonists. In contrast to Ill manors, my film will not be filmed at night because it is a comedy not a drama. I am conforming to the typical costumes of this genre because the stereotype the individuals. However, I will be deviating for the stereotypes of this film genre because I have a prodimenently white cast and the protagonists are female, therefore they don't reflect the typical stereotype of gangsters in their looks.
Connections
DENOTATIONS AND CONNOTATIONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE GENRE CONVENTIONS IN TERMS OF MISE EN SCENE: Within the film Connections there are two main locations, a bar and the antagonist's house. The bar is'nt evident necessarily through the set, however the use of props for example lager connotes the location of a bar. In addition, there is a use of narration which exemplifies the location of the opening of the film. For example, "It's three in
the morning and I'm leaving another bar". Furthermore, the antagonist's house is represented through a white door with the house number "180", a doorbell on the
door and an illustration of the location through the use of narration. For example, "I'm ringing his door bell". Also, the interior of the house has family pictures on the walls, DVD's on a shelf and a sofa, which all connote the location of a house.
the morning and I'm leaving another bar". Furthermore, the antagonist's house is represented through a white door with the house number "180", a doorbell on the
door and an illustration of the location through the use of narration. For example, "I'm ringing his door bell". Also, the interior of the house has family pictures on the walls, DVD's on a shelf and a sofa, which all connote the location of a house.
The first image shows the prop (the drink) which connotes the location of the bar, the second shows a door which connotes the location of the house and the third photo also does this because it shows the DVD's which are in the house.
The film is set early hours of the morning. This is clear because once again of the narration, "it's three in the morning". In terms of lighting the time of day is clear because of the use of street lamps and the fact that it is dark.
This image illustrates street lamps which support the time in which the film is set.
The protagonist is wearing a white shirt, tie and trousers. From this, I can infer that the protagonist may have gone to the bar after work, and from this it becomes clear that he had a bad day at work possibly. The antagonist is wearing a long trench coat which gives him a sense of mystery. Lastly, the antagonist's wife is wearing a floral night gown and curlers in her hair. This also partakes in the representation of the time as well enhances the comedy of the film.
This image illustrates the protagonist's, the lady's and the "mystery man's costume.
The character movement from the protagonist enhances the comedy because it is very exaggerated. I think the director used this to show the fact that the character is drunk and all the events he partakes in his because of this. An example of this in the film would be during the opening when the protagonist is leaving the bar. He is falling all over the place and cannot walk in a straight line. The characters actions for example sleeping with his mouth open, the very act of entering someone's house without permission and watching a dvd etc make this film a comedy.
This image demonstrates the actions the protagonist does throughout the film, which supports the fact that he is drunk.
EXPLANATION OF HOW THIS LINKS TO MY FILM: Within my film the location will reflect the social elements of my protagonist. The three protagonists will be hoodlums or gang members, this reflected through the graffiti on the bridge, this way I am conforming to the typical locations of a social comedy. In terms of lighting my film will be in black and white and the costumes will be baggy track suit bottoms and hoodies. I am deviating from a physical comedic costume however in terms of social comedies I am completely conforming to the genre because the costumes reflect the social background of the protagonists.