GENERAL CONVENTIONS 6: Mise-en-scene for exposition

My influences

• lots of set dressing is a really effective way of providing exposition without using clumsy dialogue - posters, props, graffiti, incorporating diegetic sound (eg a radio broadcast/ocean waves)
• a level of quirkiness?
• use framing to show how character is feeling
• a voiceover?
• something set in the past or future could be really fun to create through mise-en-scene (scifi?)
• What I don't want to do is use up time resources where I don't have to: in The Wicker Man, filming was pushed into autumn, but the film was meant to be set in spring/summer, so they attached leaves and flowers to trees in most of the film (I applaud them for so adamantly insisting on creating high verisimilitude within the diegesis, as the season was quite a big part of the plot, and attention to detail is something I want to continuously incorporate, but I want to be as practical as possible and this seems excessive)

Summary

• set dressing, props, lighting(high/low-key?) (Submarine, Need fro Speed, This is England)
• Makeup (Baby Driver)
• costumes and iconography (Baby Driver, This is England, Submarine)
• accents and sound (This is England, Submarine)
• exposition v narrative enigma, also subverting expectation/body language (Mean Girls, Baby Driver, Need for Speed)

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Vodcast

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RESEARCH(MINE):
Baby Driver

There is. lot of overlap here with my post on central protagonist and narrative (link to post here)

•  In the very first shot of Baby Driver the name of the city is visible on the wall of the bank

• 2 of the largest parts of the narrative are introduced in the first 2 shots: driving and music

• The costumes provide exposition to both the narrative and the characters:
• The protagonist's shirts gradually become darker as the film goes on (first is white, last is dark grey) - this iconography is mean to show how he does increasingly immoral things as the film goes on
• The black and white jacket could also show this conflict within the character, as it also contrasts with the almost all-black costumes of his 'crew'
• The glasses are used repeatedly to show that he is 'blinding' himself to crime, also contrasts with the other members of the crew who only remove their glasses once they have left the crime scene



Baby Driver  screenshot showing costume

• The long black coats, leather gloves and heavy bags of the 'crew' make it clear that the plan is to rob the bank
• Make-up work has been done to give the protagonist scars on his face
• in the narrative these are not actually linked to his involvement in crime, but the audience will likely assume that they are
• also narrative enigma - where/how did he get them?
• The character 'Buddy' leads the group into the bank
• shows he is the leader/of higher status than the other 2
• you would think that because he is the leader that he would have the seat next to the driver, but he is seated in the back to show that he is with the woman (very subtle and you probably wouldn't pick up on it on initial viewing, part of the director's attention to detail)
• Shot of the 'crew' entering the bank through the car window, next shot is medium-closeup of the protagonist's face
• always cuts back to the main character, shows his reactions, doesn't follow the main action (subverts expectation)
• After the protagonist sees his 'crew' fire guns in the bank, he very quickly turns his head away and tightens his grip on the wheel
• shows his aversion to the violence, also subverts expectation as he then immediately begins lip-synching and it seems as though it was all part of the choreography

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Submarine

• Submarine has an eccentric amount of set dressing for mis-en-scene in the opening shot
• The typewriter and polaroids on the walls show it is set in the past
• the props (eg the skeleton) suggest that this is a child's room - is actually the room of an odd teenager so this adds into the character
• posters covering the walls and lots of books - show the character is educated and a bit quirky
• Lamps everywhere opposed to high key lighting (which is expensive and glamourising) - representative of institutional background of the film (low budget indie)

  

  screenshot showing set dressing

• The framing of the character in the shot (awkwardly cramped in the corner) shows how he is awkward an feels out of place
• The duffle coat looks a little like a pea jacket
• it isn't a Louis Vuitton jacket - signifies middle/working class background
• uses and gratifications theory - identification 
• link to the sea

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This is England

The first shot of This is England provides a lot of exposition and creates some narrative enigma

• Exposition:
• the walls show decay and connote poverty
• the alarm clock radio, lamp and picture are placed on a chair, rather than a bedside table - further signify this
• Also signified by the uncool heavy wool jumper on the radio
• 2 inter titles tell us the year and that it is the last day of school
• the protagonist whacks the alarm clock to turn it off, as if telling Margaret Thatcher to shut up
• The small room, low-key lighting and non-glamourising appearance of the protagonist (ginger, in his baggy underwear, being teased for wearing bellbottoms) signify low-budget indie social realism
• graffiti 'Maggie is a twat'
• The bike outside the house isn't chained up but isn't stolen - shows that this is a working class community
• the accents also tell us where it is set
  

  

  This is England first shot

non-glamourising shot of protagonist

• Narrative enigma:
• the photo on the chair - who is it?
• this is resolved later on through dialogue
• we only see bits of the protagonist (his hand, the back of his head) before we see his face

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RESEARCH(SAM'S):

Usually, movies starts with Narrative Enigma and later on exposition is provided. However, often they provide exposition using mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene is coming from French and basically means "put into the scene". In other words, they describe the objects within the frame. It is divided into four general areas: setting, lighting, costume, and staging.

Setting:
The setting creates a sense of place/mood and it may also reflect a character's emotion. The setting can either be entirely created in the filming studio or filmed on-location.

Lighting:
It is one of the most important aspects of movies. It sets the atmosphere and mood. you find high and low-key lighting. Because one of the biggest issues in filming it to film during the night (low light). It's very hard for the camera to pick up on quality and light that's why you're going to have a lot of distortion or noise in the image. Low-key lighting uses natural light to shoot and High-key lighting is using external lights to fill e.g. shadows or shots which aren't bright enough.
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This is an example of high-key lighting for the movie Harry Potter

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Costume:
The most easily noticeable aspect of mise-en-scene is the costume. It can include both makeup or wardrobe. It's used to signify a character's personality or working class.  The costume is also an important part to signify the time in which the film is set as well as to advertise the fashion at this time.
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I took the example from This Is England. The costume they are wearing signifies that the movie is set in the 60's.

Staging:
The cast can make or break a movie. Basically, it is the actor's duty to bring their character to life within the framework. As well as the emotion/expression of the actors dictates how strongly the audience feels about the film.

Submarine (2010):

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• it starts with a panning shot of the room 
• it provides exposition for the protagonist just using items set within the frame
• 00:24 you find a few reading lamps and a lot of books, posters which signifies that the protagonist is really into reading
• in the same frame, you see that he made his bed and everything is organized which connotes that he likes it tidy
• using low-key lighting (only the lights of the room)
• non-diegetic Seabird sound which signifies that the protagonist must be living somewhere near the coast/beach
• 00:41 a typing machine on the desk which signifies that he is a writer
• 00:52 telescope and solar system which could signify that he likes to study the solar system
• 00:57 a high angle and the protagonist sitting in the corner looking out of the window into the sky connotes vulnerable, weak and deep thoughts 

Drive (2011):

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• a map on the table connotes that the protagonist studied it
• he made some plans 
• very little items in his room which make him ghostlike
• old and small TV connotes he isn't rich and telephone book under the TV
• or this could also anchor that he is in a hotel

Need for speed (2014):

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• 00:19 starts with panning shots of the central protagonist with his family which signifies the close relationship
• pictures of him in go-karts
• a lot of car toys
• a lot of racing trophies
• this anchor that the protagonist is a racer and really into motorsport
• the fact that he has still got pictures when he was younger connotes that he is attached to his past