Preliminary Exercise 4: Analyzing Mise en Scene

 Define what is "Mise en Scene"

Good morning(or night) everyone! Today, I am continuing my research with Mise en Scene. For this assignment, there were 3 parts of this task, Section A: Vocabulary, Section B: General Information in a Film, and Section C: Mise en Scene. My group and I used the horror comedic movie "Scary Movie" directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans to complete this task. The theme that this film is illustrating is to show silly ways to view horror movies. 

The filmmakers start the movie off with a "Scream" parody. A girl, (Drew)gets a call from a serial killer who is actively watching her and trying to kill her. She gets run over by her parents and then gets stabbed by the killer.

The filmmakers introduce the elements of mise en scene by showing us the characters acting, and the characters hair and makeup. We can also see the setting, which first started out at Drew's house and then ended outside. 

The mood of this opening scene is comedic. The filmmakers are telling all these jokes for comedic value. 

Section B

General Information of Film
Film Title: Scary Movie 1	Media Institution Name: Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, HBO Max, iTunes, Apple TV, and Google Play
Film Studio (s):  Wayans Bros Entertainment Gold/Miller Productions Brad Grey Pictures Dimension Films	Director: Josh Boone
Year released: 2000	Genre and sub-genres: Horror- Comedy Horror
Cost of production (Budget): 19 million USD	Box Office: 278 million USD
A brief synopsis of the film. Three lines max. in your own words. (3 marks): Scary Movie is a mixed parody of the movies “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” and it also involves some aspects of many other films. The movie is about a group of friends being killed by a masked serial killer after killing and disposing of a random person’s body. With funny actors like the Wayans Brothers and Regina Hall, this movie has a 6.3 rating and was considered one of the funniest spoofs ever.

Section C

Setting
Definition- The time and/ or place the narrative occurs in.
	Setting is……………. ·        It predominantly takes place at an average, contemporary High school, small town, as well as, outside of the school’s campus at the main cast’s homes.
	Message:
	·        The message of this imagery is to allude to typical iconic horror film settings, such as the “Scream,” horror franchise.
	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence: ·        The setting’s mood is casual, and a bit unsettling.
Location (Where and geographic description): Takes place in the fishing village of Stevenson Harbor, Vancouver (High school’s setting), Richmond in Viginia, British Columbia, and in Canada.
Time Period: The year 2000
Time of Day: While some key events of the film took place during the day, most of the story’s climax occurs at nighttime.
Culture/moral values of the setting: The setting is reflective of popular, early 2000s, American culture.
Job title: Director
Acting
Definition- The art of human representation or interpretation of a character within a media production.
	The acting is……… ·        Comical, light-hearted, quirky, and unsettling.
	Messages:
	·        The acting indicates to viewers that this film is satirical, and parodies the horror genre
	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence:
	·        The mood of the opening scene has a humorous, and unsettling tone.
Character portrayed: The main antagonist-Ghostface
Character appearance: Tall, skinny, male, wears a comedic Ghostface mask, and a long, black cloak that covers his entire body.
Character actions: Ghostface, who is responsible for murdering mature teens in the film, is found predominantly stalking and following his victims (the main cast) throughout the movie.
Facial expressions and body language: Goofy, relaxed, surreptitious and subtle
Voice quality/ tone: Deep, masculine, stern voice
Job title: Actors
Set Design: Décor and Props
Definition- Creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery.
	Set design (décor and props) ……. ·        Small town, modern homes, Ghostface mask, weapons, simple, and contemporary.
	Message:
	·        To represent typical, early 2000s American society and youth
	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence:
	·        Casual, familiar, and neutral
Décor:  Beige-colored walls, rusty, old doors, modern furniture, concrete sidewalks, greenery landscapes
Props: Ghostface mask, doors, fruits, fast food, weapons, park lamps, and benches
Job title: Production designer, and set decorator
Costumes, hair, and make-up
Definition- Works in tandem with costumes to bring characters style alive.
	The costume is….   ·        Early 2000s, American, trendy teen streetwear and fashion   The hair and make-up are   ·        The cast is portrayed with Afro-textured hair hairstyles, and straight, wavy hairstyles reflective of their current society’s trends. The makeup is natural.
	Message: ·        To characterize not only popular culture’s fashion at the time, but to allude to the usual teen wardrobes, based on their archetypes, seen in shows
	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence:
	·        Natural, nude/neutral colored, conventional, and a bit quirky
Costumes: Dresses, skirts, long, baggy jeans, puffer jackets, sneakers, kitten heels, jewelry, hairclips, and hair ties
Hair: Straight hairstyles, and Afro textured styles
Make-up: Natural, subtle makeup
Job title: Costume designer, and Makeup artist
Lighting
Definition- guides the eye to a specific actor, prop, or part of a scene. Lighting reflects the psychology of characters.
	The lighting is ·        Dark, reflective, shadowy, glowing, blue/white lighting
	Message: ·        To indicate imminent danger, death, shade, and seriousness
	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence:
	·        Sinister, intense, mysterious, and eerie
Light Direction: From the front, and sides of the screen
Light Source: From street signs, lamps, projector lights and television screens
Light Quality: Low-key, and dim quality
Job title: The Gaffer (lighting technician)
Composition
Definition- refers to the way elements of a scene are arranged in relation to each other in a camera frame.
	The composition is ·        Average, slightly old, middle-class architectural styled homes, street signs, benches, and tall, block, beige-neutral color palette buildings.
	Message:
	·        To reflect how modern society is generally shown in film, to create a familiar, usual tone
	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence:
	·        Nostalgic, relatable, and causal/neutral
Framing Balance: Balanced, repetitive, and proportional frames
Depth of Field: The zoomed in objects are the building’s signs, and the farthest are the windows and background characters
Focus: The focus is on the building’s brightly illuminated signs and icons, as well as its posters, building shapes, and doors
Job title: Director
Color
Definition- is used to set the tone of a scene before any of the actors have even uttered a word.
	The color is ……   ·        Predominantly dark colors such as black and blue, with some white, and dark red shades
	Message:
	·        Signals uneasiness, blues are associated with coldness, and death, as well as mourning
	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence:
	·        Dark, void, unsettling, unfamiliar, danger, and suspenseful
Dominant Colors: Dark Blue
Meanings of colors: Mysterious, depth, ominous, frightening, suspense
Job title: The Colorist (color designer)

 Reflection

To sum up my thoughts, The activity's objective was to understand how each part of Mise En Scene impacts the visual messages in a film. We chose a movie and inspected the movie's elements of Mise En Scene. Then, we used a word document to put the vocabulary, the general information about the film, and the elements of mise en scene of the film. My teammates and I split the work, so that each person would have to complete one section. It was an easy process for me at least, since all I had to research was basic information about the film. I used my computer to do this assignment, and I would say I'm an expert at using this.

In this task, I learned a lot about how you can utilize mise en scene in an actual film. By doing this, we can apply the knowledge we learned to our own films. Thanks for coming by! P is calling it a day.