Introduction
Hi and welcome back, the last couple blogs we’ve been researching our genre’s conventions, in this blog I will finish my conventions research by researching the mise - en - scene of sport dramas.
What is mise – en – scene? Its everything you can see in a moving or print text. For example, lighting/color, setting/location, props, costumes/dress/makeup, acting/movement/ performance. With that said lets get this ball rolling!
Performance
A characters performs entails how their body language and facial expression influence how the audience perceives them and responds to them. It can also signify their psychology and role in the unfolding narrative.
In a sports drama, the characters performance needs to portray emotion that shows high stakes and in some case pressure, I want my protagonist to show the emotional and physical tow of gymnastics, especially being so pushed into the sport by parents so my main character might walk into the gymnastics with their shoulders lowered but might immediately fix her posture as she passes by her trainer because she has a certain image to portray, this will also show the audience that she cares about how she is perceived though she doesn’t feel like the strong gymnast her peers and trainers see her as.
This picture shows a girl walking with her head down, a tired expression, and shoulders down with arms on her hips to stabilize herself because she is tired. This is a great example of how important body language is because so much can be learned about this girl from a picture where she isn’t even moving or speaking.
Another aspect of performance that will be important for my film opening is the protagonist flexibility, different charters will have different physical needs in terms of finding the right actors but for our main character, the young gymnast we will of course have to ind a flexible person who is already a good gymnast, luckily we already have a girl in mind to be our gymnast, a girl from my friend Noemi’s gym. She’s the most talented gymnast there and were excited to work with her.
Performance also contributes to mise-en-scene through proximity and blocking. Proximity entails how close a character physically is to another character in a shot or scene, this can help the audience make inferences on the characters relationships. For example below I have put two pictures, the first is a group of children sitting closely showing that they have a closer relationship then the adults in the second photo because their spacing and distance shows that they do not have close relationships with each other and might have just recently met.
Blocking on the other hand is how a director instructs their actors how to move and where in relation to the camera, this is important because it helps to direct the audiences attention and can influence how the character is portrayed to the audience along with identification and empathy. Below I have an example of this from “The God Father”, blocking is used in the scene to create dominance over the god fathers subjects and his son is strategically placed in the back of the shot because he wish to overthrow him.
Lighting
Though I’ve discussed lighting before I would still like to go into its relevance with mise-en-scene and later on I would also like to research color theory but not in the blog. Moving on, lighting is important because of its affects the mood and atmosphere, it is also used to influence the audiences perception of characters, including the psychology of a character, lastly lighting can also help draw attention to something and display significance. Notably, this can be done using different types of light that I haven’t previously discussed.
First of all, key lighting is the main source of light in a scene, the main use of this is to direct the audiences attention so for example the main character will likely have the key lighting. Here is an example from a gymnastics film where you can see that the key lighting is drawing attention to the gymnast.
Next we have high-key lighting, this a bright light that doesn’t let an shadows show, this lack of shadows can make scene feel hopeful or positive, almost dreamlike or idealistic. Here are images that compare high key vs or low key lighting.
Low key lighting is the opposite high key lighting, this lighting creates shadows making scenes feel more mysterious and foreboding.
In between those two we have chiaroscuro, this type of lighting is a contrast between light and dark in a scene, this creates a very dramatic and harsh shadow, here is a picture below that shows this.
The last lighting I would like to show is natural, I’ve spoken about this before but it’s the natural light from the scene, creating realism.
Location
The location or setting of a shot helps set the atmosphere while establishing time and place for the story. The location is import because audiences are contusiones to interpret locations in a specific way. The setting can also be a real set like outdoors or a real school or it can be a constructed set in a studio. Below I have some picture examples of a creepy hallway, there’s nothing specifically wrong with it but our brains just associate it with a weird and Erie feeling. The second and third photos show real sets and constructed sets.
Props
Objects or decorations on set can all add meaning to a scene depending on the how other methods add emphasis to the thing, techniques like camera work or lighting can create this emphasis or the props can be incorporated into the story by dialogue or performance. The picture below shows a light saver (the prop) being used in Star Wars.
Costume And Makeup
Costume and makeup are very important because the aid the audiences perception of the character’s, it can provide insight on: age, culture, personality, status, mental state, and even occupation. In my film opening, the costume and makeup must be fitting of a young gymnast, meaning they need to fit the style, shape, and overall look we need for the film, below are some examples of the gymnast look were aiming to portray.
Conclusion
This concludes my mise-en-scene blog post. This research has been very helpful in imaging my film and understanding what I need or want to include. In film, every little detail is determined and analyzed by the director and that’s what mise-en-scene is all about, the little details because they can be much more important then they seem. Next blog will be a comparative analysis of two sport drama openings, I’m not sure yet what two films Ill use but I know I’d like them to be spot dramas on gymnastics. Below I have some useful links you guys check out but that’s all for now so till next time and thank you for reading!
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/mise-en-scene-elements/
https://collegefilmandmediastudies.com/mise-en-scene-2/
https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/introfilm/chapter/mise-en-scene-ii-lighting-color/
https://www.filmmakersacademy.com/glossary/mise-en-scene/
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