Mise- en- Scene Evaluation

Tyree

Task 2
Mise en scene evaluation

For the 'mise en scene' 1- minute drama film, my role in this production was the camera operator and I drew out the storyboards.

The film is about a College student who has just received the open world action- adventure game, Grand Theft Auto V, and he gets attacked and mugged by an assailant. But he gets his revenge.

As this short film was based on true events, we tried to make the look of the film as real as possible, with the use of mise en scene, I think that we achieved in all four areas of mise en scene. These include:

· Setting- our short film was set in a car park throughout the entire thing. The team all decided on this decision because a) we weren't permitted to leave the College grounds and b) it seemed more realistic for the main character to be mugged in a busy car park.

·         Costume- we didn’t have any costumes to choose from to dress the actors, so they dressed in their own clothes, which was fitting seeing as they were playing College students. This also made the short film more believable.

·         Lighting- I would say that the sun light was used to light the short film, it may have also been a bit damp in weather but it looked very good on camera and it gave the short film the exact tragic feel that we were going for, to suit the overall tone of the story.

·         Performance- the actors did very well with their respective performances. The main character (Jazz) acted cheerful and jolly when he needed to, even if it was over the top, but it worked and gave the short a comical feel, especially since the whole film was accompanied by the tune of ‘Adagio for Strings’. Barney as the mugger worked very well, because of the way I positioned the camera, we never see the muggers’ face, only through small glimpses. This is a good effect for imposing characters, and has worked very well for characters like Michael Myers from ‘Halloween’ and Freddy Krueger from ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’, who are always kept in the darkness.

In the final product, I think the four areas of mise en scene work very well considering we had to shoot it in a small amount of time. I would have to admit, though, that I would have shot the main characters’ face a lot more. It is vitally important to show your lead actors face, as he is the main focus. Whereas the main antagonist (the mugger) should be kept hidden from the audience and only seen in full when absolutely necessary.

I also think that the narrative was very clear. With the small amount of footage we got, I think that the short films’ story was paced very well.