MISE-EN-SCENE Megan Bird

INTRODUCTION In this post I will be discussing the Mise-En-Scene elements which we have had to consider which will be featured in our film opening. In order to do this I will be using CLAMPS to determine what type of costume, lighting, actors, make up, props and setting will be effective in our film opening. Costume Lighting Actors Make up Props Setting

COSTUME Child

The child will be smartly dressed, wearing a dress, the dress will be a pale colour this connotes innocence which

does not follow the generic conventions for this genre as typically the characters are dresses in dark colours. We want her

to look as if she has come from a good background so that the audience will not expect her to be wearing a extraordinary

mask at the end.

Mother

The mother will be dressed in her pyjamas or mismatched clothes, she will be wearing these

clothes to show that she isn’t concerned about her appearance, she is more worried about the

whereabouts of her daughter. Her clothes will look like she has thrown them on so if she has a shirt on

it will be buttoned up wrong. The colour of her clothes will not match and they will be relatively neutral as we don’t want her costume to draw

attention away from her characters emotions or feeling.

LIGHTING The lighting throughout our film opening will mainly be natural lighting. We intend to film this at night where there will be

minimal lighting, this follows conventions for the genre. In some scenes we will use lighting on top of the camera to light up

important areas so that it isn’t completely dark. The house we intend to film in is

derelict so there will not be any lighting. The artificial light we intend to use will fit with the scene and won’t look out of place so that there will be continuity. We intend to use natural lighting to give a realistic feel to the film making it easier to relate

to for the audience.

ACTORS We have 2 characters in our film opening and we have cast people who would suit the roles. We have cast a five year old girl to play the child, for the role no acting experience is needed as we only need a few shots of the girls face with a mask on, back and feet. The young girls body language will be closed and she will be rocking in the corner of a room. When we film her walking up the stairs she will walk slowly grasping onto the bannister. We have cast a 16 year old female to play the role of the mother, we feel she would be able to portray the distressed mother anxiously searching for her daughter. The woman we have cast for the mother has previous acting experience and has gained a B grade at GCSE in drama. During our film opening we are going to get the girl playing the mother to act distressed and emotionally sensitive. He body language will reflect her emotional state so that the audience will be able to empathise with her character.

MAKE UP & HAIR The child will not be wearing any facial make up as her face will be covered by a mask. Her hair will be neat and tidy with a bow in it. This connotes the child’s innocence before she was possessed. We decided not to use make up on the child as typically children don’t tend to wear any make up and we also thought it would be creepier if she had a mask on, fitting with generic conventions.

The mother will have natural make up on as she will have been sleeping before she realised her child was gone. She will have eye bags to show her tiredness. Her skin will be marked with scratches and mud as she has been searching for her child in the woods for a long time. She will have sweat on her face to show that she is worn out. Her hair will be un-brushed to show she doesn’t care about her appearance and she just wants her child back. Her look will connote how distressed she is and how all she is concerned about is finding her child.

PROPSDuring our film opening we will be using minimal props as we do not want to take away from the storyline. We will be using a sign written in Latin, by using the Latin language it adds a mysterious edge to the film opening and it makes it more enigmatic for the audience. We will also be using a mask on the child’s face, we decided to hide her face behind a mask which is only revealed at the end of film opening so it adds to the enigma of who is that girl? And why is she here? What is she doing? By using the mask it means that the audience would want to watch the rest of the film to watch the story unveil.

SETTING The setting for our film is a derelict

manor house surrounded by woodland. We chose this setting

because it fits with generic conventions for this genre. It also has items which have been left in

the house from the previous owner which makes it look used. There is an old swing set outside which will be useful as there is a child hiding in the house. The house is easy to access as it is only 12 miles away from where I live meaning I don’t

have to travel very far.

CONCLUSION To conclude through using CLAMPS I believe that we can create an enigmatic and disturbing atmosphere for the audience and also bring out the characterisation of the actors through their costumes, make up and acting skills. I also believe that the setting, props and lighting add to set the tone of our film opening as they fit the conventions of our genre and also create a distressing atmosphere along with the other elements in CLAMPS.