Mise-en-scene

In the scene or in the frame - "mise-en-scene" has five key elements and they are: 

1. Settings and props 

2. Costume, hair and make-up 

3. Facial expressions and body language     

4. Lighting and colour 

5. Position of characters 

The mise-on-scene used in "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" has been well thought through and has made the film a huge success. There are certain settings and props that The Hobbit would need to have because its genre is fantasy. This means that the producers of the film need to be creative in order by setting the scenes in remote places and the props that are used such as swords and arrows need to be created so that they fit in with the genre.

The costumes used in The Hobbit have been designed to perfection for all of the characters. This is so that each character looks appropriate for their scenes. The costumes are designed by highly skilled costume designers so that they suitable for each character. Costumes is a major part of The Hobbit because the film is a fantasy so it means that the characters cannot just wear ordinary modern clothes, but they have to wear unique and mysterious attire.

Facial expressions and body language is also a key element for mise-en-scene and this is because if the actors/actress' are not able to fit into the role of their characters then that ruins scenes and bad scenes ruin the film. In The Hobbit there are many different types of characters such as dwarves, orcs and elves. It is easy to make all the characters look convincing, but if they're unable to act in a certain way then it ruins the film.

From the trailer we can tell that the producers have thought and selected the actors and actress' that they think would be able to play the characters in the film well. The actors/actress have done well to fit in with their characters as some characters are are weird and have some challenging things to do throughout the film.

Lighting and colour is used so that when filming the action that is happening appears clearer on camera so that when it is edited it makes it easier for the editors to put it together and spot any mistakes or errors that need to be removed. The lighting and colour in The Hobbit is different in some scenes because sometimes the shots are out in the open which means that natural light is used and in other scenes they have to make their own light and set it up in places where it'll be most effective. 

The positioning of characters needs to be convenient and fitting with its scene so that the film does not look rushed and unprofessional. Also by having the characters in the correct positions it helps the film flow better. The director of The Hobbit has done a great job in making sure that all the characters are where they should be because when watching the whole film it makes us, the audience, understand what is going on and it keeps us engaged with the film so that we don't go off track and get confused about the plot.

Sound Filming Excercise

In our sound filming exercise we were familiarizing ourselves on ways to use different sound techniques. Unlike our cinematography filming exercise we came up with a short horror story. We did this because we felt that in horror there are many different types of sounds involved and we were able to think of ways to include them into the sequence. Having planned our story it meant that when we went out filming we wouldn't have to rush and we could have attention to detail.

   

We had difficulties with the boom and that affected our sound exercise because we were unable to cooperate different sound techniques into our short sequence. As well as that the camera that we used was not very good so that is why the finished piece came out with bad quality.

"North by Northwest"

North by Northwest is a 1959 American thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film is about an ordinary businessman who is mistaken for someone else by a group of foreign spies and is chased across the country while he looks for a way to survive.

"North by Northwest"

In the crop duster scene there are different aspects that we can analyse and they are camera work, editing and sound. These different features contribute towards the genre of the film. Alfred Hitchcock said; "thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action". This is true because the different types of shots used in the sequence, the type of editing and the sounds used give this effect.

For example in the crop duster sequence the camera work varies. The scene starts of with an establishing that establishes the country and shows how vulnerable Mr Thornhill is and has nowhere for shelter or anywhere to escape. Straight after there are point of view shots and medium shots. They keep switching and this gives us the idea that Mr Thornhill is confused and how isolated he is. There is also a tracking shot for when Mr Thornhill tries to get cover. 

The editing used in the short sequence is basic but has a big effect. The scenes are constanty changing and it starts off with long takes with staright cuts. These then develop into short takes and the speed of the switching changes and becomes faster as Mr Thornhill gets into trouble, however whne he finds cover and the tension decreases the switching of the scenes slow down and become longer teakes as he is safe. The frequent scene switching could be used to portray Mr Thornhill's heartbeat in the tricky situation that he finds himself in. 

The crop duster sequence has diegetic sounds because all the sound that is being made has a source that the characters can hear and see and the audience can see too. There is paralell music played at the end of the sequence where the tank of a lorry blows up and this adds to the effect of Mr Thronhill's scary and weird situation because the music has a fast pace to it and this is a good opportunity for Mr Thronhill to make his escape. 



Crop Duster scene: Mr Thornhill being
chased by a plane.

Alfred Hitchcock said that he wanted to transfer the menace that appeared on screen into the minds of the audience. What he meant by this was that he wanted the audience to feel the distress that Mr Thornhill was going through as he was trying to survive whilst being pursued by a group of foreign spies. 

Cinematography Filming Exercise

On our short cinematography filming clip our group decided to experiment with the different types of camera techniques. 

In the short clip (below) that we produced we used a medium shot and a long shot to show that the character was walking away. Then we used an over the shoulder shot to portray a conversation. In the middle of our short clip we decided to use pan to show the whole area that we were working on and towards the end of our clip we used a low angle and high angle technique.

The improvements that we could've made are that we should've agreed on a simple story line that we could've followed. This would've helped us a lot because we could've involved more camera techniques such as tilt, close ups and point of view shots. We did try and involve an extreme close up shot, but because we failed to have a story line we couldn't cooperate it into our short filming exercise.

Genre

There are many different styles of music and films and they are all classified by their genre. In each genre you can expect to see or experience different events or hear different types of tones used. This is because there are many different types of genres. In the film industry there are many different types of genres and here are some examples:

- Comedy 

- Action

- Sci-fi

- Fantasy

- Horror

- Thriller  

A specific genre can inform someone of what is going to be involved in a piece of music or film. For example, movies that keep you on the edge of your seat and make you jump or give you that "want to look away" felling, would be categorized into the genre of horror. However, movies that tangle with your emotions are listed as romantic films. Within genres there are sub genres and they are like divisions within that specific genre. For instance, if a films genre was comedy the sub genres would be; cringe comedy, sitcom or romantic comedy.

Brief

Foundation Portfolio: The Brief

You have been asked to produce the titles and opening sequence of a new fiction film in the thriller genre.

The sequence should last a maximum of two minutes.
You may work in a group of 2 - 4 students.
As acting is not assessed you are free to use actors that are not members of your group.
The film is worth 60% of your coursework grade.
The accompanying blog is worth 40% of your coursework grade

Together the Foundation Portfolio is worth 50% of the overall AS Level.

Welcome to my blog!

Hello my name is James Chege and welcome to my blog.