Construction of mise en scene
- 1. Construction of the Mise en scene
- 2. Location 1 Props- For this first location we have decided to use it as it represents the urban feel, with young protagonists being able to match the young and urban dream that many teenagers have and also that music videos are able to represent through stereotypes. This mise en scene includes a small amount of props but with great detail when it comes to the walls, floor and added finishing touches. We have not used many of our own props but included those that were originally there from nearby cafes and St Nicholas Market. Lighing-For this location we have made sure that there is a use of low natural lighting to match the mood of the scenes filmed at this location. We needed there to be low light to match the feelings/emotions of the male protagonist and it helps to show how his life is portrayed. Costume- The costume that will be used for this location will be fairly casual. With the main protagonist wearing dark black jeans with small rips on the knees and a burgundy bomber jacket. We have chosen this costume to go with the mise en scene as the style we have chosen is more urban and rustic with many young teenagers wearing a costume similar and being able to relate to the actor. We have also chosen a hipster outfit to be worn by the second male actor, with this including a denim jacket, Vans and black jeans. This also relates to our genre due to there being a large use of denim within electronic rock music videos. Colours -The colours that have been included are there to represent the mood once again. All of the colours included have connotations of a bleak and dull life, this is due to the location being filmed on a damp and dull day which has helped to support our protagonists emotions. We do have some bright flowers in hanging baskets to represent hope for the actor, showing how he will have happiness at the end of the video. Make Up-Here we have decided not use any make up on the actors to make them look washed out and stressed to match the emotions of our main protagonist, we do not want him to look perfect as this does not go with the electronic rock genre but is more stereotyped around pop music.
- 3. Location 2 Props- For this mise en scene we have decided on keeping it simple to make sure the focus is on the female protagonist. This has meant that the this location has been kept original without us adding any props apart from the protagonists gym bag and phone. Costume- We are going to use a stereotypical outfit for the female protagonist which will include a ballet dancer outfit with lace up ballet shoes or jazz dance shoes. This will meant hat she is represented as a stereotypical girl with a perfect life with the camera being focused on her for most of the shots. We will then use close up shots to show her emotion as well as long/straight shots to show her dance moves, with the additional use of 180 and 360 degree rotations around the female protagonist. Make up- For this detail we wanted to make sure that the female protagonist has make up on that is obvious to the audience. This will include dark eye make up using eyeliner or having the effect of the Smokey eye. This will be shown in a lot of detail and will also maintain her stereotypical role as a girl and how women are represented in many music videos. A the end of the music video however, there will be a use of water to smudge her make up and will appear to be created through her being upset/ crying. Colours- the colours that are going to be used are very important. This is due to the colours holding information and connotations of certain feelings and moods to create an atmosphere for the music video. We have decided to use light pink/purple colours to represent the feminine side of her life and also use a dark gym back with more masculine factors to show how her life will change later on in the video. The colours around our female protagonist are meant to contrast with her outfit to make her stand out. This is done by using light and plain colours such as beige and white in the mise en scene. Lighting- The lighting that will be used at this location will be artificial and bright to show how she is happy and represent her happy life, this goes with/matches her emotions, with the lighting being less bright as the narrative structure starts to take a turn for the worst. This is an important factor when wanting to create a certain atmosphere for the audience when wanting to relate to the mise en scene and also this artificial lighting helps to live up to conventions of electronic rock music with there being the use of performance from the dancing and also previous music videos including bright lights to make the world look artificial.
- 4. Location 3 Props- there is a small use of props within this location because we want the audience to see this as a plain setting where the two protagonists meet. This mise en scene is based upon the characters and that is where the focus will be at. The only use of props will be those previously placed in this location, not by our crew. This will show a more realistic location for the audience. We are going to use a lot of close ups and extreme close ups of emotion and the protagonists doing up their coats or adjusting their costumes. We are also wanting to use this location for the meeting/passing of our two main characters which is an important part of our music video. Costume- Here is where they are going to meet and this is why we need to make sure that the characters are recognisable by the audience in this different location but using possible different costumes. The female protagonist may change her costume depending on how well it looks having her walking in a different location in a ballet dancing outfit. It may look more realistic and relatable if she is then filmed wearing different costume to her original attire. Lighting- The lighting that is used will be a mixture of artificial and natural. This will be because there is a dark amount of natural lighting which at the point in the music video when the female protagonist will need to be represented as unhappy so this lighting will be able to show her mood and create an atmosphere with the artificial lighting being used to produce a brighter side for the male protagonist. This will show a contrast between the two but using the same location. Colour- we have decided that the colours used within this location are very suitable when wanting to show a contrast as there is a contrast between the dark brick effect on the walls and the light vanilla colour, one showing happiness and one showing the opposite to this. The colour of the costumes will be kept neutral, with the male protagonist using his original costume but with the female actress changing her costume to match the change in her mood for example she may be wearing darker colours to represent her mood and also show the audience that something dramatic has changed, e.g. switch In the narrative. Make up- for this location there will be a use of make up only on the female protagonist to make her look a certain way. We are wanting to use make up to demonstrate her distressed emotions when it comes to her lifestyle and the bullying that has occurred in a different location by a group of girls. The audience will be able to relate to this type of event with bullying being a large problem with many young people.
- 5. Location 4 Costume- There is going to be the same use of costume for this mise en scene from location 1.This is because it maintains only being the main male protagonist, with a female actress that is shown both at the beginning and at the end of the music video. This is important when making sure that there is a costume change for the female actress who will later play the male protagonists girlfriend. She will be wearing black jeans and a light pink long sleeve top in this location with it varying later on in the video. Props- Here there will be a use of props we will include as well as natural ones, there will be the use of trees which will be included when shots are showing the actors meeting. We will add props such as a black bag to be the catalyst for the meeting/confrontation between our male actor and his later girlfriend as the dropping of the bag will lead to them meeting and being in each others lives. Lighting- here we are going to have natural lighting to make the location look bleak, this has been achieved when filming on a dull , cold and drizzly day. It will mean that there is a atmosphere created for the audience, with the lighting matching the lyrics in the song and how the male protagonist feels. This location is matching with the narrative of our music video and suits the genre, with rock and electronic videos being rather dark. Colour- The colours used are there to show the audience different perspectives and how they can create connotations. The colours used within the mise en scene are natural and this includes green, beige, grey, black all leading to connotations of bleakness and dull feelings. This is able to represent the narrative of the story including the confrontation between our main male actor and his later girlfriend, with them both wearing a lot of black too. Make Up- The make up used will be natural with the female actress wanting to look naturally pretty, with the use of heavy perfect make up being a convention of more pop style music genres, not the correct genre for our music video. This is an important asset as the audience will not be able to hear the couple so the actresses appearance is very important, almost one of the most important parts of the make up and costume of our music video .
- 6. • Attract, appeal and entertain the audience The audience is the main focus when it comes to creating a professional and successful music video. This can be done through research into the correct target audience and also finding out what they are interested in and how they would be entertained by the music video. We conducted some research through a focus group to make sure that there have been factors suggest included within the video we have created. There is a large emphasis on the two main actors one male and one female who show the opposite sides of life when it comes to everyday life and big lifetimes events. This has been solely based around the use of mise on scene with there being 4 different locations. These locations have been picked down to the interests of our audience and what they would like to see. So we have chosen to use mostly urban settings to describe someone who is under stress from their job/study which is shown through the male actor. There is a large majority of our target audience living in urban areas so using this type of location for the video will make it easier for them to relate and look up to the location to live in, in the future. The locations are there to entertain through the use of quick edits and fast shots being able to maintain all focus of the audience with the location being packed full of information to create a desire to watch again. • Represent the band/artist The original music video for our chosen song of AWOLNATION’s Sail is rather dark and there are lots of use of high edits, fast cuts and a lot of information for the audience to be watching. In the music video we wanted to maintain the energy that the original video creates, and so we have used the original as inspiration including the use of slow motion, dull locations and also the use of bleak and faded colours to relate to connotations of unhappiness, which follows the meaning of the lyrics also. We have wanted to maintain the bands original image of being different and quirky and we have tried to do so with such wacky shots and the way we plan to edit the flow of the video. • Communicate the genre of the song We have used many conventions from the rock and electronic rock genre, mostly based around the lighting and costume side of things. This is because when watching a rock music video they tend to be the factors that are emphasised and changed the most depending on the narrative. So for our lyrics we have taken the idea off using a dark and dull mise en scene, relating to the genre, to perform the lyrics through our male actor. He will be looking into the camera for this part which is seen in rock videos. We have also included the use of ripped and dark clothing to use as a convention from the rock genre. This means that we are able to maintain the idea that will be put into the audiences head if they were to listen without the video. Very stereotypical. • Communicate a narrative message There is a large focus on narrative within this music video and there is a lot of emphasis that the location choices have had on the way in which the audience will view this storyline. We have decided to base our video around a sad/emotive storyline which will be shown through the use of dull mise en scene, quick cuts from the camera movement, costumes that look dark and ripped, make up that looks smudges and the maintaining of natural and dull lighting. All of these factors will help us to showcase our narrative with it being based on the contrasts of life and we have used these factors to make it more than obvious to the audience what is happening. • Create a mood/atmosphere For the creation of the mood and atmosphere there has been a focus on the lighting and also the emotions on the actors faces. We have been able to do this by changing the location regularly, with there being an obvious contrast to between the girls life and how her mise en scene reveals and showcases her mood which then makes the atmosphere correct for her role in the storyline.