Research Activity 1:
Can you describe how the elements of Mise-en-Scène in the following scenes?
- Settings & Props
The first scene: the sign on the door reads: Co-ed, all species, basic chemistry, etc., which allows the audience to understand, at a glance, the location and background of the story happening.
The second scene: the chemical reagents and drugs on the table, the periodic table and the chemical element model in the back clearly show that this is a chemical laboratory, the chemical reagents that constantly react, let the audience know that it has a certain danger. The notebooks on the desk indicated that they needed to record the experimental information in time. But the materials posted on the back, the posters and the ecological model on the left make the audience confused. Why so much biological information? But it also shows the audience that they are doing very complex chemical experiments.
The place of two groups of experiments were separated by a shelf, indicating that they were separate groups, and the Blue Fox hold a lighter in his hand, and the Mole walked in with a box, indicating that their experiment had just begun. The disarray of equipment in the Mole’s box showed that he was a careless man.
The ball on their table was blown off by the blast to show how powerful the explosion was.
- Costume, Hair & Make Up
The male fox is dressed in white, indicating that he is a clean, neat and meticulous person
Female fox wearing little flower skirt, the pattern on the skirt and her face spots are very harmonious, let us think she is really a very beautiful fox
The blue fox, wearing a blue shirt, was thin and gentle, in sharp contrast to the Mole in size and strength; His blue eyes and blue clothes made him very handsome and suave
The Mole wore an orange sweatshirt, indicating that he love sports and was a careless and powerful man
The glasses on their face also played a very important role, it can let the audience understand the chemical experiment is very serious and dangerous. Meanwhile, it also have the effect of the props. When the chemical explodes , it played a protective role, the glass turned to be yellow,also reflected the power of the explosion. The female fox use it to cover the spots on her face, this is also a very important part in the story.
- Facial Expressions & Body Language
At the beginning, the female fox looks out of the camera, which tells the audience that there was something outside the lens that attracted her very much. The male fox was focused on the chemical reaction intently, he’s saying magnesium and he’s got a pen in his hand, ready to record, which means he’s very busy. This very simply tells us what they’re doing, and the relationship between two characters. The female fox is his partner. The performance of the character is progressive. The male fox, called once, the female fox slow half clap, He was a little impatient at this time, the male fox called once again, the female fox did not respond, at this time, the male fox impatient to snap his fingers, the tone has become higher. By the third time, the male fox was in an emotional outburst and asked her what she was looking at. There was an obvious emotional progression between the three times of taking things, which promoted the development of the plot to be reasonable and natural.
The blue fox looked at the female fox tenderly. Meanwhile, the Mole came in with the box and put the equipment down heavily. It was obvious that he was a careless man, and the Mole was in a strong position in their relationship.
The Mole made fun of blue Fox’s clothes, and said he dressed like a girl. By making gestures with his hands, he vividly explained what he was talking about. The Mole grabbed something and put it in the reaction cup. When it exploded, he laughed. This shows that he was reckless. Blue Fox, very calm, steps out of the frame to get the fire extinguisher. Even though it is not shot, but the audience has already imagined the whole action in their minds.
The surprise on the female fox’s face and the jealousy on the male fox’s face indicate that they are paying attention to the experiment next door
The blue fox fanned the smoke with his hand, can not help turning to see female fox looking at him.
The female fox praised the blue fox that his ears is beautiful. The blue fox looked very shy and praised the female fox that the spots in her face is beautiful. At this time, the female fox generous leak out the spots in her face and chat with blue fox . The male fox, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and finally interrupted them. These details show that the blue fox and the female fox are attracted to each other, which makes the male fox a little jealous.
In the last shot, the male fox angrily turns his head to show that he is indeed jealous and angry. The performance and emotional expression of these character are very vivid and accurate.
- Lighting and Colour
The first scene: there is a light directly hitting the door, while other corners are dark, and the texture on the wall is hard to see. This is because the director wants to show that the information it emphasizes, that is the information on the sign at the door. Lighting in the core place leads the audience to see what the director wants them to see. Where there is no information to convey to the audience, darken, reducing the audience’s attention.
The second scene: a darker ambient light is given on the whole, and there is a bottom-up light at the chemical reagent and the book. These two lights emphasize that the chemical reagent is reacting and the reaction data needs to be recorded. The background plate, the chemical reagent behind it, the chemical element model all were given seperate light by the director. These props are what the director wanted to emphasize, which can show the characteristics of the environment.
The third scene: There is a special highlight to show the explosion. After the explosion, the flash of light is also very natural.
The forth scene: There is a light from top to bottom, give a person a kind of anacreontic, full of the feeling of surprise.
The color of the film: the main tone is yellow, orange, and dark red. The highlight is yellow, the shadow is dark red, and the transition is orange. The overall color is unified, even if there are many props in the picture, it will not make the picture messy, and the overall color collocation is coordinated. Part of the reaction reagent and flame are blue and green, while the male fox and the blue fox wear white and blue, which are relatively outstand in the overall color. These are the point that the director wants to distinguish from the overall environment color in color and want to emphasize, but these colors do not disrupt the overall tone.
- Positioning of characters/objects within the frame
Using the rule of thirds is used to locate the position of characters and the key message the director wants to convey. The symmetrical balance was also applied in the scene.
- What role does the shot choice (Cinematography) play in the scene.
The first shot is a parallel mid – range shot that emphasizes both detail and shows location，which allows the audience to understand, at a glance, the location and background of the story happening.
The second shot is a parallel mid – range shot , with the two character performing in the same frame, reflecting the relationship between the characters and introducing the environment in which the story takes place. After that, the camera panned to the right, indicating that the blue Fox was in the same space as them. They are on the right side of the screen, so that the audience could clearly understand the position of each character.
The third shot, like the first shot, is a parallel mid – range shot , with two character acting in the same frame, reflecting the relationship between the two characters ,and the environment in which the story takes place. The camera then panned to the left to show the emotions and reactions of the two characters on the left.
The fourth shot is the close-range, side shots, the main object is the blue fox, look at his facial expression and reaction, to show the audience his inner activities.
The fifth is the close-range, side shots. The main object is female fox. Look at her facial expressions and reactions to show the audience her inner activities.
The sixth and seventh shots are both close-range, side shots. Compared with the front shot, the continuous close-range side shots show a closer relationship between two character. In the seventh shot, the female fox is in the foreground and the male fox is in the back, and we can clearly see his facial expression in the far corner when the female fox is talking. According to his faical expression,he has something to talk. After that, the shot cuts back to the mid-range shot, and the lens connection process is natural and smooth.
Research Activity 2:
Can you describe the mise-en-scene in this picture? How are the characters placed in the frame?
There is a half-opened suitcase on the left; a pair of slippers beside the bed; a red-brown carpet,;two bedside tables; very neat and flat bed sheets; a corner of the head of the bed has been folded in and there is a small card showing that the bedsheet has been cleaned. This scene clearly shows that the background of the story is a hotel and they have just arrived the hotel.
The man wears a black sweater coat; gray shirt; grey hair; brown pants and have some wrinkles on the face. The lady wears a deep pink sweater coat; colorful shirt; grey skirts ; neck with a necklace and has a long hair. Although she looks younger than men, but the wrinkles on her face and couples sweater coat, shows that they should be a pair of husband and wife.
They lay side by side on the bed, their hands on their bellies, staring foolishly at the ceiling, their faces unhappy. They looked, a little tired, like people who had travelled a long way and had finally had a moment’s rest.
In the scene, there is a dark ambient light, and in the nightstand, there are two highlights to simulate real hotel lights. In the middle, there is a relatively bright and soft light hits the faces of the two people, highlighting the focus of the picture.
The overall color palette is dark red and yellow, and the overall lighting is soft, creating a warm, healing atmosphere.
The role is placed in the center of the picture, partly symmetrical but partly asymmetric. Panoramic shots are shot from above, and detailed but presentation of facial expressions and body parts can very clearly reflect the inner activities of the role.
Research Activity 3:
- Can you describe the relationship between the characters?How do we know what the relationship is?
The two of them are supposed to be in a master-servant relationship, with the hostess on the left and the butler on the right. Their relationship can be seen in their clothes, their hair styles. The woman on the left is dressed in gorgeous, beautiful, fashionable clothes, with a string of jewelry around her neck. Her hair is a very popular lady hairstyle at that time in that period, and you know that she is relatively wealthy. The woman on the right, dressed in black overalls with a white bow in front, her hair tightly tied up, was the standard look of a butler at the time.
- Can you describe how the mise-en-scene works together to tell us what the relationship is?
But their relationship was not harmonious. The mistress looked up at her with expectant eyes, but the housekeeper stood erect, businesslike, with a face of denial and contempt. She stood at a higher level and embodied her power. Most of the light fell on the hostess’s face, expressing her hope, but very little on the housekeeper’s face, indicating her indifference and refusal.
Research Activity 4:
- Can you describe the mise-en-scene in this picture?
There were dark yellow buildings on both sides of the road, and in the sky, there was a jumble of high-voltage lines. The pedestrians on both sides of the road, except for the girls, were all men. They wear white hats, long beards, and clothes in gray or dark colors. These all show that she’s somewhere in the Middle East. The girl looked back vigilantly; the left hand tried to wrap oneself more tightly; the right hand tightly grasped the package; the girl’s eyes were full of panic, as if worried about what dangerous things. These all give a person a kind of nervous feeling.
- What type of shot is it?
It’s a medium shot.
- What is the camera angle?
It’s a horizontal front shot lens.
- Where is the character located in the frame?
The character is in the middle of the frame, slightly to the right, to make the frame partially symmetrical.
- What is she wearing?
She was wearing a grey-green dress, a red towel and a crossbody bag
- What is the depth-of-field?
It is a shallow depth of field.
- Describe the colour palette?
The main colors of the painting, dark brown and dark yellow, show the repression of the environment. Only the girls’ towels are red, highlighting the main characters.
- Describe the lighting?
There is a bunch of sunset on the left, slanting on the girl’s face, so that we can clearly see her facial expressions and movements, highlighting the inner activities of the protagonist. Overall, there is an ambient light, but the light is dim, resulting in a lonely, tense and depressed atmosphere.
Reference:
1.Wes Anderson. 2015，Fantastic Mr. Fox-Chemistry. Available from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhVA4NBWbC4
2.Hitchcock, A. 1940，Rebecca. Available from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLRMrb6NvmA。
3.Charlie Kaufman ，2016，Anomalisa. Available from: