Blog 10 - Mise en scene

This is a French phase, which means put into scene. It is an expression used to describe the visual arrangement of a production. Mise en scene concerns props, lighting, costumes, and background. In essence, it is everything we see on stage, in an image or film. The mise en scene helps create a sense of realism.

My video was set in three different locations; on the seafront, in a house and on the street. These locations were selected because the target audience might hang out in these places with their friends.

The seafront is the sort of place a teenager might take his girlfriend. It is private, picturesque and is of course free of charge, as this group has little money being at school / college or out of work. The seascape provides different connotations. It looks beautiful when it is calm and the sun is shining on it reflecting a warm romance. On the other hand, when the clouds roll in and the sea roughens up, it reflects an angry, traumatic state of mind, which is perfect for the narrative of the song. Using this location, I was able to evoke the feeling of loneliness as the boy looked out to sea and to capture a sense of smallness and vulnerability against the wide-open backdrop. I used minimal props in the scene. The actors wore typically casual clothing favoured by teenagers including, trainers, hoodies, T-shirts and jeans. I tried to use clothing as a distinguishing feature between the “bigger” and “smaller” boy reflecting a difference in taste and wealth.

I used the house because this is typically a place teenagers socialize. In this case, it was a warm and safe environment. A teenager’s bedroom is their territory. The props in the bedroom-included computer, bed, posters on the wall, cuddly toys (common in a girls bedrooms), magazines and make up. Teenage romance is often short lived and an experimental process. The girl has the upper hand in the relationship.

Finally, the street scene was filmed outside a school. Streets are often described as being concrete jungles, which has connotations of animal like behaviour. This is very true of inner city backdrops. I used a street scene to portray an active, busy environment. This is the place the bigger boys steals the heart of the smaller boys girlfriend. He picks her up from school in a car out side the reach of the smaller boy. The idea here was to show that the bigger boy was more powerful during the contest for a mate. I chose a type of car, which is typically driven by young teenagers. Driving represents independence and freedom, adventure and perhaps sophistication valued by the teenage girl in the scene. The smaller boy cannot compete and has to accept defeat and lick his wounds. I also tried to convey the nasty side of teenagers. I showed the bigger boy and the girl mocking the smaller boy, once again highlighting animalistic tendencies. This depicts a cruel world. The use of the car was a vital prop, which helped convey the storyline. I propose to shoot the video outside the school gates as the lyrics indicate that the girl missed lessons to be with the bigger boy. This provides a strong link between the words of the song and the cinematography.