Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Mise-en-scene



You can start watching from 7:25
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kUp6YobNEk



         I chose one of the final scenes in Luky Number Slevin, where the entire story essentially comes together. 
         In this scene, the two mob bosses, The Boss and The Rabbi, are tied up without a clue of why and by whom.  The mighty descend of Slevin from the spiral staircase, which belongs to The Boss, dictates an authoritative tone.  A spiral can also be seen as a turning point; namely one in which the tables have turned. The dimly lit room speaks of a mystery air that frightens more than it pokes at ones curiosity. 
         The close-up of The Boss and of The Rabbi portrayed the exasperated looks on their faces.  The scene began with the two waking up in The Boss’s main room.  The director, Paul McGuigan, used close-ups to focus primarily on the individual faces of the two mob bosses to emphasize their fear and confusion.  
         Once the two realized they weren’t alone, they began talking at each other, which is where McGuigan changed to a medium close up to capture the profiles of both the bosses and to express the cumulative fear in the room.  And just as the The Rabbi and The Boss realize neither one is to blame for the recent deaths on both ends, Slevin made his way into the shot and McGuigan used a long shot to capture the mighty descend.
         This changing up of shots, from smaller to larger, was a build up of the situation.  From focusing to one face, the director moved to two people’s faces, and finally to a long shot with a spiraling staircase, Slevin, and the entire free space Slevin had before him.  This much room is also helpful in portraying the liberty that Slevin had over his victims; where he had plenty of unfilled space, they were virtually immobile due to the rope that was binding them to their chairs.
         An interesting transitional element incorporated into the shot where Slevin made his descend was a fading into the scene. As Slevin walked down the stairs, the fire burning in the fire pit slowly appeared in the transparent background, bringing light to his prevailing position.  Also, visible in the background, were the terrified faces of the two mobsters who were now the defenseless captives.            
         This powerful scene, though at the end, was very well done and essentially tied the missing pieces together.  


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kUp6YobNEk

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Mise-en-Scene Assignment

Theme: Thomas Hunter

Here are a collection of shots my teammates and I took in Thomas Hunter.
The song in the video is by Coldplay, titled "Fix You"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcxWzgTKKb4