AS91491media+studies

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The Study of the construction of meaning in media forms

TASK ONE Have you studied narrative in level 1 and 2? http://filmmiddleschool.wikispaces.com/mise-en-scene go to here for an introductory read on Film Directors

check out style in the vocabulary of some key film genres Here is an early DRAFT of a student work on three mise-en-scene elements in the film BELLE

Point 1.

You are clear on mise-en-scene? It is a discussion of the aesthetic decisions of character performance, costume, set and props within the film fr ame

http://newmedia-senior.wikispaces.com/film+narrative

Here is a Student exemplar for an A. Read up narrative study again. This exemplar refers to bullet point one and 2

//Belle// is a 2013 film written by Misan Sagay and directed by Amma Asante. //Belle// is about a young woman named Dido Elizabeth Belle (also known as Dido Belle Lindsay) who was born in 1761 to a black woman and a white Navy officer of high breeding. Once John Lindsay discovers his daughter, he takes her away from her life as a slave to live with his family as a free gentlewoman in Kenwood House near London. She was the sister-cousin and playmate to Lady Elizabeth Murray who was also in the care of Lindsay’s uncle, and Lord Chief Justice William Murray. In passing years she becomes entangled with the case of the //Zong verses insurance company//, a real life event of the murders of slaves arriving in London, and the white son of a vicar who is fighting for justice for the slaves.

**//Mise-en-scene//** One performance I think really stood out for me is when Dido realises that the London house has black maids. This takes place about half way through the film when she is finally starting to question her place in society instead of just going along with what her family tells her is correct and proper. At first she refuses to look at and speak to one black maid named Mabel, and the audience can’t quite understand exactly what is going through her mind. She looks like an uppity madam when she does this and it came across as confusing. Why would she act so cruelly to a black maid? The answer to this comes when Dido is brushing her curly hair and the maid asks if she needed assistance, to which Dido ignores her again. But the maid asks again, telling her that her type of hair is easier to brush from the bottom up, showing that their hair is of a similar type. I believe this was Dido feeling guilty about her societal standing, being a woman of colour and also a woman with a title and money, while most women of colour were either slaves or servants living nowhere near as well as Dido does, but when Mabel smiles and helps her, she realises that she doesn’t resent Dido for her great fortune. You can see the great psychology behind Dido that Mbatha-Raw brings to life. She wants to see the maid and understand how she herself has had great fortune in life, where the former is only a maid, but she also doesn’t want the maid to see her looking, perhaps out of fear of appearing as if she is staring, or fear that Mabel might see the great conflict going on inside her. The lighting in this scene is also very important as the candlelight gives it a curiously warm tone, but the nature of her emotions is quite the opposite of the colour. One thing that does happen very nicely is that the tone of the lighting matched with the rich golden walls and red bedspreads and black shadows is that Dido and Mabel fit in the set. Both of their colourings seem to shine out of the dark of the set.

The set was obviously made for them in mind, them being the main focus in this particular scene. Even though Elizabeth is also in this scene, she doesn’t look as flattering in this colour palate. For darker and copper colours the best matching and complimenting colours are red, brown, gold, and certain shades of green, and with pale skin tones, blue, purple, and silver are more flattering. So while Dido and Mabel are complimented beautifully in this set, Elizabeth looks a little less complimented in this scene.

//Lighting// Lighting is used very carefully in this film. Being a period piece the lighting had to be of only three forms- Sunlight, candles, and lamps of oil or gas. The sun is the most interestingly used in my opinion, because we see at the very start of the film we’re introduced to a gloomy London we often see in film. It looks monochrome, dull, and devoid of colour. However when John Lindsay rescues Dido from her former life, the world bursts into bright sunlight and colour. When she is at Kenwood House her lighting is bright and she wears beautiful bright pinks and blues, it also reflects her carefree life of ease a gentlewoman. But once she reaches London, and once the case of the //Zong massacre// comes out the lighting becomes darker and more gloomy to reflect her growing doubt that her uncle will rule the case against the //Zong// the right way, and the world as a whole around her becomes less of a beautiful fantasy and more of a dark reality of poverty and slavery that has been hidden from her for so long,. As a child she knew she was different, but her love of her family was stronger than her doubt at her position in society. All throughout the London scenes with it’s dull and cold looking, sometimes raining, with mud and grime all around.

Lighting example 2. Here is an interview with the cinematographer for the Grand Budapest Hotel

http://www.indiewire.com/article/wes-andersons-dp-robert-yeoman-on-bringing-the-grand-budapest-hotel-to-life-20150104?utm_source=iwDaily_newsletter&utm_medium=sailthru_newsletter GRANDE BUDAPEST HOTEL> GOLDEN GLOBE. BEST PICTURE 2015

You are clear on TASK ONE?