Mise-en-scene in Bladerunner 

The scene I believe represents a lot of mise-en-scene elements is the scene Towards the end of the film where Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is in the building and is trying to find and kill Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) and Pris (Daryl Hannah).

In the scene there are lots of examples of mise-en-scene such as set design. As you can see in this part of the scene there are a lot of random and weird objects such as dolls and mannequins which fill the room and give an even stranger impression of Pris and Roys character. It also gives Pris a place to hide which is amusing to the viewer as she is hiding in plain sight and adds suspense because we don’t know when she will reveal herself but we know she is there and Rick doesn’t.

Another obvious feature in this scene is costume. Pris’ costume is representing that of a bride, she also has a skin-tight white suit on the help with her disguise as a mannequin. This costume gives her an inhumane personality.

Hair and Makeup: my favorite use of hair and makeup in this film is Pris’ because it makes her look crazy and deranged, the viewer sees this by her short frizzy hair and pale skin with splodges of colour and eye shadow.

When Rick shoots Pris she lets out a horrifying sound of screaming, This links to my next mise-en-scene feature: sound. The screaming sounds as though it is in the background and Pris isn’t making the noises which give the viewer a sense of her soul leaving her body and it alienates her even more.Another example of sound in this scene is where Roy is howling whilst running around the building, this feature is used because Roy sounds like a werewolf and werewolves are partially human just like the replicants, the howling allows the viewer to differentiate Roy from Rick even more.

The lighting in this scene is very dark, this creates a sense of unease for the viewer as there is lots of shadows and for the most part of the fight scene you never know where Roy is going to appear from. The shadows give this an even more unknowing feel. Although it is dark there are shimmers of light from outside, this allows the camera to pick up the action so that it isn’t too dark for us to see, the rays of light from the outside of the building have a natural sense of light rather than the more obvious choice of having lamps dotted around the rooms.When Rick first walks into the room with Pris and all the dolls it is quite light which gives a safer feel for the viewer, as soon as rick discovers one of the mannequins is actually Pris he gets kicked backwards into a much darker room, this was no coincidence, the director had this done so that the darker room is where the fight happens and this makes the audience more scared.As a part of set design, the whole building seems to be leaking with water, this makes it seem like it is raining, rain is a negative weather and directors use rain to add a sense of unease to their scenes.

Finally, the use of special effects in the final scene create a more brutal feel like when Roy takes the nail out the floor board and puts it straight through his hand to pry it open. Of course, the nail didn’t really go through Rutger Hauer’s hand, in the final cut (2007) the nail going through the hand was edited out because it was too brutal, this shows how good the special effects were in 1982 without CGI. This also adds to the brutality of the scene and makes the viewer even more scared of Rutger because of the lengths he will go to so that he can kill Rick.

What makes a Film a “good” Film ?

A film I believe to be a good film is “Shutter Island” (directed by Martin Scorsese). Shutter island is a dark thriller and has a very elaborate plot that requires concentration, I believe the plot itself makes it a great film as you must pay your full attention to the film rather than doing something else whilst watching an “easy watch” film like Jurassic Park. In conclusion to my first point I think a good thriller film should mean the audience has to give there full attention.

Shutter island is more famously known for its unbelievable twist towards the end of the film where U.S. Marshall Teddy West (Leonardo DiCaprio) is told he is a prisoner at the mental institution and has been for a long time, This twist could never be expected by anyone watching the film as there was so much attention on the girl who had gone missing to distract the audience from suspecting anything. To sum up my point I think films with an elaborate twist are usually great films.

Cinematography is used in shutter island to present Leonardo’s character as firstly being an important and special character compared to the rest because of the close up shots. Later on in the film when the characters mental problems begin to be unfolded, the camera angle changes to a wider shot of Leo signifying he isn’t any different from the surrounding patients or people. Some shots of Leo’s character are filmed from a higher angle and in a circling motion around the character which shows his insanity.

Sound is very important in a film, this can be any noise such as: speech, music or natural noises. In shutter island the use of sound is crucial in the storm scene. The scene is a very loud scene and this is used to unsettle the audience and take there attention away from the fact that the storm isn’t a real storm and that Leo’s character is actually imagining in. Another example of sound in this film is that whenever there is water eg: rain or a tap, the sound of the water is distinctively loud. This links to back to the plot of the film and how the marshals kids were drowned and this memory is embedded in his subconscious mind.

Spike lee believes that only a person who has experienced events or has relation to the events can direct a film based on these events.

For example Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino) is a film about slavery but spike lee says he simply won’t watch it because it was directed by a white man. Django Unchained has won all of these awards but spike lee still believes it isn’t a good film and not worth his time.

Micro elements

•  Mise-en-scene
• Cinematography
• Editing
• Sound

Lighting

In Seven the use of lighting keeps the audience on edge and even in the happier scenes they are still relatively dark and dull. In this scene they are having a meal and they are laughing but it isn’t a bright scene and this reminds the audience that there is still darkness in the film and this is just a small distraction.

Seven :David Fincher (1995)

Set design

In the Zodiac, a lot of the film is shot inside the newspapers office where the 2 main characters work, I like how the film is focused on the paper rather then the police station like most murder related films. Also in the office there are papers scattered everywhere showing the chaos of the situation. During the scenes in the office the audience can be at ease knowing this is the safe environment and then it will skip to another murder scene

David Fincher

Costume

Alice wears a dress throughout most of the film which gives her a sense of vulnerability and allows the audience to sympathies for her.

Tim Burton

Inquirers: Should inquire about learning new things and trying new things out of curiosity.

Knowledgeable: To research and explore issues and current affairs.

Thinkers: To go deeper into detail and notice the finer things in film such as sound.

Communicators: Students should be great communicators with others and their teachers, great communication is very important as it helps with knowing what you want to do, what you should do to improve etc.

Principled: is respectful towards peers when working together in group work

Caring: They show empathy and compassion towards others in the project and help to brighten the mood in the environment and ensure that everyone is working happily on the project.

Balanced- You need to be balanced in this subject, so that you can balance how and when you’re doing work, with what the audiences what, but also with what you want to make in a film.

Open-Minded: Students should be Open-Minded; they must be open to different options and techniques that could help them with their work.

Art

Toy story,  (John lasseter) as it is an animated film that would have required a lot of cartoonists work

A bug’s life,(John Lasseter)  It Is also an animated film so required animating and cartoonists.

The Wizard of Oz, this is an art film because it is a made up reality and has a strange and unique story line.

Fitzcarraldo – Dir. Werner Herzog, march 4 1982, Adventure

Mainstream

Dead pool 2; although there is a lot of CGI in this film it also has a very mainstream appeal because of the genre (action) which appeals to a very large audience.

Historically significant

The Breakfast Club,(john Hughes) this is a significant as it came alongside the song “don’t you (forget about me)” which became a very famous song.

The Shape of Water, this film was awarded Oscars for: best Picture, best director (Guillermo del Toro), Best original music score and best production

Manhattan,(woody Allen) the romantic film got a BAFTA for best film 1979