Research in to mise-en-scene miss Georgiou

In this blog I will be researching mise-en-scene of a 2-3 minutes long clip of 'Kill Bill'.
Mise-en-scene is the the french term for 'in the scene' which means the things the scene contains.
This includes the following:
-Settings and Props:
Settings and prop are quite important. Although the main focus are on the characters, the back ground increases the expectation of the film. In films the settings and props are carefully thought out and detailed to emphasise the genre. E.g. in a thriller the props would be dark, broken and dangerous.

-Costume, hair and make up:
The costume, hair and make up informs the audience of the date it is set; whether it is set in the present or past century and the culture. They also display the characters personality, attitude, job or status. Before a character uses dialogue the appearance give us a prediction of how we would imagine the character to act and to speak. 

-Facial expression and body language
The facial expression on the character allows us to know how he or she is feeling in their current situation, or their emotions towards another character. E.g. A guilty character would have their eyes darting side to side, avoiding gazes or others; contact overall.

-Lighting and colour

The lighting informs us of the time of day and the weather. E.g. bright lighting means that it is sunny which would mean it is warm or hot. The lighting also sets the atmosphere e.g. in thrillers the lighting is dark to create an eerie, suspense atmosphere. Lighting highlights the importance of the character and also the emotion; dark;sad or bright;happy;jolly.
In films there are three main lightings;
-The main lighting (Key lighting)
The main lighting is usually used for the main focus and attention.

-The back lighting
This is used to highlight some parts of the background, to show the setting a bit more.

-The fill lighting
The fill lighting is darker than the key lighting, it is used to create or fill unwanted shadows.

-Positioning of character/objects within the frame
The positioning of the characters and objects are important because where they are positioned will effect the focus on the characters. E.g. the characters are mostly the main focus/attention because they are in the centre, however if a character was to be placed at the background and a vase were to be at the front the character would blend in with the background and the vase would be the main focus. 
The position also tells us the relationship between the characters;whether they are close or not; if they are close they would sit next to each other comfortably. And if they were the opposite, they would sit a seat away.

In the clip the characters are in the kitchen, they start to cuss at each other during the conversation, however the women in blue turns her back while getting a box of cereal. Surprisingly the cereal box contained a gun, which shocks the audience. This also proves how quickly the situation can turn bad.

Costume, make up and hair
Her hair is ties back, which means she would be doing some kind of movement and wouldn't want her hair to get in the way; she wants her view to be clear; this can mean she has a goal or a focus. On the other hand her hair looks slightly messy and damp which could be the reason she tided up her hair. Her face seems red and there are patches of dirt on her face; this could mean that she could be involved in a fight which included a lot of movement not long before she entered the house. Her face colour could represent her anger towards the other character; inside she is filled with anger.

Compared to the character in blue, she looks much more cleaner, like she had just finished getting ready, this makes me think that she may have planned to go out.
She rests against a kitchen cupboard with a cup of coffee or tea.. In this position, this informs me that she is relaxed, she acts like she is at her friends house, this is unusual because they start to cuss at each other.

The characters wear casual modern clothes, which gives them the sense of normality, because the audience can relate to wearing casual clothing. The costumes, are not over exaggerated, to give away the sides the characters are on ; bad or good. This gives a sense of mystery, which convenient in thrillers. The mystery, makes the audience interested and intrigued, this will make them become more focused in characters and narrative. The characters have a small amount of make up applied, which show that its a normal day in their lives.
One of the characters are wearing a tracksuit which could mean she is a sporty person or someone who likes to keep fit or like to enjoy comfort.
The little girl at the end is wearing a bright pink cardigan and a t-shirt, which shows she likes the colour pink and she could be girly. Her hair is the same as the victim which gives the hint that she is the victims daughter. The daughter seems to have no make up to show her innocence and purity.


Positioning and objects placed
When the characters are talking to each other, they are positioned opposite each other with a distance, this represents how the characters aren't close and how aware of each other they are. Although they are in the same house, they are still cautious. The characters remain distant through the whole clip even whilst fighting, neither of them attacked at a close range, to protect themselves. There aren't any importance in objects, surrounding the characters, placed besides one of the characters was a cup holder, this was probably included to show that, there is nothing different about the house. On the victim's side of the kitchen, were organised furniture; we learn that the character doesn't like a mess.

Lighting and colour

The main lighting came from the window in the room, this shows that neither of the characters were in a higher status and that neither were stronger than another. It also tells informs the audience that when the event happened it was a nice sunny day. Sunny days are assumed good from a vast majority of people, it shows that whilst other people are enjoying their day, this character is dieing, the lighting highlights the expression on the victims face. Which makes the scene seem cruel and more effective. The colours, seen are all bright in the clip, the colour can represent a persons emotion, this could've meant that the victim was happy before she was interfered. 


Facial expression and body gesture

The words are spoken with a spiteful look to each other. When a back was turned a dirty look was given, this shows that they continue to hate each other, even without each other knowing.
When the victim talks, she starts to walk angrily when coming to and from the fridge, her actions become more aggressive and grumpy. The victim faces the killer when talking, he face filled with sarcasm and arrogance.  When the shot is fired the killer jumps back in shot. Their gestures reveal how they feel towards each other. The killer remains calm whilst the victim gets agitated and irritable.

Settings and prop

The scene is set in a house in a kitchen, this is a conventions as thrillers set place in a relateble environment.
The setting, is a symbol that something will happen, because a kitchen is the most dangerous place because of its accessible sharp weapons.

Make up- Here the blood isn't over exaggerated, this tells us that she is injured on her head however it isn't splattered everywhere. The blood doesn't empathises the damage but the position of where the blood is applied; the head; it shows that she is in danger and because it is on the head it she won't be thinking straight. 

Evaluations

By researching online and analysing different thriller genre films -  I am able to learn many techniques and skills needed in a typical thriller, such as the different types of lighting, how they are used and the effects they create, also the colours/ tone which I should stick with. e.g dark, grey tones etc.. and even more.
I will be able to focus on little props and how much meaning I can send to the audience and become more expressive through posture and actions. By watching clips I can highlight the features of the film which I like and create

What inspirations did I have

Whilst watching 'Kill Bill' I got inspired to include the element of surprise - 'Kill Bill' took place in a kitchen filled with bright lights and colours which gave me the impression of watching a friendlier gene film like a comedy or a romcom. I would like to do this as it will be unexpected and different from the typical dark secluded room. By using strong lighting and include a variety of colours, I will be able to get the audience to be interested and possibly confused.
I would also dress the characters in normal clothes but instead of the clothes representing which side they are on, I would swap the colours of the clothes to trick the audiences mind to think a certain character is bad when they are the opposite - good. This might not influence the entire audiences mind to think as one which is good, as it will cause a clash of different opinions and cause confusions and doubts.