Homework Task: Mise en scène

In this post, I will be describing the Mise en scène in a magazine cover and a film still shot. I will describe the costume, lights, actors/performance, make-up, props and settings.

Issue September 2012, Bazaar Cover, Keira Knightley

The Bazaar magazine features actress Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean, Love Actually) and was released in September 2012. The clothes that Knightley is wearing, is a big thick fur-like coat. The colours are dull browns and this suggests that the setting is cold. In addition the background matches the coat so the colour scheme is monochrome almost yet the biggest difference is the purple rose, masthead and lipstick. Keira Knightley is wearing purple lipstick because it makes her skin stand out, as well as matching with the rose. Purple connotes to darkness, strength, power and royalty. The rose is often connoted to beauty and love but in this particular magazine, it relates to beauty because Bazaar is a fashion magazine. The lighting seems to shine on Keira Knightley because it makes her the key focus of the magazine as well as making her face brighten up. The facial expression Knightley makes is serious and sophisticated which is what Bazaar is quite often known for: Being a sophisticated stylish fashion magazine.

Inglourious Basterds (2009), left-to-right (Michael Fassbender and August Diehl)

Inglourious Basterds is a 2009 Quentin Tarantino/Eli Roth film which stars Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz Diane Kruger, B.J. Novak and Eli Roth. The story follows Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Pitt) as he leads a group Jew Soldiers, including the Bear Jew (Roth) and the Little Man (Novak), to take down the Third German Reich using the help German Actress Bridget Von Hammersmark.

The clothes that the people are wearing are military war clothes and this suggests the film has a war background. To go into closer detail, the film is set in World War 2 because of the Nazi Swastika armband on Diehl. The two characters are in a rub because of the alcohol on the table as well as the bar counter in the background. The lighting is slightly dimmed in the background because the background is unimportant however there is a bright light that focuses on the table which brings us to Fassbender and Diehl. Fassbender and Diehl are sitting opposite each other and have a strong face of disgust to one another which suggests tension between the two characters. Since Diehl has the Nazi Swastika, it could further allude to tension between the enemies of World War 2: Britain (Fassbender) and Germany (Diehl.) Both have slick back hair because World War 2 time was a time of war which had its soldiers looking smart and efficient. The props are alcohol bottles and it helps to explain the setting of a pub.