Balancing Mise en scene

    Hello friends! Today you will get to read my new post about Mise en scene, a key element of filmmaking. Mise en scene is anything that is in front of the camera; lighting, props, costumes, sets, the list goes on. I have taken pictures from online and pictures of my own to show shot composition for contrast, color, size, and frontality.

1a. Still Image from Barbie, 2023 shows contrast
because Barbie is happy and smiling in bright pink.
While the high schoolers are dressed in dull, boring
colors. The setting is also a very neutral background.

1b. Still Image from Barbie, 2023 shows a bright
contrast between the colors pastel pink, and neon
yellow roller skates.

1c. Still image from Barbie, 2023.shows a big
difference in size. The other smaller dolls are all
looking up to the "greatness" of Barbie.

1d. Still image from Barbie, 2023 shows frontality.
While everyone else is dancing in the back, we see
Barbie up close and in full focus.

2a. This still shows contrast because one figure is 
in the spotlight, and the other is cast aside in the 
dark.

2b. This still guides the viewers attention to the 
figure in red. She stands out more than the others.

2c. This image shows a size difference. The figure 
in white is closest to the screen se she appears 
the biggest. The figure in red is far away so the color
does not stand out as much.

2d. This still shows Frontality. The figure in red is in 
focus while the other figures are way in the back.
This makes the viewer pay attention the person in 
front.

       3.     The first challenge I faced while doing this blog was finding one film or TV show that had enough images online that I could use for my examples. I did not have time to go looking through shows I watched to physically take pictures. The Barbie movie already had a lot of examples of color and contrast. The example I used for size wasn't difficult to find and provided a useful visual. I did have trouble with frontality because I don't exactly understand it yet. I don't quite get how its different from something just being in front of the camera. As for my own pictures, it was not as hard as I though it was going to be for most of it. The idea for contrast was easy, especially because of the figures I had which made for a better story. Color was significantly more difficult because I didn't know how to place the figures. I didn't feel like they were in the right spots to tell any kind of story. Yes, the color red catches the eye, but how does it keep your attention? Size was a little tricky to deal with, I needed to readjust multiple times so there actually was a decent size difference in the final product. Frontality I understood a little bit more once I actually did it. Its more about focusing the viewers attention on the thing that is directly in front of them rather than anything else in the background. In my shot, I feel like I had to balance out the colors of the background so It did not attract any extra attention. The result turned out decent to me, its not perfect but its a start.