JCM212/mise-en-scene and cinematographic analysis
Post-quiz free-time activities
- Start working on your study group's project (below).
- Connect to your study group's Google doc [create a new page?}
for "Narrative Elements in Texts" and enter (1) your name and (2) a seven-word (or fewer) review of the last film or TV show episode you liked.
Group in-class exercise: Identify stylistic elements in Shakespeare in Love
- Groups 4, 5, and 6 move to Group Study Rooms in the Phifer Learning Commons.
- Connect to your study group's Google doc (above).
- As a group (you can work simultaneously on a Google doc), describe how select elements of mise-en-scene and cinematography (from lecture) are used in Shakespeare in Love to help construct the narrative.
- Identify each contribution you make by putting your initials after it. Use three initials if your group has students with the same two initials.
- For example:
- Exposition: The exposition of this Friends episode starts with Rachel and Joey discussing a previously established storyline (Monica and Chandler getting together). The exposition for a second, related storyline and this episode's main story is when we see Monica and Chandler at a work party and it's established that he has an obnoxious "work laugh." A third storyline is introduced when Ross is angry about his ex-wife getting married. (JGB)
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From IMDb plot summary :
Romantic comedy set in London in the late 16th century: Young playwright William Shakespeare struggles with his latest work "Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter". A great fan of Shakespeare's plays is young, wealthy Viola who is about to be married to the cold-hearted Lord Wessex, but constantly dreams of becoming an actress. Women were not allowed to act on stage at that time (female roles were played by men, too), but dressed up as a boy, Viola successfully auditions for the part of Romeo. Soon she and William are caught in a forbidden romance that provides rich inspiration for his play. (For more, see Wikipedia.)
Discussion questions
How does mise-en-scene help to communicate the story in this short scene from Shakespeare in Love (John Madden, 1998)? (See video clip.) Or, in other words, how does mise-en-scene function to help construct the narrative?
- What narrative functions does the set design by Jill Quertier serve?
- How does it use "iconography"?
- What narrative functions does the lighting design by Richard Greatrex serve?
- Does it use three-point lighting (explain what three-point lighting is)?
- Is it high key or low key?
- What narrative functions does the "blocking" by John Madden serve?
- What is "composition in depth" and does Shakespeare in Love use it in this scene?
- What narrative functions does the costume design by Sandy Powell serve?
Post-group work free-time activities
- Put on headphones and watch remainder of Shakespeare in Love (on Blackboard)
- Start reading, for 2/28 the keywords:
- production, copyright, brand, censorship
Individual stylistic analysis
Details here: JCM212/Stylistic Analysis
Bibliography
- Jeremy G. Butler, Television: Critical Methods and Applications (New York: Routledge, 2011).
- David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction, 8th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007).
