Thursday, February 20, 2025

How to Incorporate Mise en scene: Part 1- Lighting

Lighting is one of the most important devices in mise-en-scene, shaping the vibe and mood to guide audience interpretations and reinforce the theme of the project. In our film opening, we plan to utilize lighting to express the protagonist's internal struggles, as a misunderstood high school bully who is impacted by his poor home life. We can carefully design the lighting to subtly hint towards the contrasting emotions of our main character, and show off his public persona at the same time.

One way to do this, we will utilize cold and dim lighting in the scenes at his home to emphasize the antagonizing atmosphere. We plan to use lots of dark shadows, to create a sense of isolation and depression, while small bits of light seep in. This could be done through a cracked door or bright TV. This symbolizes slight moments of encouraging signs and vulnerability. 



To contrast the home scenes, the school will feature harsh, fluorescent lighting to create an impersonal, sharp environment, reinforcing our main characters struggle to continue his tough exterior. These intentional lighting contrasts can help us elevate the storytelling and further impact audience engagement.



By prioritizing lighting as a key element of mise-en-scene, we can make sure that each frame serves a key purpose in building the environment of the film to further audience understanding of the protagonist. This approach enhances the storytelling while minimizing reliance on a dialogue heavy script.

No comments:

Post a Comment

CCR Question 1: Research

 During the creation process, I looked to challenge the very traditional stereotype of a high-school bully by explaining his motives and bac...