My image that uses mise-en-scene to communicate meaning.
For this task my group was assigned with the genre of folk, folk is an old genre of music usually passed down generations and involves no prerecorded sounds and beats. Folk is associated with nature and spiritual moods as it is such a calm and chill genre of music, there is very little make up involved along with hairstyles with this genre as it needs to be as natural as possible so women mostly have their hair down.
The costumes are normally dark coloured and women dress in long skirts or dresses and men in casual tops or sometimes waistcoats and sometimes certain types of hats, the locations mainly involve fields and the countryside to reflect the chill natural vibe given by folk. Lastly, props mostly include instruments such as violins or guitars which add to the gentle vibe.
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These are the adjectives used to describe the genre of music through the use of mise en scene. The outfit we designed for this genre clearly reflected the calm gentle vibe we hear from folk, the music style is very unique especially in the 21st century where most music involves strong beats and recorded sounds to help the music come together. In folk music, all the sounds are natural bringing a serene feel to the music as well as being noticeably different from other genres of music.
Many terms associated with folk music are all the adjectives in the image above as well as chill, calm, serene, gentle, energetic, sunny, joyful, soft. Most of the adjectives used to describe folk relate to nature and how it is viewed by people reflecting it into folk by the audience. The connotations for folk music are light materials that flow and that are darkly coloured, simple jewellery and some men wear hats. Overall the mise en scene for folk music is very simple and earthy as the music reflects the calmness of nature.
This is our final image.
I feel this image represents the genre of folk the most as the movement of the hair and shawl emphasis the calm gentle feelings we receive from folk music. All the aspects of the costume depict a sense of serenity as the shawl creates the prominent feeling of tranquillity and the connection with nature as it is naturally being blown up by the wind. The contrast of the yellow dress further gives calm vibes as yellow is often associated with the sun and brightness, yellow shows positivity and energy which is what folk music intends to make us feel. The freshness of the yellow against the detailed design of the shawl complement each other, drawing audience attention as the style is completely unique.
The three accessories definitely add to the style as the dark coloured necklaces mirror an earthy look conveying how folk music aims to connect with nature. The pink feather earrings match well with the lightness of the dress giving a light but bold feeling to the image as they stand out, the large hat adds to the chill vibe of the image as the soft texture of the hat reflects the soft nature of folk music. The pale colour further portrays the importance of staying close to nature.
As the shoot was taken outside the lighting we used was all-natural as it contrasted with the shade, this continues to emphasise the organic feelings produced by this image. As the model is close to the camera and also looking directly into it, it feels as if she is communicating to the audience, she makes a connection by drawing them in. The gentle smile radiates energy and contentment giving the audience a positive perspective on the image, the body language and angle of the model tell the audience that the model is welcoming, intriguing the audience to further analysis the image.
To conclude, this final image from the photoshoot is very effective as it displays all the characteristics of folk music and from feedback we know that the right reactions were produced with this outfit, our design of mise en scene for the music genre of folk was very successful as a chill calm vibe is created along with the effective use of body language and natural lighting.
A process such as this one will be very effective in the future when I come to do other products as I will know how vital mise en scene is for photos, through researching the genre of folk I definitely think we captured the correct aura of folk music by having every detail relating to folk. The mise en scene clearly depicts the music genre of folk as the dress and shawl give a natural feel and the lighting adds to the purity of the image, the audience feedback we received from our peers were very positive as they all picked up on the chill vibe and calm nature. Finally, the design of the image conveys the mood of folk music through the mise en scene, for future products I will always make sure to consider every detail of mise en scene to make sure that my product is the best it can be and that it is clear to the audience what it is portraying.