Film is a visual art and a key bit of advice to all screenwriters and directors is…

‘Show, don’t tell!’

MISE-EN-SCENE

Mise-en-scene refers to anything that the director chooses to film and is a key way in which they can ‘show’ the story. Every element of mise-en-scene is carefully selected to communicate meaning, and mise-en-scene work along with other micro elements of film language to communicate an overall idea (representation) which helps tell the story of the film.

Here is a key presentation on Mise-en-Scene:

TASK

Complete a mise-en-scene analysis, using C.L.A.M.P.S on the stills in the slides below.

What representation is Guillermo Del Torro communicating through the selection of mise-en-scene in the Captain’s Feast?

Here is a link to a video of the sequence – there are no subtitles, but this is fine.

Here is a link to the slideshow for you to edit.

Remember…

Show, don’t tell.

…so you are reading the design in the sequence and trying to think about what is being implied or suggested.

Independent Study

Write one paragraph on the mise-en-scene in The Captain’s feast.

Your focus should be on the characters who you have been given or, for one pair, the feast as a whole.

You should write about three specific examples of the mise-en-scene in the scene. These example should be described precisely and in detail.

You should then analyse each example. You are unpicking the ideas communicated about the the characters or feast. As discussed in class there is a clear parallel between this scene and the Pale Man scene, however put that aside for now, focus instead on the representation of the people and the feast.

HELP!

Here are some ideas to get you going. The guests at the feast are snobbish hypocrites, they are arrogant, patronising and snobbish. The exception is Carmen, who is fragile, elegant and cowed. The Captain is a fascist, he is proud of his reputation and dominates the scene. The feast is a scene of indulgence, greed and power.

You should write this essay in Google docs and include images alongside the essay.

Please submit this through Google Classroom. Our class code is: fpqtlxw