Lecture 1: Mise-en-scène

Binary Opposition:

Using two colours that appose one and other to make it clear to the audience who the hero and villain is.

The Different ways to distinguish good and evil:

Bad Guys:

Dark Clothing
Colours

• Black
• Red
• Grey

Disfigurement

Holding a Weapon

Good Guys:

Light Clothing

Colours

• Blue
• Brown
• White

LA NOIRE Analysis:

The Detective in the middle is both red and blue showing that he has confliction in his line of work/life. This could also show that he has a split personality of good and evil which he has to fight with throughout the game. The detective is also wearing a red tie on a white shirt again showing that he is a conflicted character and that he is not all he seems to be. Finally he is wearing a brown suit, suggesting he is good. However, he is also carrying a gun (drawn) which shows he has an evil side.

The Police to the right hand side of this game poster are in red showing that they could be corrupt. This may be where the confliction for the detective comes in as he's not only fighting crime, he's also fighting corruption with in the police. Also the police seem to be stood around have a chat while there is the corpse of a man lying in the road infront of them. This again shows that they may be corrupt as this murder may be the doing of somebody who has paid of most of the police department.

Finally The Woman on the left. Firstly she is in blue which immediately makes us think she is a good person in this game. Also as blue is an authority colour this could mean she is in some kind of witness protection. However, because there is a blood splatter across her neck she could be the victim to a gruesome crime. The Woman's facial expression makes her look dead or stressed, I believe that dead is the more likely of the two.


Semiotics:

This is the study of signs, for example this is when we create a meaning from the things we see in a film. These can be connotations, which is what something represents, or denotations, which is the dictionary definition of an item.

Sounds:

Diegetic - These are sounds that belong to a scene.

Non-Diegetic - These are sounds from outside the story world.


Diegetic:

• Dialogue
• Sound Effects
• Ambient Sound
• Music that the character is listening to

Non- Diegetic:

• Soundtrack
• Orchestral sound effects (jump scares)

Iconography:

The aspects of a product we expect to see in a genre

Sci-Fi:

• Advanced Tech
• Astronauts
• Lasers
• Planets
• Stars
• Rockets
• Aliens
• Asteroids
• Space

Fantasy:

• Talking Animals
• Dragons
• Magic
• Swords
• Medieval
• Spells
• Monsters
• Creatures

Narratives:

Linear - A storyline that is presented in the order; beginning, middle, end.

Non Linear - A storyline that jumps around the products timeline using things like, flashbacks and dream sequences.

Stereotype:

Men:

• Strong
• Leader
• Colour Blue
• Hunter
• Violent
• Vulgar

Women:

• Weak + Defenceless
• Domestic
• Follower
• Colour Pink
• Motherly
• Gatherer
• Romantic
• Manipulative

Sherlock Scene Analysis:

Costume:

• Irene Adler was naked. She was using her body to manipulate John and Sherlock
• John was dressed in very neutral colours
• Sherlock was dressed in all black showing he was a kind of anti-hero

Dialogue:

• The dialogue is relatively slow and limited until the power shifts to Sherlock.

Camera Work:

• There is always an low angle shot on the dominate person and a high angle on the other person
• When Irene is in charge the shots are slow and very steady
• When Sherlock takes power the shots become sweeping and fast

Props:

• The fire John starts is used to create a distraction and to shift the power

Lighting:

• The person who has the power is well and evenly lit
• The other person has a half shadowed face.

Colour:

• The confident, Irene and Sherlock, are lit in a warm yellow colour
• The less confident and confused, John, are lit in colder blue colour

Music

• When Irene is in control the music is mischievous and fun
• When Sherlock takes control and Irene is covered the music becomes more tense and mysterious

Editing:

• The shots are long and drawn out when Irene is in charge
• When Sherlock takes control and starts explaining the "murder" the cuts become more rapid and hectic.