Introduction

A Synopsis of Mise-en-Scène....

Mise-en-Scène is the arrangement of scenery, and stage properties in cinematic media. Elements of Mise-en-Scène include; a film’s setting, acting expressions, costumes, hair and makeup, color, set design- décor and props, composition, lighting, etc. In this post, my purpose is to analyze the elements of Mise-en-Scène and apply it to a film. Without further ado, let us apply Mise-en-Scène to a “Scary Movie!”

Scary Movie 1

The movie my group and I researched was “Scary Movie 1,” which is a horror movie, that is categorized in the comedic horror sub-genre. This movie communicated satire of the conventional, iconic horror movie tropes of its time, and the absurdities of the plots in those movies. References to horror movies featured in this film are the “Scream,” movie franchise, and “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” The opening of, “Scary Movie 1,” showed an adult entertainer, Drew, who was making popcorn in her kitchen, and speaking humorously on the phone with an unknown person, who was eventually revealed to be Ghostface, the main antagonist. She discovered Ghostface had been stalking her through her windows, and tied her friend to a chair on her back porch. After pacing to lock all her doors, she frantically attempted to protect herself, however Ghostface had already entered her home and appeared before her with a weapon.

A Recipe for Mise-en-Scène

Using Mise-en-Scène, the film producers created a familiar, relaxed atmosphere in the beginning, but then a turn of events in a horrific, and comic way to introduce the satirical horror sub-genre in the film. For example, the producers filmed the setting at Drew’s house in her kitchen and living room, as well as they depicted Drew to initially have a calmed expression, with a neutral and light-hearted tone, but transitioned into a frightened, and anxious expression, and a panicked tone after being faced with the nonchalant, sarcastic, and sinister antagonist, Ghostface, who wore a mask and long cloak.

Drew’s hair is in a long, straight hairstyle, and her makeup artist styled her with natural makeup to reflect the neutrality of her character. Her costume is a white cardigan, with long black pants, which is meant to be relatable to fashion trends typically worn by most of society. The composition of the frame illustrates yellow, and beige colored walls, white-tiled, and carpet floors, reflective of early 2000s, middle-class architectural styles, and a conventional American home, with a set design of simple, contemporary American furniture arrangements. This creates a pleasant, familiar, and ordinary aura.

In addition, the film’s “Gaffer,” projected the lighting to be standard, well-lit, and slightly dim in the opening. To add, the color palette of the opening scene was predominantly, beige, white, and yellow signifying a moderate atmosphere, but the black and darker shades of the imagery foreshadowed imminent danger, and death to occur.

To sum up those elements, the directors, producers, hairstylists, makeup artists, gaffers, actors, colorists, and costume designers collaborated to present a customary depiction of American cultural norms and tropes in horror movies, but were parodied in this film.


General Information of Film
Film Title: Scary Movie 1	Media Institution Name: Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, HBO Max, iTunes, Apple TV, and Google Play
Film Studio (s): Wayans Bros Entertainment Gold/Miller Productions Brad Grey Pictures Dimension Films	Director: Josh Boone
Year released: 2000	Genre and sub-genres: Horror- Comedy Horror
Cost of production (Budget): 19 million USD	Box Office: 278 million USD
A brief synopsis of the film. Three lines max. in your own words. (3 marks): Scary Movie is a mixed parody of the movies “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” and it also involves some aspects of many other films. The movie is about a group of friends being killed by a masked serial killer after killing and disposing of a random person’s body. With funny actors like the Wayans Brothers and Regina Hall, this movie has a 6.3 rating and was considered one of the funniest spoofs ever.

MISE-EN-SCENE


Setting
Definition- The time and/ or place the narrative occurs in.
	Setting is……………. It predominantly takes place at an average, contemporary High school, small town, as well as, outside of the school’s campus at the main cast’s homes.
	Message:
	The message of this imagery is to allude to typical iconic horror film settings, such as the “Scream,” horror franchise.
	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence: The setting’s mood is casual, and a bit unsettling.
Location (Where and geographic description): Takes place in the fishing village of Stevenson Harbor, Vancouver (High school’s setting), Richmond in Viginia, British Columbia, and in Canada.
Time Period: The year 2000
Time of Day: While some key events of the film took place during the day, most of the story’s climax occurs at nighttime.
Culture/moral values of the setting: The setting is reflective of popular, early 2000s, American culture.
Job title: Director
Acting
Definition- The art of human representation or interpretation of a character within a media production.
	The acting is……… Comical, light-hearted, quirky, and unsettling.
	Messages:
	The acting indicates to viewers that this film is satirical, and parodies the horror genre
	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence:
	The mood of the opening scene has a humorous, and unsettling tone.
Character portrayed: The main antagonist-Ghostface
Character appearance: Tall, skinny, male, wears a comedic Ghostface mask, and a long, black cloak that covers his entire body.
Character actions: Ghostface, who is responsible for murdering mature teens in the film, is found predominantly stalking and following his victims (the main cast) throughout the movie.
Facial expressions and body language: Goofy, relaxed, surreptitious and subtle
Voice quality/ tone: Deep, masculine, stern voice
Job title: Actors

Set Design: Décor and Props
Definition- Creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery.
	Set design (décor and props) ……. Small town, modern homes, Ghostface mask, weapons, simple, and contemporary.
	Message:
	To represent typical, early 2000s American society and youth
	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence:
	Casual, familiar, and neutral
Décor: Beige-colored walls, rusty, old doors, modern furniture, concrete sidewalks, greenery landscapes
Props: Ghostface mask, doors, fruits, fast food, weapons, park lamps, and benches
Job title: Production designer, and set decorator

Costumes, hair, and make-up
Definition- Works in tandem with costumes to bring characters style alive.
	The costume is…. Early 2000s, American, trendy teen streetwear and fashion The hair and make-up are The cast is portrayed with Afro-textured hair hairstyles, and straight, wavy hairstyles reflective of their current society’s trends. The makeup is natural.
	Message: To characterize not only popular culture’s fashion at the time, but to allude to the usual teen wardrobes, based on their archetypes, seen in shows

	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence:
	Natural, nude/neutral colored, conventional, and a bit quirky
Costumes: Dresses, skirts, long, baggy jeans, puffer jackets, sneakers, kitten heels, jewelry, hairclips, and hair ties
Hair: Straight hairstyles, and Afro textured styles
Make-up: Natural, subtle makeup
Job title: Costume designer, and Makeup artist

Lighting
Definition- guides the eye to a specific actor, prop, or part of a scene. Lighting reflects the psychology of characters.
	The lighting is Dark, reflective, shadowy, glowing, blue/white lighting
	Message: To indicate imminent danger, death, shade, and seriousness
	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence:
	Sinister, intense, mysterious, and eerie
Light Direction: From the front, and sides of the screen
Light Source: From street signs, lamps, projector lights and television screens
Light Quality: Low-key, and dim quality
Job title: The Gaffer (lighting technician)

Composition
Definition- refers to the way elements of a scene are arranged in relation to each other in a camera frame.
	The composition is Average, slightly old, middle-class architectural styled homes, street signs, benches, and tall, block, beige-neutral color palette buildings.
	Message:
	To reflect how modern society is generally shown in film, to create a familiar, usual tone
	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence:
	Nostalgic, relatable, and causal/neutral
Framing Balance: Balanced, repetitive, and proportional frames
Depth of Field: The zoomed in objects are the building’s signs, and the farthest are the windows and background characters
Focus: The focus is on the building’s brightly illuminated signs and icons, as well as its posters, building shapes, and doors
Job title: Director

Color
Definition- is used to set the tone of a scene before any of the actors have even uttered a word.
	The color is …… Predominantly dark colors such as black and blue, with some white, and dark red shades
	Message:
	Signals uneasiness, blues are associated with coldness, and death, as well as mourning
	Atmosphere/mood of the opening sequence:
	Dark, void, unsettling, unfamiliar, danger, and suspenseful
Dominant Colors: Dark Blue
Meanings of colors: Mysterious, depth, ominous, frightening, suspense
Job title: The Colorist (color designer)

REFLECTION

Ultimately, the objective of this task was piecing together the elements of Mise-en-Scène and using it to analyze “Scary Movie 1,” and the observations from our team’s analysis are represented in this presentation that we created for that purpose. Our research process for this project references numerous studies of film, Mise-en-Scène arrangements, and images from internet sources to convey our notes in a visual, clear, and interpretive way that supports our annotations.

All work completed for this task was with the assistance of laptops from our school, and from my personal laptop, as well. Most frequently used applications by my group and I are articles, and images from Google, Microsoft PowerPoint and Word, videos from YouTube, and definitions provided by the online Oxford Dictionary, as well as the Meriam-Webster Dictionary. Due to years of our experience navigating computer browsers, and online forums, I would say our team is at least at an intermediate level, and ongoingly improving.

Our collaboration on this activity has been beneficial in allowing us to discover a concept of film that can make our filmmaking processes more refined, and organized; and possible methods we can use to convey the message we are willing to communicate, too.

Work Cited:

-www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Scary Movie - Opening Scene. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eI24fookyA [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].

-Nocookie.net. (2016). Available at: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/scary-movie-2000-movie/images/e/e9/KMP-DVD0154.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160319175406 [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].

-The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations. (n.d.). Filming Locations for Scary Movie (2000), in Vancouver. [online] Available at: https://movie-locations.com/movies/s/Scary-Movie.php#:~:text=Scary%20Movie%20%7C%202000&text= [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].

-TVGuide.com. (n.d.). Scary Movie. [online] Available at: https://www.tvguide.com/movies/scary-movie/2000126550/#:~:text=How%20to%20Watch%20Scary%20Movie [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].

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-www.hbo.com. (n.d.). Scary Movie | Watch the Movie on HBO | HBO.com. [online] Available at: https://www.hbo.com/movies/scary-movie#:~:text=Scary%20Movie%20%7C%20Watch%20the%20Movie%20on%20HBO%20%7C%20HBO.com [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].

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-Nocookie.net. (2024). Available at: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/858480a5-fd43-48ed-b744-fd1cdb9ee000/scale-to-width/755 [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].

-Redd.it. (2024). Available at: https://preview.redd.it/this-scene-from-scary-movie-looks-so-evil-ghostface-looks-v0-lbe3md929rpa1.png?auto=webp&s=f8348e1e77ed5c6a96609897259db23ef425fdd1 [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].

-Anon, (n.d.). Who’s Who on the Film Set Crew: A Quick-Reference Guide – SyncOnSet. [online] Available at: https://www.synconset.com/home/whos-who-on-the-film-set-crew-a-quick-reference-guide/.

-Team, N.F.I. (2022). Set Decorator - Everything You Need To Know. [online] NFI. Available at: https://www.nfi.edu/set-decorator/.

-Winter, D. (n.d.). Blood Red to Morgue Blue: The Role of Color in Horror. [online] lwks.com. Available at: https://lwks.com/blog/blood-red-to-morgue-blue-the-role-of-color-in-horror#:~:text=Black%20symbolizes%20death%20and%20darkness.

-www.adobe.com. (n.d.). Low-key lighting and high-key lighting in film | Adobe. [online] Available at: https://www.adobe.com/th_en/creativecloud/video/discover/low-key-vs-high-key-lighting.html#:~:text=Low%2Dkey%20lighting%20is%20often [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].

-Dark Blue Color Meaning: Pros, Cons of Dark Blue in Design

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Aug 5, 2022

Available at: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/dark-blue-color