MISE EN SCENE
Mise en scene refers to everything that is in the frame, and the way this conveys information to the audience. Look at the two clips clip below from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Chris Columbus 2002) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (Peter Yates 2011), noting how the mise en scene of the opening sequences creates two very different tones and experiences for the audience.
Elements of mise en scene in this scene conveying information to the audience:
- the company logo and film title are both in colour
- the score is magical, light and fantastic
- the sky is blue and the sunrise is glowing and full of life and colour
- a long establishing shot finds Harry in the suburbs. He is alone in a window of light while everyone else is sleeping.
- Harry is bathed in warm glowing light, looking at happy memories in a photo album
- Harry's uncle and aunt are comical characters, visually and in the way they speak
- everything is full of colour, and the tone is very light and humourous
Elements of mise en scene in this scene conveying information to the audience:
- the absence of any colour telling us the world is a dark, colourless place
- the ominous gothic music - a single child's voice crying to give the sense of children suffering
- the Warner Brothers logo is dark and grey rather than bright and yellow as it normally is
- the slow camera moves and languid pace of editing, adding a sense of weight and seriousness to the montage
- the black dementors (death-like figures) hovering over the gothic silhouette of the school
- Snapes black robes and pale face , silhouetted like the dementors in a gothic archway, literally looking over the school: he is the Headmaster
- the students marching in orderly rows: no individuality or excitement, like prisoners or soldiers marching
- the weather is heavy and foreboding with the threat of rain