Analysis of Pulp fiction using Mise en Scene and performance and Camera

The setting of this extract is in one room, this is a "hideout" for the other three characters. The main prop used in this scene is the big kahuna burger and sprite. This is used to show the twist of power, the character Brett thinks that he has the power, because he is giving the money over and that he has played Marcel Wallace and has gotten away with it, however, Jules has been sent to intimidate and kill Brett because of this. So the Prop which is owned by Brett is then used to show the intimidation because Jules asks for it, knowing it is his, and Brett cowardly replies "yes". However when Jules takes it, he takes almost all of it, ad takes all of the sprite, this is showing the intimidation because Brett then says nothing.

costume, hair make up

The difference between the two types of character, the heavy business men who take orders and the ones who have no power ( power struggle ) is that the characters Jules and vincent wear clean cut suits with ties. This looks professional and confident, like any man on a mission. Contradictory to this is the characters of Brett and Burr and Marvin, because they are wearing jeans and polo neck t-shirts, almost Hawaii styled, this creates the look of comfort and relaxation. So immediately the costumes of the characters express what their motive is and also their status on the dominance rank.

The use of the setting is clever, because the setting itself is quite small so the use of camera work in this limited space works well. The use of close ups creates the amplified effect of emotions, for example when the character played by

costume, hair make up

The difference between the two types of character, the heavy business men who take orders and the ones who have no power ( power struggle ) is that the characters Jules and vincent wear clean cut suits with ties. This looks professional and confident, like any man on a mission. Contradictory to this is the characters of Brett and Burr and Marvin, because they are wearing jeans and polo neck t-shirts, almost Hawaii styled, this creates the look of comfort and relaxation. So immediately the costumes of the characters express what their motive is and also their status on the dominance rank.

The use of the setting is clever, because the setting itself is quite small so the use of camera work in this limited space works well. The use of close ups creates the amplified effect of emotions, for example when the character played by Samuel L Jackson (Jules) asks "What does Marcel Wallace look like" the character sat in the chair says "what", this creates Jules to become infuriated, like I mentioned this is amplified by the use of a close up.

Also the camera work amplifies the period in which Jules is about to shoot the character Brett, he walks away, and the camera tracks him, but does not move, and then Jules spins while presenting his monologue and holds his gun up at Brett, at this point the camera zooms into a close up of Jules face to show his incentive and the lack of remorse.

Throughout the scene the characters of Jules and Vincent are always stood up, they never crouch and they always stay straight, in all their movements, like when Jules raises his arm there is no bending of the elbow, this creates the look of professionalism and the effect that he knows what he is doing, and that he has done it a thousand times before. However Brett and the others never get up (apart from Marvin), they are either laying on the couch, to show they are unaware of the imminent danger, or they are sat in the middle of the room, like they are being interrogated, and when they try to get up, a stern look forces them back into his seat.

The use of lighting is quite yellow, this is to show the use of dark and dingy, like the characters that are inside it are rats. But the best use of lighting was the briefcase. Instead of showing the audience what is in the briefcase, the director uses a bright yellow light to symbolise what would be inside the briefcase. This leaves the audience to wonder whether the character is seeing money, drugs or something that would emit a yellow light, I feel that this is clever, because it shows that the endeavour of Jules and Vincent was not for what is in the briefcase, it was to show that Marcel was angry and wanted the respect and pride of knowing they paid for making him angry, this is also shown when they leave Marvin alive, to show that no one should mess with Marcel. Samuel L Jackson (Jules) asks "What does Marcel Wallace look like" the character sat in the chair says "what", this creates Jules to become infuriated, like I mentioned this is amplified by the use of a close up.

Also the camera work amplifies the period in which Jules is about to shoot the character Brett, he walks away, and the camera tracks him, but does not move, and then Jules spins while presenting his monologue and holds his gun up at Brett, at this point the camera zooms into a close up of Jules face to show his incentive and the lack of remorse.

Throughout the scene the characters of Jules and Vincent are always stood up, they never crouch and they always stay straight, in all their movements, like when Jules raises his arm there is no bending of the elbow, this creates the look of professionalism and the effect that he knows what he is doing, and that he has done it a thousand times before. However Brett and the others never get up (apart from Marvin), they are either laying on the couch, to show they are unaware of the imminent danger, or they are sat in the middle of the room, like they are being interrogated, and when they try to get up, a stern look forces them back into his seat.

The use of lighting is quite yellow, this is to show the use of dark and dingy, like the characters that are inside it are rats. But the best use of lighting was the briefcase. Instead of showing the audience what is in the briefcase, the director uses a bright yellow light to symbolise what would be inside the briefcase. This leaves the audience to wonder whether the character is seeing money, drugs or something that would emit a yellow light, I feel that this is clever, because it shows that the endeavour of Jules and Vincent was not for what is in the briefcase, it was to show that Marcel was angry and wanted the respect and pride of knowing they paid for making him angry, this is also shown when they leave Marvin alive, to show that no one should mess with Marcel.

First draft

First draft

The title of the film is Iron Man 2, the year of release for this film was 2010 and the director of this film was Jon Favreau.The film is about a rich man who owns a weapons company, but he encounters a evil villain who ends up working for his competitor and tries to kill him and take over the world. This is quite obviously a Action film.This specific extract comes at the start of the film and is about Stark (Robert Downey Jr) being accused of withholding a weapon from the government, but he doesn't want to give it up.

I found that this scene was very juxtaposing, as the rest of the film is very action packed and stuffed with special effects. I would chose the following theme, power and manipulation and use Mise-en-scene and performance to analyse these.
Firstly, the location of this extract is set in a small "court" room, in which would give the audience a sense of oppression which reflects the fact that he is being sentenced. I feel that this is amplified with the use of space, as the back of the set is not used much, apart from extras, making the room seem smaller.
The props in this extract are the Tv screens and the use of effects, and that it is meant to be "live" on Tv.
The first prop is used as evidence against Stark, to show him that his weapon is being redeveloped, however Stark then uses his phone to take over the screens to give him proof that they are not as much of a threat, which tips the balance of power in Starks favour. The other prop I feel this gives a sense of realism towards the audience, because it gives them the feel that they are watching the news, or a channel broadcasting this. I feel that this can help increase the way that the audience react and relate to the scene by "adding" them into the movie.
Next is the lighting, the lighting in this scene is very high key, as all the main three lights are fully lit, this draws attention to the character, I think that the back light is maybe less well lit as the audience behind Stark is maybe dark and hidden. I feel that the lighting draws attention to the main character and maybe gives the audience more to focus on Stark and his emotions, especially in the close ups.
The lighting of the Starks peers is bright but also dark, as they have definite shadows, creating the "good vs bad" scenario.
The positioning of the characters is well placed, I think this because the Main character is centre of the frame and set, I think this also draws attention to him as a character, but also, the fact that the peers are in front of him, they are also on a higher platform, giving the sense of downtroddenism. Also the crowd behind him includes Pepper, who is his assistant who always looks out for him, maybe adding to the phrase " i've got your back". I feel this helps in the power struggle as Stark at the start is quite the underdog but uses props to shift the power in his favour.

The use of the hair and make up, give him the look of cockiness or confidence, as he is wearing a sharp cut suit and his hair is pointy and straight, I feel that these add to the end of the extract because is shows confidence and that is what he uses to his advantage to gain the upper hand. This is amplified with the use of Robert facial expressions, for example, Robert himself uses this scene to express many emotions, this is due to the power shift, for example, to start with he has to express fear and worry, where-as in the middle he has to express confidence and cockiness and in the end he has to express triumph and glory, in such a short sequence. This is unusual to a action movie considering that mostly the main character only has to express maybe anger or glory. I think that Robert played this convincingly because it is meant to be naturalistic, because he has to reflect how we would be in that situation and make us believe that the emotions he puts across are real.

Robert did not have to change very much of his own persona or his appearance to play the part of this role, where some may see this as lazy or boring, I would say that this adds to the performance as he can act how he would as his persona, so he doesn't run the risk of sounding unbelievable or breaking character.

Robert uses the characters in this extract to convey his own emotions, for example, Pepper is there to support him, and she is very close to him, so he opens up to her a little more. She also acts a mother figure, when she tells Robert off with a stern look for gloating, especially considering he at this point is still the underdog. Another person who has a deep relationship with the Stark is his best friend, who comes in to try and "help" but unfortunately they use him against Stark by only reading part of his report. I feel that at this point Robert really makes Stark come alive in this part because, he is basically being betrayed by his best friend. I feel that robert portrayed his emotions well to express betrayal and hate towards his peers and also frustration as they use their own powers to twist the power in their favour.
I feel that he helps portray the feeling of the power shift by changing his whole mood and becoming someone with the power, for example to begin with he is slouchy, tries to use comedy to divert subjects, however, once they make his friend betray him, he becomes angry in confidence by becoming straight, talking briefly and making a lot fewer jokes, because he knows he is in power.

Analysis of "In Bruges"

 In Bruges

Firstly, In Bruges uses these Mise-en-scene aspects to develop and reflect the characters of Ray, Ken and Harry by firstly using Setting and props, this is the most common way, the film uses Location very wisely, as it could just be set in the one hotel room, rather than the whole of Bruges, by doing this, they can introduce different characteristics of the characters, for example, when they visit the bell tower, Ken goes up, because he is enthusiastic about the location, whereas Ray stayed at the bottom doing nothing, this shows a significant difference between the characters, indicating that maybe Ken is more mature in comparison. Later this is also shown when they go to the church, where again, Ken stays and Ray leaves out of frustration and boredom. 

Another way the location develops the characters is that, being in a confined location, the characters explore their past, and they reflect on their mistakes, in this scene Ray opens the past, of his first contract, and explains about the death of the child. This makes the characters strange compared to the normal impression of Hit-men, they are thought of as very controlled and composed, whereas these two are not. They express their emotions.

Next, the costume. They are wearing overcoats, leather jackets e.t.c but they don't look like the average assassin, for example, Hit-man wears a suit, leather gloves, which gives the impression of a cold, emotionless killer. Where-as Ken and Ray wear more colorful clothing, and at one point Ray wears glasses, which is strange to see in a action movie, because I think it does reveal a lot of the characters personality. The make up isn't very important in this film, which is common in action movies, apart from the scenes of injuries, like when Ken is bleeding and then at the bottom of the tower after throwing himself off. I think the way that they use the make up in these two scenes is very effective and it helps extenuate the emotion of the character Ray.
 
The lighting and colour in this film produce different emotions and feelings, especially for the audience, for example the start is quite dim, but the main effect is the lack of very much colour, its not like the middle where many warm colours are used. Another scene this is prevalent in is the scene in which Ken dies, the lighting is dim, especially in the stairs, but the weather is also cloudy and dark, which produces quite an amount of doubt and fear in the audience towards Ken and Ray. This is also used in the scene where Ray is almost shot, the lighting is quite bright and colourful, which I believe is to give the audience hope.

 I think the positioning within a frame can be key in some aspects, for example the scene in which the character Ken and Harry where in the tower and the stairs, the two characters were fighting on the stair well, which was a hard location to film, as a long shot would be ridiculous. Another way that they did well with this was the trailing blood scene, and how they followed the stream to Ken, who was climbing the tower.
Another time this was key was when the coins were dropped from the top, the camera had the couple at the restaurant talking but the view had the tower in the background, so the coins were visible.

The actual performance of the characters was very good, because at no point did I feel that it wasn't natural or unbelievable ( maybe apart from the bit where he is still alive from a 100 meter fall ), but they have had to give a what would normally be a quite calm controlled and emotionless character, some meaning and relationship, I think that this helps with creating a relationship between the characters and the audience, which really helps in the two scenes in which Ray nearly gets shot by Ken, and where Ken dies. I also feel that another way that this has been done is by introducing a bit of comedy in the film, not a lot, but subtle enough to create a warm feeling for what otherwise would be a cold character. I think that the lack of this helps develop a hate of the character Harry, who only really appears in the second half of the movie, but his first "entrance" where he sends the letter with much swearing and anger whilst we start to see Ray and Kens character draws hate to him, as we see that Ray and Ken are humans, and that they have feelings.