The Things That Go Unnoticed

 In this blog post, I’m talking about the mise-en-scene elements of my film opening. Mise-en-scene is the production elements of a film, which typically goes unnoticed, as the title of this post suggests. This includes set design, props, costume design, makeup, and lighting. There are other elements of mise-en-scene but these are the ones I’m highlighting in my project and will be focusing on in the post. 

Set design is essentially what the set of the production will look like. It develops the setting and atmosphere in which the story is told. I drew up my set design by tracing an image of the guest room of my house, which is where I’m going to be filming my project. I colored the basics of the room, the aspects that are going to stay the same. This includes the wall color, the bed frame, the dressers, the lamp, the fan, and the TV. From there, I added elements that would give the room life and make it look like a teenage bedroom. Because Delilah is an avid reader, I put a lot of books on her dresser. I also added a record player because I felt like it fit the “vibe” of the overall room. I gave the bed a simple white duvet with white pillows but colorful, fun stuffed animals. The stuffed animals show that the character is still young at heart and they bring color into the room. There are posters on the wall of Harry Potter and Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. I chose these movies because they inspired my film opening, as shown in previous blog posts, but they are also favorite films of mine. Set design is incredibly important because, without it, there is no setting in which the story could take place.

The guest room (base)

The set design

Props are objects in which characters can interact with. They are typically found throughout the set and add to the plot of the story. Throughout my film opening, Delilah is going to interact with several small props such as a backpack, pencils, a notebook, and headphones. These develop the plot and character but are very basic. The main prop used in the film opening is the magical book. The magical book is the driving force of the story and is very important. To create the prop, I’m decorating an old book with paint and embellishes. I was inspired by old vintage books to create my design. The blue and gold would make the book stand out amongst the rest. The gold detailing and flowers come from the old vintage designs I looked at. I came up with two designs for the cover because I was indecisive and wasn’t sure which one I liked better. With thoughts and opinions from my peers, I decided to choose the cover in the top picture. I liked the detailing I did and I think it adds to the fantastical and magical aspect of the film’s plot. This was the hardest mise-en-scene element for me to complete, just because of how indecisive I was but I’m really happy with the result. 

Costume design is what the characters wear. It often represents their character and can tell a story. The costume design for Delilah, the character shown in the film’s opening is simple and plain. It includes straight jeans, a white shirt, a brown cardigan, and white converse. It is mostly neutral tones. The reason it is plain and neutral is to enhance the contrast between the “real world” and the fictional world’s elements. Delilah’s costume in the fictional world would be much grander and have more bright colors compared to the one pictured. I drew inspiration from the Pinterest board I made about the character (it’s linked in my character post as well as here). I knew the aesthetic I wanted the character to have and Pinterest gave me great inspiration as to how to portray it properly. The hairstyle Delilah wears is two rounded pigtails to give the character a more youthful look.  

Makeup creates the look of an actor or character. Some productions can use different types of makeup to get different effects but for my film opening, the makeup design is simple. The makeup Delilah wears is typical of teenagers her age. I created the design on a blank face sheet, specifically for makeup designs. I didn’t do much to the eyebrows, and I did a basic neutral brown eyeshadow look with a shiny white shadow in the corner of her eye so they can stand out more. I also gave Delilah winged eyeliner, which is very popular in makeup today as well as light blush and freckles. I finished the look with neutral pink lipstick.   Once I finished the design on the face chart, I thought it looked too dramatic, so I did the makeup look on myself to give a better picture of what I envisioned for the character. The reason I kept the makeup simple is because Delilah herself is simple. She doesn’t stand out in any particular way and fits into her age group. 

Lighting is an element that can create the mood for a production. There are many lighting techniques such as high-key and low-key lighting, as well as three-point lighting. I don’t have any specific lightning techniques in mind for my film opening. I think because the lighting in a teenager's room is basic, the lighting in my opening should be as well. I have the light from the fan to illuminate the room as well as a ring light which will allow for shots to come across more clearly on camera. 

The mise-en-scene elements are my favorite part of creating the production. It allows for me to really be creative and show off the character and world through little details. Creating these aspects of the project really makes me excited to bring them to life!