Whether you're taking Media Studies at GCSE or A-Level, a basic understanding of the media language used to talk about media products is an essential first step!
This series of posts aims to give you a basic toolkit to begin with - and it's just that. A basic toolkit. Bits and pieces of what we discuss here today will work all across Media Studies, no matter the source - others bits will not. Equally, certain Media texts will require specialist language and techniques not included in today's post.
Bear that in mind.
If you're keen to try out what you learn from today's post, a couple of minutes of a film, TV show or music video will allow you to test out the full range of what you learn today. Feel free to try it out and email me your findings. If you want to see and hear me do it first, check out my analysis of Taylor Swift's Bad Blood for the GCSE group.
Text?
Let's get clear first of all what we mean by a 'text'. In day-to-day usage, 'text' means anything to do with the written word being displayed. You could call this blog post you're reading right now 'a text' and nobody would question you. Likewise, in an English classroom you could pick up a copy of Macbeth and call it 'a text' - and your English teacher would agree. In Media, however, 'text' has a much broader meaning: here, 'a text' is absolutely anything that's trying to convey a message - and not just the written word. You'll encounter posters, videos, TV shows, films, magazines, newspapers, radio shows and even video games - and in Media, they are all texts. In Media, texts are the sources we work with, whether we're reading them, watching them, listening to them or playing them. So what is Mise-en-scène? Though mise-en-scène is usually translated to mean 'staging' it literally translates as 'placed in the scene.' When looking at mise-en-scène we concern ourselves with what we can actually see and what it is trying to tell us about the scene and the people in it. This will include: - The clothing/costumes being worn by people; - Any props or accessories being held or used by people;
- Hair and makeup effects applied to people; - The lighting, paying attention to lightness, darkness and use of colour; - The setting, including any use of scenery, whether mocked up, against a green screen or using real locations; - The use of weather and environmental effects;
- The positioning and spacing of people and things; - Choreography or stunt acting; - Any practical special effects (see below).
Practical or CGI? Computer generated imagery or 'CGI' has developed massively with a whole host of films introducing new techniques that have changed cinema forever. It's a technique we'll discuss in more depth in a future post but we need to talk about it now for one good reason: CGI is so good these days that people assume any special effect (especially one they can't explain) is computer generated. The fact is, however, that CGI equipment, software and staff all remain incredibly expensive.
As a simple example, imagine that for the action scene we need to detonate a fairly standard 4x4 like the one pictured. You'd think that CGI would be the way to go but it would actually be cheaper, faster and more realistic to fill a used car with explosive and then film it being detonated - making sure, of course, that it's done safely and by qualified professionals! As another example, you can spend many, many hours on Photoshop or Premiere Pro trying to achieve realistic blood effects for your horror film - or you could pay a photo editor anything from £100 a day for their work. Alternatively, with change from £5 you can buy corn starch and red food dye which look as good as the real thing. Famously, the acclaimed 2008 horror film Colin was filmed on a total budget of £45 and used tomato ketchup as fake blood! Wherever you see a special effect, assume that, where possible and cheaper, the film makers will have gone for the real thing over the computer generated version! Ask yourself the key question: could I do that in a workshop or science lab? If yes, it's possible, even likely, that you're looking at a practical effect.
As an example We'll use a still from this scene from Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), where Kylo Ren (left) faces Rey in the film's climatic duel. Have a look at the list above and see if you can say anything about any of the items on it. My observations are below - do not worry if you don't get everything first time and don't be surprised if you spot a few things that I do not!
Clothing/costume: Ren is wearing black, hooded robes, which also make him look bigger and more imposing. It's made clear that he is the villain. Rey, conversely, is wearing white robes and bandages. This suggests her purity and goodness but also her vulnerability. Props: both characters wield lightsabers or energy swords. This suggests a science-fiction/fantasy setting but there is also something quite old-fashioned and dignified about swordfighting. Ren's blade, crucially, is red and jagged, reinforcing his status as the villain, while Rey's is blue, reinforcing that she is the hero.That Rey barely has a grip of hers, however, reinforces her inexperience. Hair/makeup: Ren's hair is dark and flowing - it's designed to obscure the face and neck and almost blend into his cloak. Rey's is messy but tied back - she values the practicality of not having hair in her face over any particular standard of beauty. Her messy hair reinforces her stress. Lighting: The overall scene is dark, suggested danger and isolation, with the only light provided by the weapons. These light each character's face red or blue to further highlight their hero/villain status. Some additional light (and drama) is provided by sparks. Setting: The woods. This suggests a location that is very easy to become lost in. The trees are all dead, reflecting the darkness and destruction of the villain... Weather: ...while it's also snowing. If the hero isn't killed by the villain or lost to the woods, the cold will eventually kill her. It suggest that time is running out for the hero! Positioning: The hero is leaning backwards from the villain, almost beaten, afraid and having difficulty even standing upright or holding her weapon. The villain is leaning in close to demonstrate his power and dominance. Choreography and stuntwork: As this is a sword fight, it will have been heavily choreographed - both actors will have had to have memorised a long routine for this swordfight to make clear who is villain and hero and who is winner and loser. There's no need to use stunt doubles here as the worst the actors would endure is a bit of bruising if they mess up their moves, though the most intense scenes might use a trained stunt double instead, especially if there is risk of serious injury. Practical effects: Remember the key question: could you create lightsabers in a workshop or science lab? In theory, yes, but not ones that look as good as this. The only practical effect in this scene is the snow, which will have been achieved one of two ways: fake snow blown through the scene with an offscreen fan or (even better) filming the scene in an actual snowstorm! In Summary Remember: mise-en-scène is everything you see in the scene! Whatever you are looking at, identify it, describe it and then explain what it makes you think or feel about the scene. Much as in English lessons, there is no specific right answer to that last part - it comes down to your interpretation as a member of the audience!