Mise-en-Scene / Setting

Set in the 1960’s

Culture in the 1960’s• I interviewed a relative who grew up as a

young woman in the 1960’s in order to have an insight into how she felt about perceptions and culture in this era:

• “Birmingham grew from a bomb-site into a lovely city”.

• “The Beatles and Cliff Richards – the culture was good, life was a little less sharp compared to today’s life. Wages weren’t very high but we lived, and you could walk from one job into the other”.

• “It was generally just after the war, things were still rationed and you were newly seeing fresh fruits and chocolate and sweets in the shops”.

• “There was a lot of immigration and anti-social behaviour came about, things would be gotten away with that wouldn’t have been today, such as racism”.

Links to my Film• My character would not be working due to his

instabilities therefore would be looked down on – this can create a sense of fear of being around others. I can display him as isolated and disconnected from reality.

• Due to gender roles, my character’s lack of masculinity can be questioned and presented negatively – his lack of strength and height of emotion would be seen as feminine and unacceptable.

• The perception of mentally ill people in this era was severe, people would not tolerate his struggle therefore he would feel that he cannot get the help he needs. I can create tension for the anticipation of treatment as this was very unethical and unpleasant, for example electro-compulsive therapy. I could show this through increased pace in camera cuts and non-diegetic sound.

Camera Effects and Editing for a 1960’s “Look”

1. Depth of Field: having a shallow DOF is the most important element in achieving a film look. This refers to the amount of image that is in focus. This can be done with altering lenses.

2. Frame rate: shooting at 24 frames per second as this is how movies were shot in earlier times. This can also be done in editing. This can make film look less clinical and sterile looking.  The film “The Hobbit” was shot at 48 frames per second and as a result many viewers did not enjoy watching the film. It looked too much like video and not enough like the surreal world of film. 

3. Highlights: digital footage is shown by highlights, bright areas are blown out. Directors such as Stephen Spielberg sometimes intentionally blow out for a stylised effect.

4. Colour correction: be sure to not over-edit every shot as it would look more like a music video. It has to be done naturally. The white balance and exposure are edited, contrast is lowered and black points are lifted.

5. Film emulation: this applies the look of a specific film stock, adjusting the colours and grain.

Source: http://noamkroll.com/how-to-make-video-footage-look-like-film/

Costume

Costume• Colours are matched – purity

of relationship• 60’s theme• Casual • Lightness connotes

happiness within their relationship