Film & TV Language: Mise-en-scene recreation practical task

Mise-en-scene is crucial for film and TV producers to communicate genre and get across important details about the characters and narrative.

Indeed, film genres are known for certain aspects of mise-en-scene - lighting, costume, make-up and more. In television, primetime shows such as X Factor use costume and make-up to transform 'ordinary' contestants into the next pop star or boyband.

Practical task: create a 30-60 second recreation of a classic movie scene, trying to make the mise-en-scene as accurate as possible to the original clip.

Suggested scenes

Scream (1996) - opening scene

Rocky (1976) - training montage

Scary Movie - Wassup

The Blair Witch Project - apology scene

Example recreation: Fight Club (1999) - "I want you to hit me"

Here's an example recreation that some American film students did by taking the classic David Fincher movie Fight Club and recreating the "hit me" scene shot-by-shot. Here's the original:

...And here is the recreation with real thought behind the mise-en-scene and camerawork:

Mise-en-scene recreation - full task list:

Create a blogpost called 'Mise-en-scene recreation planning' and complete the following tasks:

1) Get into groups of up to four. Note: although the planning and filming can be done as a group, all students MUST edit their OWN version of the chosen scene. Make a note of who you are working with.

2) Create a plan of how you will do the recreation using CLAMPS. For each aspect of mise-en-scene, work out how you will recreate it as accurately as possible to the original. 

• Costume
• Lighting
• Actor placement, movement, expression
• Make-up and hair
• Props
• Setting

3) Write a script and shot list of every shot you will need for the 30-60 second recreation. Use as much detail as possible or alternatively take screenshots of the original scene to help you. Use the BBC Writers' Room script library to see what real film and TV scripts look like. For your shot list, you can create a table or list of every shot in the scene you are recreating. Here's an example from a previous Media student's coursework.

4) Film your scene using one of your phones - we have phone tripods you can sign out from Mr Harrison in DF06 if you need one. Alternatively, you can sign out a Canon DSLR if you'd like a more cinematic experience. 

5) Edit your video to recreate 30-60 seconds of the original clip as accurately as possible. Add music if it is in the original scene. 

6) Export your finished video, upload it to YouTube and post it to your blog along with a 100-word explanation of your work.

Deadline: two weeks. Good luck!