The Mise-en-scene of a clip refers to the visual information put into a scene or frame, communicating to the audience vital information about the scenario. It consists of 5 elements: Settings & Props, Costume, Hair & Makeup, Facial Expressions & Body Language, Lighting & Colour and Positioning of Objects in the Frame.
I will be analysing the Mise-en-scene of this short clip from the animated movie Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Setting & Props:
Firstly, the setting is clear in this scene; the characters are in a lab. The props drive this narrative, creating a busy and full shot allowing the audience to recognise that scientific experiments are taking place, without the need of any context of the plot.
A notable use of the props in the story-telling is the goggles, the main character wears his correctly over his eyes whilst his partner places them on her head. This is used to indicate that her thoughts are elsewhere, and not on the experiment, which is proven through the dialogue.
The use of props to enforce the narrative is very evident, it easily implies the characters thoughts and feelings through their interaction with them.
Costume, Hair & Makeup:
Hair & makeup would refer to the aesthetic and appearance of our characters, as it is an animated piece. The costumes help emphasise the setting, with the goggles and lab coats on certain characters. The clothing also emphasises the fact that they are school children, wearing appropriate attire for teenagers. Indicating what we already know; that they are in a chemistry class.
Facial Expressions & Body Language:
The body language used in this clip helps the audience to understand the relationships between the characters. The female fox is positioned away from her partner, indicating disinterest. Whilst he is subtly bent over his work, emphasising his dedication to it.
An example of facial expressions aiding the narrative is when two of the characters engage in a flirtatious conversation, her partner can be seen in the background rolling his eyes, adding to the feeling of impatience.
The positioning decisions of the animators show a great attention to detail, aiding the dialogue and allowing the audience to subconsciously pick up on the feelings and thoughts of the characters and their relationships.
Lighting & Colour:
This whole shot has a very warm colour grade to it, it allows the viewer to subconsciously understand that the characters are underground, and therefore without natural daylight. There is an additional spotlight glow on the characters in the centre of the shot, this light highlights the important parts of the composition to the audience. It also adds shadow and depth on their features, overall creating a more pleasing aesthetic as they talk.
Positioning of Objects/Characters in the Frame:
The shot would also be considered ‘medium’ as we can see from the torso up, it also has shallow depth, with the foreground and background not having too much distance between them. The use of blur in the background helps emphasise this, as well as the characters.
Additionally, throughout the entire clip the composition remains a ‘two-shot‘ with 2 characters on-screen at all times, this allows the audience to appreciate the relationship and interaction between them. An interesting note is that the scene portrays a group of characters, yet as every shot is in pairs, we never see them interact as a group. This perhaps is to emphasise the task they are doing and that it is supposedly a partnership, adding to the dialogue of the main fox, who wants her to stop becoming distracted by the group.
A pan-shot is also used to show the characters are in the same room.