Mise-en-scene of a Teen Film

Performance

This refers to character movement and expression.

What can we tell about a character based on their facial expressions and their positioning or the way they move?

For example, at the end of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Cameron's angry and frustrated performance is important because it represents the way he feels about his father and it is a release of his anger and frustration over their distant relationship. It is also a big contrast to the withdrawn and quiet Cameron who is scared of getting into trouble, that we see for the rest of the film.

PROPS

These include objects the characters hold - i.e. Jim's switchblade, AND bigger objects that they interact with - i.e. the Ferrari in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

HOWEVER, once the characters get into the car, it stops being a prop and becomes a setting!

Costumes

Costume includes anything the characters WEAR:

• clothing and shoes
• accessories (like hats and jewellery)
• make-up and hairstyle
• tattoos

It's important that you think carefully about what the costumes that characters wear tell you about them and about the context (time and place) in which the film was produced. For example, the 'teen' costumes in Rebel reflect that the 1950s is when jeans became popular among teens. In Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ferris' costume is a reflection of his individuality and refusal to belong to a clique.

Make sure you also think about how how and when costumes CHANGE in the films.

Setting & Production Design

Focus on key settings for different scenes in the films and explore the following questions:

• Where are we?
• When are we?
• Does the location seem like a good place (utopia) or a bad place (dystopia)?
• Is the location crowded or empty?
• Is it a bog or small location? Does it give a sense of being lost or is it claustrophobic?
• Is the setting inside or outside?
• What other details are there that tell you about the setting? I.e. decor

CGI and Special Effects

Where has CGI (computer generated imagery) been used to create sets and effects that it would not be possible to create in reality? We don't see any CGI used in Rebel or Ferris, but where is it seen in other films you are studying?). CGI refers to VISUAL EFFECTS that it is not possible to create in reality.

Special effects includes explosions, car crashes (and other stunts) and other effects that are created in a studio or on location using people trained to create them and stunt doubles for cast.

Ferris and Rebel both make use of special effects relating to cars.

Composition

This refers to the placing of characters and objects within a scene and their proximity (how close they are) to each other and the camera.

For example, the positioning of Jim and his parents during the argument on the stairs scene represents how much power each of them has, with Jim's Dad at the bottom because he is the weakest or least powerful at this point in the film.

If characters are further away from each other then it

suggests they are emotionally distant also, whereas if they

are close to each other it connotes their close relationship.