Mise-en-scene and Set

Today, I want to discuss my film's mise-en-scene and set. In my opinion, I think the ambience of the film is the most important part because it reflect the emotion and feel of the scenes that are taking place. So, for my film, I wanted to make it very depressing and somber. This means I have to include elements such as dark clothing, dark and low lighting, and almost nostalgic themes. For this, I created a mood board:

The movie that really represents this aesthetic that I want to implement into my film is the movie 'Speak'. In my film, the clothes I want my character to wear are dark, incorporating a lot of black and including no accessories. So essentially, I want the outfit to be bland and basic showing no effort into putting making themselves presentable. 

Since my character is like pretty much depressed and has no motivation, this idea will be conveyed through the outfit. However, for the background, I don't want it to be completely dark. Mostly because I want a little bit of warm dark light to be present, symbolizing the young spirit my character still embodies. Also, since it's only the beginning of the movie, I don't want it to be totally dark and I want there to be hope for the character's happiness.

For my most important location, I was very much between my house and my friend's house. This was mostly because I didn't really want to be the main character in my film and also, my house is a bit too modern to give the same vibe as a sad coming-of-age movie. But, I did end up settling on my house and me being the main character because it's just way easier that way. 

For the school scenes, I'd film during one of my classes that would allow me to film in them. I'm alos going to be filming during class change or dismissal so I can get a whole bunch of people in the hallways to make it look realistic. However, this might be really embarrassing. Also for the bus scenes, I'd just be filming on my actual bus which would also be very embarrassing too. Although, I am going to have to pick a rainy/cloudy day or just a day that isn't super sunny because I really want to tie in the dull/dark ambience. The music I'm using for the bus scene is also going to help with this.

The scenes that are supposed to be in a house are going to be filmed in my home. I am going to have to figure out a way to make my house look more warm and darker rather than white and somewhat modern as it is right now. But after I do so, I will film my kitchen scenes with my mom, who'll be acting as the parent of my character. In reality, she's not going to be acting at all because she really is my mom. 

The scene that I really have planned out is the scene where the main character is in their room. For this, I am going to make sure almost no light is coming in through my windows and I want to turn on my lamp that has a yellowish tint. It'll also be quiet, exemplifying the lonliness that my character personifies. The only thing is, my room is also very bland and modern looking, as you can see in this picture.

Nonetheless, I am going to add posters and decorations to my walls and in my room to give a sort of grungy teenager vibe and I'll be adding a darker blanket to match this.