Kidulthood

A good example of mise-en-scene, is the film 'Kidulthood'.We could identify what type of film it was in just the first 10 minutes. The films beginning is set in a school playground. We could see this as the characters were dressed in school uniform. They wore blazers, ties and school shirts which gives us the vision that they are all in the school premises. We can see people smoking in the school grounds which gives us an impression that they are rule breakers and rebellious. A lot of the characters were wearing tracksuits and hats. We could tell they were chavs from the beginning. The girls wore big hoop earrings with their hair scraped back into a high side ponytail.


The lighting was brighter in side the classrooms and darker when the characters are outside. The more dominant characters are in groups. Alot of the main characters were positioned in the background. Other students were  walking in front of the camera. In the classroom scene, there was a low angle point of view shot. The audience were seeing the girl shout down to the camera. There was an extreme close up of the boy in the DT block with the glasses on drilling. This showed just his eyes to show his concentration. At the very beginning, there was panning. The camera showed the boys playing football and then the other people in the playground. When the camera is focusing on the football, they used tracking to follow the football from one person to another. Zoom was also used to focus on the main characters so you can identify who is talking.

Throughout the small clip we saw, a number of facial expressions being shown. When the girl was getting beaten up, she had a fearful face. The girl who watched it happen looked shocked and helpless.

Film Key Terms

In film, it is important to know the camera shots and what effect the different camera techniques have on the audience.

• Close up - A shot which shows from the neck up and it is used to show facial expressions.
• Medium shot - A shot showing the character from the waist up. It allows other characters to be in view and so it allows character interaction. Often used for more sociable shots.
• Extreme close up - This shot focuses on a small detail. E.g. an eye or a hand.
• Long shot - A shot showing a character or setting from a distance.
• High angle shot - A shot taken from above, looking down. It makes the audience feel powerful and superior and the actors seem small and vulnerable.
• Low angle shot - A shot taken from below. The audience are being looked down on. It may makes us feel small and vulnerable and the actors seem powerful and superior.
• Panning - This is when the camera moves in an arc from a fixed point.
• Tracking - This is when the camera is on tracks and it follows the action.
• Zoom - The camera lens moves in to a close up. Often used to focus attention on a relevant detail or emphasises a characters reaction. 
• Diegetic sound - Music/sound effect that comes from the scene of the film.
• Non-diegetic sound - Music/sound that is added to the film during editing.
• Mise-en-scene - Everything in the frame. Nothing in the film is there by accident. Mise-en-scene is a broad term covering everything you see. Colours, props, set, costumes and lighting.