MISE EN SCENE: Location & Settings, Performance & Movement/Body Codes. Case studies: Casino Royale (2007) & Se7en (1995)

MISE EN SCENE:

• Location
• Settings
• Performance & movement: Body Language
• Costume
• Props
• Cinematography: Lighting

Study the opening sequence of Casino Royale (Campbell,2006)

Settings

Describe the settings used as much as possible

• What settings are being used in the first 3 minutes – before the opening credits?

• Why have those settings been chosen?

• Are the settings appropriate to the film? If so why, in what ways?

• How has the setting informed you about James Bond?

Performance and movement

• Analyse the facial expressions of the characters and how does it inform us about them and what they are thinking?

• What do we learn about Bonds movements in the sequence?

• Consider his acting immediately before and after apparently drowning the man in the toilets?

BODY CODES

Actors are able to generate audience response to their performance in a whole range of subtle ways. A range of ten body codes have been identified:

1. Direct bodily contact
2. The proximity of one character to another (or proxemics)
3. The orientation of one to another (i.e. the extent to which characters stand with their bodies turned towards or away from each other)
4. General appearance of individuals (e.g. Tall and thin, or short and fat)
5. Head movements (e.g. nodding or shaking of the head)
6. Facial expressions
7. Gestures (or Kinesics)
8. Body posture
9. Eye movement or contact
10. Aspects of speech, such as pitch, tone, stress, accent, volume, speech errors (all of which are termed paralinguistic codes)

(Adapted by Argyle in Hinde 1972 and Fiske 1982)

SEVEN (Fincher, 1995)

Performance and Movement

• Study the sequence with Detective Mills and Somerset in the office together in terms of body language and behaviour.

• Analyse their body language in relation to the 10 body codes defined by Argyle (1972) and Fiske (1982)

• Try and incorporate the terms PROXEMICS, KINESICS AND PARALINGUISTIC CODES in your analysis



Lust killing analysis

• Now assess the body language of the character who is forced to kill in “LUST”

• How many of the 10 body codes does he incorporate in the interrogation sequence and how has the scene been shot?