Mise-en-Scene Analysis
1) In the clip from American Beauty, what cinematic techniques are used to define the characters What meaning is derived from these techniques?
Everything looks so balanced within the frame in the shots when they play through the main character's dally routine to show off a "perfect" life. For example, the scene when the main character and his family are sitting at the table for dinner. In a wide shot, the camera faces the table lengthwise with each family member in each third of the frame. There is candles on each side of the table that match each other on the opposite halves of the frame. This is done in order to send a sarcastic message to the audience about his perfect looking life not so being purpose. This is also accomplished by the main character's "empty" or "bland" attitude throughout each scene of his daily routine. These techniques spark numerous ideas for the audience to guess the thoughts of the main character. I assume from his attitude towards his life that he is bored and upset with having a plain life with no more excitement. Humorously, he is suffering from a "mid-life crisis. You can tell the main character feels trapped by his lifestyle and is waiting for something to rise within him to make life exciting again.
2) How do the cinematic techniques change in the scene after Lester has decided to take control of his life?
The main character, Lester, begins to take more up of the frame. The scenes become less gloomy and seem to have more vibrance and life. The scenes are framed to be more appealing to the eye and half more of a natural balance rather than sharp shapes in the shots. The facial expressions on the main character seem more relaxed and optimistic toward life. He literally says he, "doesn't care cause I [he] am a middle aged man who has got nothing to lose."
3) Now watch the clip from the Matrix. What cinematic techniques do you notice? How do these techniques create meaning? Compare and contrast the techniques used with Neo and the Agents.
They use a lot of low angles in this clip. Most of the shots in this scene are very tight on Neo and he takes up a good portion of the frame. There is a lot of sequence shots and they build suspense for the audience. The cutting between shots is sped up when Neo is sneaking around the cubicles to the office. Once Neo is on the ledge, the shots become tight in and from a high angle and makes Neo look smaller and submissive to men who have basically trapped him.
