Love Actually scene evaluation

Love Actually Evaluation

Micro elements:

Mise-en-scene: Regarding mise-en-scene I attempted to lay out a clear understanding of the collective aspects. To begin with, I wanted to establish a suitable setting to match the theme of the scripted movie “love actually” the scene in which I was tasked with recreating is set within 10 downing street and because of this I felt like I required a business-like professional set; Hence, a school being a perfect setting.

 Following this, lighting played an integral aspect in the functioning of a well-formed scene, I wished for every shot to be bright yet not glaring, like the actual scene; therefore, artificial lighting was used throughout the whole cut excluding one outside scene.

 The element of costume was addressed by using our schools’ uniform, suits and formal clothing. This was a suitable choice as it directly matched the costume shown in the actual scene.

Character expression and movement was the hardest aspect of addressing mise-en-scene due to my limited options for actors, I was unable to use a cast beyond those in my year group. Regardless of this I still attempted to match the expressions of my characters with the aesthetic of the characters.

Props did not prove influential in the production of the scene. In the original scene, no props were used and their necessity was questionable for the nature of scene. I used various tables in order to create a working office like environment and to encourage smooth production.

Hair and makeup were also limited due to the situations in which I was filming under.

Cinematography: Throughout this piece I attempted to use a variety of different camera angles and techniques. As the film begins u used a small pan shot as the ‘prime minister’ approaches. Following this I used a two shot. During dialogues between characters I used close-up shots to emphasise the reactions and facial expressions of the characters. As the scene progresses, I used both an aerial shot and a low angle shot to emphasise power the power divide between the characters. I also included various zoom shots to capture important expressions.

Sound: Sound was kept to a minimal, there was no non dietetic sound only dialogue between the characters. I did this to create the best re-enactment of the original scene as possible

Editing: For editing I primarily used jump cuts as the character's exchanged dialogue. Furthermore, in this piece I focused heavily on maintaining eye line matching so the shot-to-shot relationships of the characters were emphasised and visually represented to the audience. Lastly I also ensured continuity editing to make sure there was no flaws regarding character expression and movement, prop placement, etc, in my film.