Mise-en-Scène Analysis (part 2)

Natalia Muñiz Blasco
Jan 17, 2022
3 min read

Hi everyone!

In the last post, I analysed the mise-en-scène aspects of setting, lighting and use of colour. Here, I will have a look at the different costumes, make-up and props that I will use to achieve that colour palette and feel.

Hope you enjoy reading this post!

xx Natalia

Use of Props:

Just like last year, there are some key props that I want to use in my production. Some are very key and others I will use to complement the mise-en-scène and create the atmosphere that I want.

Key Props:

A big mirror: Mirrors will be important symbolically throughout my production, as they will symbolise the 'fake' and 'real' personalities of my character, as well as her self-esteem. I want to acquire a big mirror where the whole body of my character will be reflected, and which will be the centrepiece of the bedroom.

ree — These are some mirrors that I will choose from. I will probably buy this last one

Post-it Notes:

On the mirror, I will stick little post-it notes with emotions or nouns such as "happy", "genius", "cool girl", "party-animal", "chill", "emo", etc. These will be colourful and match the general theme of the bedroom mise-en-scène. I will probably use blue, orange, pink, green and yellow post-its.

ree — This is will be a crucial feature of my music video

Confetti: There is one main scene where I want to create a turning point effect and I am not sure how to do it... Perhaps, because the whole music video will be quite symbolic and surreal, the confetti will work well. However, I don't want it to give the music video a "low-quality" feel, so perhaps I can use some animation or a smoke machine instead. This is something I will need to see in the future.

ree — I like te colour palette of the main image, but I don't think I will rent a confetti machine

A small bin: This will be used to throw the post-it notes after they have been used for the day. I am planning on cross-cutting to the bin and filling it up on each shot until it is full. This will be symbolic of the exhaustion of m character provoked by having to pretend to be someone else every day.

Ambience props:

Plants: I want to use a couple of little plants (from the euro shop) to add a touch of green and nature, which I feel looks clean-cut and cosy at the same time.

ree — I took these photos at a shop near my house

Books might be useful to add a touch of colour and select the colour-palette in the background, as I have three big shelves in my room.

I have other cute props in my room such as a little jewelled tree and a music box with the shape of a piano which might add that clean-cut feel that I want.

In the bathroom, I don't want any props distracting from the main action going on, so I will tidy everything up in order to look neat, but not out of the ordinary.

Use of Costume and Make-Up:

Why Costume is Important in my Production:

"False Confidence" is all about the chaos of not having enough confidence and only pretending. I want to convey that through the different 'personalities' my character will try on each day. This is where costume comes in, and has a major role.

As I am creating a sort of "overly bright dystopia", I want all costumes to be somewhat unusual, quirky, bright and varied. My wardrobe is limited, but I will ask my friends if they have a quirky clothing element that I could borrow.

Costume and Make-up I will use:

I will need around 5 different outfits which I will use for the montage scene where I am aiming to create a sense of routine and a cycle in an unhealthy mindset. There is one particular outfit which I want to be especially party-like for the climax scene in the bathroom.

In terms of the make-up, I will only vary it slightly as I want to draw the attention toward the chosen post-it. I might vary the hairstyles to make it seem as though the montage takes place on different days.

However, I will add natural make-up to my character and perhaps different lipstick shades as those can be easier to remove than heavier make-up. As my actress will have to change outfits multiple times, it would be too time-consuming to have different make-up looks.

Nevertheless, for the party costume I will add a special make-up with some pearl stickers for the eyes. In my bright dystopia, all emotions will be portrayed as 'fake', and hence when my character brings her hands to her eyes in exhaustion to cry, I want to use these pearl stickers to simulate the tears.

This is everything I have so far, but stay tuned to find out more about the specific props, costumes and make-up for the music video!