Research Part 5

 Research Part 5: Mise en scene Code 

1. Setting 

1. Define setting in film? 

The setting of a film is where the story’s time and place is set in the world of the film. 

2. Where is the story set? 

The story of the Joker takes place in Gotham City in 1981. 

3. Describe the setting of the film? 

Gotham City is a city filled with crime, political issues, and environmental problems within the city. 

Elements	Denotation of each element	Indication of connotations
Time of day	Morning Time	At the start, Arthur prepared for a job like putting on his clown make up usually indicates it is the start of the day.
• Time period	Year: 1981  (20th Century)	The different billboards on the streets, the clothing, the cars, and the radio in the background also it says the exact year 1981.
• Location	Out on the Streets of Gotham City and the clown for hire studio building	In this studio-sized building, it is dark, dingy and a bit small. Making Arthur working condition already bad.
• Climate / Season	The season is fall	At the start of the sequence the radio says it is October and 42 degrees and everyone in the city was wearing coats indicating that it was cold out.
Geography• Landscape or Outdoors / City / Country / Sea / Land / Desert.	In a city	The geography/landscape is the city, and, in a city, everyone is busy and just ignores anything that doesn’t concern them. So, when Arthur was chasing the boys to get back sign no one did anything. This would also indicate that Arthur is on his own in this huge city where nothing cares about him.
• Culture / People (Moral attitudes/ core beliefs.)	The People are poor and frustrated and are neglected by the rich people.	Arthur himself is also not financial well like most of the citizens in the city which is deteriorating Arthur’s mental health.
• Social and Economic status	Low Class and High-Class people but mainly low class.	From the looks of the streets and alleyways, this part of the city is not high in income, and again in Arthur’s workplace we see its condition it is in which is poor.

 

2. Set Design 

• Define set design in film. 

The creation of a physical space where the action of a performed event is taking place. 

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The opening sequence's set design starts in the studio building and later is in the city and then onto the alleyway. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• What connotations do you read from the décor? 

The connotations that we can get a feel from this set design and the decor are a deteriorating feel with both the city and the people in it. 

• How does the set design illustrate support the characters, story, and/or connect audiences to the film’s genre? 

Like I said before the city is slowly deteriorating and that goes with Arthur as well he slowly descends into madness over his problems in life. 

• Indicate the signs and connotations that support the genre.  

The amount of trash in the alley is a connotation to the news report on the radio talking how it is a huge problem in Gotham. 

 

3.Props 

1. Select props that are genre significant to the film opening of the film. Document how they support the genre and storytelling.  

 

 

7. Acting  

1. What is acting in the film? 

Acting in film is performing an art in movement of gestures and expressions often to realize a fictional character. 

2. What are the elements of the acting?  

Arthur Fleck: his appearance at the start of the sequence was a stressed outlook with him putting on clown make up for his job. Also, a skinny body structure too. 

 

 

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Elements	Definitions	How do the acting elements define meaning from the character and support the film’s genre?
		Document the acting elements of the chosen character.	Indicate the signs and connotations that support the genre.
Appearance	Voice part of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts that takes place in film	Joaquin Phoenix appearance as Arthur had a skinny body structure with a sad expression when he is not a clown.	Joaquin's run described by the director just gave off a sense of Arthur.
Facial expression	They allow emotion and inner thoughts to be conveyed nonverbally, articulating a wide range of feelings ranging from happiness to fear and sadness.	At the start, in Arthur’s work place we see him putting on a forceful smile and during his performance on the street we see him acting all happy and cheerful like a clown should be and at the end of the sequence we see him in pain after the kids jumped him.	That forceful smile that is put on by Arthur is basically contrapuntal to what he is feeling. We know this because of the tear and this tear shows us that he is bottling in his emotions.
Body Language: Gestures, posture, and body contact.	Body language can give off a sense of direction towards a characters actions or mood or what that character feels in that moment in time of the film.	The dancing he does while performing as a clown and him running after the kids.	As said before, his just run fits his character, he is in a panic to get his sign back because it can risk his jobs and the body movement that the kids have when Arthur is getting beat up and when he is left groaning in pain.
Vocal qualities: Tone of voice, accent, the pace of speech.	The tone of voice in film can make the audience determine what the story is either guiding too or ending off to be in some ways it can foreshadow some future events that can happen later in that film.	Arthur had a breaking/quaking tone of voice. With an average pace of speech. But it is also quiet at times.	When he shouts at the kids to stop, we can hear the shakiness of his voice. Along with the quaking as well.
Personality	Personality can give a sense of how that character in that movie is interpreted as like a crazy person would be considered psycho and others like it can be seen that personality is a fundamental part to a characters role in the story.	His personality was always sensitive and stressed out.	Like previously said he is bottling up all his emotions and mental health issues and with his working conditions and treatment is slowly driving him insane.
Role	Role can change based on the type of story you're telling but basically role can be a final decision on what that actor is going to be in that final project and or early project and how he or her character is going to work in that film.	Arthur’s role is the main protagonist of this film who struggles with his mental health and life who is also a clown for hire. Later in the film he becomes the infamous villain the Joker.	The tear that drops from his eye while looking in the mirror with a forceful smile that shows how he is going through so much stress and problems in his life.
Actions	The role of the character determines expected acts.	Arthur is a person who has bottled up all his feelings and issues, who is working as a clown for hire. So, on the job he acts all happy and cheerful but when he isn’t he looks depressed and worried.	With his performance we see him acting all cheerful, jolly, and silly like how a clown should act. However, before this he looked stressed and miserable trying to put on a smile.

 

3. Based on your understanding of casting, do you think the actors selected to play the film's characters were good choices? List (2) actors and (2) reasons why?  

The actors selected to play the film’s characters were the best possible choices that the director and studio could possibly make. Those characters being Joaquin Phoenix playing Arthur Fleck aka Joker and Robert De Niro as Murray Franklin. Joaquin really nailed Arthur as this person who is just about to crack from this stress and mental issues that we tell him off by his appearance, body movements, and facial expressions. Robert, however, not in the opening scene still has a very important role in the movie being Murray. Murray is Arthur inspiration he is what Arthur wants to be. He wants his confidence, humor, even his body language. And Robert De Niro really delivered in all those qualities same goes for Joaquin and how he played as Arthur aka Joker. 

8. Costume, hair, and makeup. 

1. What is costume in a film? 

A costume in a film are certain clothes worn by an actor to portray the character they are playing as. 

2. What is hair and makeup in film? 

Martials are used for cosmetic purposes that help actors in appearance when playing a character to make it more appropriate for that specific character. 

3. List 3 genre factors that influenced the costume design in this film? 

1. General Story telling 

2. Different and a wide array of tropes 

3. Helps establish setting 

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Images	Document visual signs by observing the time period, character’s station (social standing), sense of place, color, tone, style, etc.)	What does the costume indicate about the character, setting, and purpose of the story?
Hair and makeup	Old School Clown Make up from the 80’s and Green Clown Hair which is a wig	These indications tell us that he is a clown from the 80’s, and the clown get-up is an important key detail in the movie’s plot.
Costume	An array of colors on his suit, Big Clown Shoes, cartoony gloves, a clown nose. However, these seem vintage, a bit worn out and not in good quality.	The costume symbolizes how often Arthur is as this clown because of how worn out it looks

 

9. Color 

1. What is the definition of color in the film? 

Color in film is their help set the tone or mood for the film and that will help tell the story better. 

2. Indicate how color was used in the opening of the film. E.g., setting, lighting the scene and characters, costumes, etc. (Create a table to organize your information.) (Add images of each to support your answers. 

Codes	Meaning
setting	Gotham City 1981 October 15 at 10:50 am and the small studio building where Arthur works as a clown-for-hire.
lighting	Low key lighting
The set design (décor and props)	Props: Paint brush and a sign.  Decor: The mirror, small sink in the corner, dingy lights, lockers, table and chairs
Costume, makeup, and hair	Old School Clown Make up from the 80’s and Green Clown Hair which is a wig. An array of colors on his suit, Big Clown Shoes, cartoony gloves, a clown nose. However, these seem vintage, a bit worn out and not in good quality.
Character	Arthur Fleck soon to be known as the Joker

 

 

 

 

 

3. How does color support the film genre? (Look at the tone of the setting, characters, etc.) 

Yes, the color does support the film genre. With its dark and its bland colors really gives you that tone of seriousness. 

10. Composition 

1. Define composition in film. 

Composition in film is the ways elements/visual information play into the scene at an arranged camera angle. 

2. Define blocking in film. Document an example in the film opening and why did the producer direct the characters.  

Blocking in film is where you grab the attention of the audience's eyes. This points out where you want them to look and feel. An example of blocking would be when Arthur was putting on that forceful smile while also dropping a tear. The director wanted to exclusiveley see this part which is why everything and everyone else is blurred out. 

 

 

3.  Define framing in film. Document an example in the film opening and why did the producer direct the characters.  

Framing is the camera placement and position of the subjects in your shots. In the image below not only does it properly captures the subject but also in a very creative spot. 

 

 

4. Define depth of field. Document an example in the film opening and why did the producer direct the characters.  

Depth of field in film is the distance and large area where everything can be seen in the frame. In this shot we can see what everyone is doing in the room, like how Arthur is doing his make-up, and another clown is checking on his make-up. 

 

 

 

11. Lighting 

1. What is the lighting in the film? 

Lighting in film refers to a source of direction, quality, source, or a color of light. 

2. Document if the film opening established low-key or high-key lighting. 

The film is established to a low-key lighting. 

3. Select an image from the film opening to analyze. What type of lighting is used? How is lighting used in the opening of the film, and what tone does it communicate meaning? 

 The lighting used throughout the film's opening shifts from low-key lighting in the studio to outside. To show dark cramped spaces of his workplace where he is putting on a forceful smile to acting like he is happy outside when working as a clown. With this use of lighting tone gives off a sad tone of the reality he lives in.

 

12. Tone  

1. What is the tone in the film? 

The tone in a film is the overall mood and atmosphere of the story. 

2. What type of tone was created in the film, and what mise en scene elements were used to make it and does it support the story and genre of the film opening? (Color, lighting, camera angle, setting, etc.) 

The tone of the film was a dark and messy and mise en scene elements helped express the tone by the lighting being dark, and the colors dingy and bland, the setting was a city with a large amount of people and garbage also how nobody helped Arthur when those kids stole his sign. This really imposes the feeling on the audience to specify that Arthur is on his own in this big city.