Below is a clip from 'Adulthood' which I am going to analyse to see how mise-en-scene is used in a British Social Realism film to represent the film's characters and how it displays the BSR genre itself. I chose this film as I have watched it several times so I am familiar with the story line and the characters and I think it successfully shows the mise-en-scene which is typically seen in BSR.
Production Design - Location
The gif shown above displays how the production design for location has been specifically chosen carefully, this scene is at 0:00-0:01 so is only displayed for a very short amount of time but is successful in setting the scene and hinting to the audience the genre which is about to be explored;it has set the scene well as it is an establishing shot. From this gif I can denote a busy city road which also has a London tube train passing through-the large amount of movement occurring in the shot creates a busy and urban atmosphere, I can also denote many different ethnicities of people which represents London as a very multicultural area which also connotes that this film is set in the current era. I can also denote that there is graffiti/artwork in the scene which has been chosen by the director to create an aurora which represents rebellion and the corrupted youth which are two themes mainly explored in this film. All of these denoted things in the shot connote that it is a BSR genre film; the London train and busy road tells me this as BSR films are usually shot in busy London area's where crime is common.
Production Design - Costume
This gif is from 0:35-0:40 and I picked this as I think it clearly shows the costume for the main two characters in this scene. From this I can denote that both men are wearing hoodies and joggers-they both look very casual and are not wearing any high branded clothing or designer clothing-the only brand I can see is a Puma hoodie which is not relatively expensive. Their clothes also do not look brand new and look very worn in and old. This represents the film's characters as either working class or under class individuals as they are wearing very chavy clothing and also it connotes that they do not have a highly paid job otherwise they would be wearing smart wear. It also displays the BSR genre as a genre which explores groups of people who are under privileged and people who are living in poverty and this is correct as this is one of the main themes in BSR.
Lighting
I chose to look at this particular close up to analyse the lighting used here. This shot happens at 0:15-0:17 and is a close up of one of the actors on the train. I can denote that there is no artificial lighting or any attempt to perfect the lighting in this shot as there is a shadow and a bright light that go across his face, I can also denote that the entire shot has a blue over cast. The blue over cast denotes that the blue has been made stronger on the colour palette to emphasize how cold and negative the film is as blue often represents the mundane and upsetting themes in BSR. The un-perfected lighting represents how BSR aims to achieve a very realistic product and this includes by not having artifical lighting. The rough light adds to the realism and persuades the audience to believe that it is real. This also in a way connotes that the actor has a dark side but also a positive side but because of the circumstances his positive side is not allowed to be shown.
Actors
I chose this gif to represent the actors shown in the scene as it shows how they are just normal everyday people, they do not look like hollywood actors and in fact look incredibly normal-like people you would see walking down the street. This is shown at 0:40-0:43. The pauses on their faces emphasize their angry emotions towards seeing each other and also allow the audience to look at them and see that they are normal people. Before Adulthood neither of them had much acting experience which is typical for BSR as they have a low budget so cannot afford extremely famous actors. This scene also is typical for BSR as there is no dialogue which is sometimes avoided in important scenes as they are not professionals so the director does not want to ruin the scene by bad acting. These shots of the actors also represent them as quite scary, dominating men by the glared expression on their faces. Their worried, angry faces which I can denote throughout the scene connote there has been a previous dispute or problem between the two actors.
Colour
The grey colors are shown throughout the entire clip I have studied but I think they are emphasized here with a blue colour palette even further. I can connote that there is not much colour in this gif other than grey, black and a slight yellow, there are no pieces of bright clothing or any bright items which allow a positive mood and everything is grey and mundane. This connotes that the story line is quite negative and that the film is placed in an area where nothing positive happens and both of these are correct for the BSR genre. This represents the BSR genre as very hard hitting and miserable, it also presents the characters as ordinary people who are living a very stressful life full of struggles. The blue color palette adds a negative feeling to the scene and takes away any hope or happiness that the audience may be feeling at that moment.
Era
This gif above tells me that the film is set in the current era and is a modern film, I know this as I can denote a modern day train which was not present in the previous era's. This mise-en-scene has been chosen to show the era but also to show the ordinary lives the characters lead-they use public transport which is not always the safest and it also shows the location of the film as the London tube is obviously only in London. This represents the characters as people who are not in the upper class and displays the genre as a genre which focuses on the working/under class people in society. It also displays the genre as a modern genre which focuses on current situations in life.
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