Saving Private Ryan
Genre: drama, action, war
Misé en scene:
Setting: D-Day - June 6, 1944. Daytime. Omaha Beach, Normandy, France
Costume: army uniforms. Automatically tells us that the film is a war film, and we realise that these men will either come out alive or die fighting.
Facial expressions and body language: some of the characters are being sick on the boat. This could be from sea sickness, nerves or fear. It is quite sickening to watch yet the men around remain relatively placid; they are used to such vile surroundings, or are so scared that they don't even realise that these men are vomiting right next to them. This gives the audience an insight to how these men have changed due to war.
Lighting: dull blue and grey tones. It is quite bright, indicating daytime, but as this is set during war it is quite miserable.
Camera:
- As the camera follows the boats it shakes violently; this shows us what it was like to be on the boat next to the boat in the shot, with turbulence due to the waves. From this shot we also see a man puke/spit into the sea, and this paired with the turbulence almost makes the audience feel a little seasick.
- An extreme close-up shot of Capt. Miller's shaking hand. This is effective because it shows just how scared these men would be, even though his face remains calm; he is the captain, he needs to be brave, yet he too is frightened of the outcome.
- As a bomb blows up in the near distance, the camera focuses on several men in turn. One of these shots shows a man clenching his facial muscles and trying to remain calm despite the impending doom. This is a striking shot because it becomes clear that most of these men are going to die and are aware of it, yet are doing all they can to stay calm and brave.
- Just after the aforementioned shot there is another which centres around a soldier kissing his crucifix necklace and visibly praying. He is turning to God and his religion to save him - or perhaps he isn't particularly religious but has lost hope and the only thing that could possibly save him now is God. This, again, shows how war changes people and makes them search for hope in anything.
- The camera sits in the back of the boat as all the men in front get shot. Blood splatters onto the camera and you are put directly into the scene, behind all of these dying men, and these men are dropping so quickly and ceaselessly. It is a horrible, true-to-life representation of what goes on during war and how men can be there one second and gone the next
Sound:
- The scene opens with loud, crashing waves. Like the camera shots, this puts us directly into the action, yet we realise that we aren't hearing it even half as loud as these men in the boats are.
- There is a brief moment of calm when the camera is in the boat before one of the soldiers pukes on the floor, and another soldier follows suit. It is horrible realistic and could perhaps make the audience feel a little nauseous.
- There is no dialogue until around 1 minute into the scene, when the driver has to shout at the men in order to be heard over the waves. His final words are 'God be with you', which is the only thing he could possibly say to give hope to these soldiers, regardless of whether they are religious.
- There are around five off-screen but diegetic sounds of bombs going off not far away from the boat. This brings the shocking realisation that these men are heading off to their impending deaths, and could be gone in a second.
- As soon as the land gates are open, there are loud sounds of advancing bullets, and then sounds of the bullets interacting with these men and killing them. These sounds are disturbing and continous. We hear the sounds of bullets hitting (and cutting through) metal helmets, designed to protect them, but to no avail. This gives a sense of helplessness.
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Genre: romance, drama, romantic comedy, comedy of manners
Misé en scene:
Setting: Fifth Avenue, New York City. Early morning. 1960.
Costume, hair, make-up: Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) seems to be dressed from wherever she was the night before, in her elegant, jewel-embellished black evening gown, black gloves and sunglasses even though it is the early morning. Her hair is in a chic and immaculate updo, as if she hasn't spent the entire night out. Her entire appearance gives her an aura of elegance and grace, and sets the tone of her character.
Facial expressions and body language: Due to her sunglasses, we don't see many facial expressions from Holly. We watch as she looks into the window of Tiffany and Co. and eats a pastry and drinks coffee - this links to the title Breakfast at Tiffany's. She stares at the jewellery in the window for some time, at one point tilting her head and staring in what can only be described as longing, and continues looking at it even as she walks away. It is clearly an interest of the character, who may turn out to be materialistic and shallow. As the scene continues, she loses a little of her grace as she walks along hitching up her dress and swinging her arms, before running into the house to avoid a man in a car.
Lighting: the lighting begins dull and greyish, to show that it is very early in the morning with little or no sunlight, and also could be an indication that it is set some time in the past. In the second part of the scene, though, the sun has begun to shine which indicates a time difference from when Holly gets out of the taxi to when she arrives home.
Camera:
- First there is a static long shot as the taxi emerges in the distance, before the camera tracks it down the street when it comes close. As it is in the distance we assume that the taxi has no relevance, until it comes close and is a point of focus.
- There is a low-angled, over-the-shoulder shot of Holly looking up at the store building: over her shoulder we see the word 'TIFFANY' from the shop, immediately linking to the title.
Sound:
- There is no dialogue in the scene until the very end. There is just a calm, elegant, non-diegetic song which is parallel to the actions of Holly, walking slowly home, and also links to the elegance of the character.