Homework - Sweeny Todd
06/12/2016
How Mise-en-scene was used in Sweeney Todd
I am going to be talking about mise-en-scene, to describe how these affect the characters in the way of their class and personality. At the beginning of the movie it instantly starts of by introducing the main character in the film by showing us his eyes after a clean shave. This could suggest that this character is evil, because of the way that he looks and, because of the way the lighting makes the impression of the character. The music from ‘Nisi Dominus’ - Cum Dederit" de Antonio Vivaldi makes the character seem more realistically dangerous and serious from the music, because of the use of deep sounding instruments. It also introduces a main prop within the movie, which is the shaving knife, which the main character uses to kill his customers. Throughout the first section of the movie, we see the man wearing a dark high-class-looking jacket, a wig (which in those times only the fortunate had) and a tri-corner hat. From the first looks and appearance from the character can give a suggestion that it was in the Victorian Era, because of the choice of clothing that the custome designer had chosen, and we are also able to see the main character of the movie (Sweeney). We get a first look at this character as we see him help a young lady recover from fainting, getting her off the ground and conscious, which makes us see him as a heroic type, or somebody who simply has a kind heart, which we later on find out is a complete contrast to what has happened within this scene. Again, we see Todd helping others as we watch him walk over to a dark prison-like window lacking glass (but simply having metal bars), seeing him give some money to a child. The use of performance with Ray Winston (Todd) where he covers his face with his hand to block the smell really makes the audience feel that the smell is very dangerously strong and stinky. Enforcing that this character is a charitable and generous man, as he puts himself in a horrible position, to give to the unfortunate. The screen later on shows a man in dark and mysterious clothing entering Todd's barber shop after closing hours, where Todd sits the man down, creams him up and starts to circle around him, asking questions. As Todd flips open his shaving knife, the camera cuts to simply the knife, which from solely that angle alone, could look as though Todd could kill the customer in his seat. As Todd keeps asking questions about where the man works, we see a shot of his reaction, and cuts back to his knife, amplifying and enforcing this same feel. We are then suddenly introduced to a flashback of a man beating a child (in the matter of a few seconds) switching back to Todd who slits the man's neck: this quick change of pace raises the heartbeat of the viewers making us feel scared, as throughout the conversation we were given hints of what Todd would commit next, but the use of the quick change of pace makes it unexpected in that specific moment in time, as we did not know when or even if he would kill this man.
I am going to be talking about mise-en-scene, to describe how these affect the characters in the way of their class and personality. At the beginning of the movie it instantly starts of by introducing the main character in the film by showing us his eyes after a clean shave. This could suggest that this character is evil, because of the way that he looks and, because of the way the lighting makes the impression of the character. The music from ‘Nisi Dominus’ - Cum Dederit" de Antonio Vivaldi makes the character seem more realistically dangerous and serious from the music, because of the use of deep sounding instruments. It also introduces a main prop within the movie, which is the shaving knife, which the main character uses to kill his customers. Throughout the first section of the movie, we see the man wearing a dark high-class-looking jacket, a wig (which in those times only the fortunate had) and a tri-corner hat. From the first looks and appearance from the character can give a suggestion that it was in the Victorian Era, because of the choice of clothing that the custome designer had chosen, and we are also able to see the main character of the movie (Sweeney). We get a first look at this character as we see him help a young lady recover from fainting, getting her off the ground and conscious, which makes us see him as a heroic type, or somebody who simply has a kind heart, which we later on find out is a complete contrast to what has happened within this scene. Again, we see Todd helping others as we watch him walk over to a dark prison-like window lacking glass (but simply having metal bars), seeing him give some money to a child. The use of performance with Ray Winston (Todd) where he covers his face with his hand to block the smell really makes the audience feel that the smell is very dangerously strong and stinky. Enforcing that this character is a charitable and generous man, as he puts himself in a horrible position, to give to the unfortunate. The screen later on shows a man in dark and mysterious clothing entering Todd's barber shop after closing hours, where Todd sits the man down, creams him up and starts to circle around him, asking questions. As Todd flips open his shaving knife, the camera cuts to simply the knife, which from solely that angle alone, could look as though Todd could kill the customer in his seat. As Todd keeps asking questions about where the man works, we see a shot of his reaction, and cuts back to his knife, amplifying and enforcing this same feel. We are then suddenly introduced to a flashback of a man beating a child (in the matter of a few seconds) switching back to Todd who slits the man's neck: this quick change of pace raises the heartbeat of the viewers making us feel scared, as throughout the conversation we were given hints of what Todd would commit next, but the use of the quick change of pace makes it unexpected in that specific moment in time, as we did not know when or even if he would kill this man.