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Film Mise-en-Scene Analysis: Boy (2010) Taika Waititi

Decent Essays

The film ‘Boy’ (2010) uses a range of techniques to construct an effective mise-en-scene. Taika Waititi (director) has been able to create aesthetically pleasing scenes to communicate to the audience about the setting, characters, story and themes. The sequence at the beginning of the film is an appropriate example of the good use of mise-en-scene.

The sequence consists of shots which clearly establish the setting. We are shown a long shot of Boy’s class getting ready for a class photo. In the frame, a board with the name of the class, school and year sits at the bottom like it would in any other class photo. This is a more obvious and direct, but at the same time, clever way of telling the audience what year and where it is set in. ‘Raukokore School, 1984, Room 2’ it says. Waititi also paid close attention to fashion and costume design, using bright-coloured clothing that would only really be worn by children in the 1980s. We see a boy in the middle row on the right side wearing what seems to be a uniquely styled leather Jacket. A style of clothing made famous by singer and Pop icon ‘Michael Jackson’ who was well in his prime in the 1980s. “The zipper-bedecked red leather jacket that Jackson wore in 1983's “Beat It” video quickly became iconic and widely copied. (Michael himself opted for a similar tomato-colored style in his subsequent “Thriller” clip.)” (LAUREN WATERMAN, 2010). ¬The photo is being taken in a rather natural outdoor scene by the bay naturally lit

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