Snow White, The Witch, and The Apple
Snow White (1937)
Settings & Props
There are two settings in the scene. One was the evil queen’s dungeon and the other was the house that Snow White’s living in. The dungeon has a large cauldron and the poisonous apple that the evil queen uses to poison Snow White. The evil queen also has other things set up in her dungeon, other ingredients for her cauldron. Snow White’s house is set in the kitchen, and the queen talks to her through the window.
Costume, Hair & Makeup
The queen appears as an old lady, with long and pointy nails. She is wearing a black robe and has grey eye shadow. She also has missing teeth and warts on her face, with white and wispy hair framing her face. Her character is made to look as unappealing as possible to create a contrast between her and Snow White. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Snow White has rosy cheeks and healthy skin. She wears a red headband and her signature dress with puffy sleeves.
Facial Expressions & Body Language
Snow White: naïve and unsuspecting
Evil queen: manipulative and tempting
Lighting and Colour
The source of light is mostly natural lighting from the sun, and the characters are evenly lit. The colour temperature is warm.
Positioning of characters/objects within the frame
The characters are mostly in the center of the frame when they are the individuals on screen but when it becomes a two-shot, the queen is on the left, lit by the sun while Snow White is in the dark inside the house. This indicates that Snow White is unknowing of what the queen is plotting and “left in the dark”.
What role does the shot choice (Cinematography) play in the scene
The shots all ranged from close-ups to medium close-ups, which allows the characters to convey their emotions and intentions better through the screen.
Anomalisa. Charlie Kaufman 2016
Can you describe the mise-en-scene in this picture? How are the characters placed in the frame?
Both characters are placed in the center of a symmetrical frame. Both are lying on the bed, the woman’s side is neat and well maintained and the man’s side is a bit more messy. The lighting is warm and soft. The colours in the scene are mostly neutral colours such as brown, white and black. The woman stands out with her pink jacket and jean skirt. Their expressions are tense and cold, with their body language conveying that they are in an argument of some sort. The scene is also shot from an extreme high angle, giving a bird’s eye view of the room.
Rebecca (36 mins)
Rebecca. Hitchcock(1940)
Can you describe the relationship between the characters?
Mrs. Danvers is the one in power judging from the body language of Mrs. De Winter. Mrs. De Winter physically cowers in fear. In terms of blocking, Mrs. Danvers is standing, while the other character is seating, creating a height difference between the two and shows who is in control of the situation. The scenes are shot from eye-level of Mrs. De Winter, making Mrs. Danvers look taller. Mrs. Danvers is also dressed in darker clothes which contrasts against the lighter background and takes up more space in the composition, extending her influence in the scene. Even though she is asking for the opinion of Mrs. De Winter, she is not really asking the other character for their opinion. There is a phone involved in the scene, where Mrs. De Winter answers the call and says that the original Mrs. De Winter passed away a year ago. The house belongs to a wealthy family judging by the interior design.