Purpose:
Objectives:
Identity two elements of mise-en-scène and discuss those elements in regards to Kung Fu Hustle. How did those elements contribute to the style of the film, or the story itself?
And then, note an elements of mise-en-scène you are having trouble with….pose questions in order to gain a greater understanding of the topic. We will revisit this topic question next week as you complete the reading on mise-en-scène. Think of it as an opportunity to prepare for the paper assignment.
Finally, respond thoroughly to a single student's post. Give examples from the film or the Giannetti reading. Your responses should be at least one paragraph long and should easily utilize the readings to analyze what has been said in the post. If you ask a question don't ask one that can easily be answered "yes" or "no."
As a reminder your initial post should be at least 200 words in length.
TIP:
This is your opportunity to practice the vocabulary of mise-en-scène. What camera proxemics, shot types, lens types are apparent and why? I often both make a general comment concerning a discussion as well as add more detailed info within the rubric itself. Check the rubric when looking back at your graded work.
Remember to:
Italicize all feature length titles always. i.e. Kung Fu Hustle
Cite all sources - if a quote is not from the reading you need to include the author and publication.
My Post:
One can make a kung-fu movie anywhere in space and time so why not create a verisimilar world of a blend of the 1920’s nightclub scene with formal dress and also some costume and scenery of the 1950’s as well.
Kung Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow, 2004) has a super villain den in a supper club / casino where the gangsters (The Axe Gang) meet up in luxury to discuss their evil plans. The dress code is strict formal wear with black tie and top hats if possible. The men carry axes which if one squints appear to be the canes. Both seem to be outfits used in the Fred Astaire movies. There are a lot of of the mise en scene in this film which seem to delightfully replicate the mise en scene of famous Hollywood films.
I thought this scene showed a lot of the qualities that we studied this week in the text.
The film was done in wide screen which the pdf text Understanding Movies says is “especially effective in scenes that require elaborately choreographed movements, like a dance number, or shown here, a kung fu fight sequence”. The composition of this frame is excellent use of wide screen. The entire frame is well composed with The Tailor in the foreground, The Worker in the midground and the well-dressed bad guys around the periphery in the background. So much can fit in this frame and it’s needed to show context.
The key light is on The Tailor. He is the dominant one we notice. Dominant as used in the text is “that area of an image that immediately attracts our attention because of conspicuous and compelling contrast.” He has just been introduced to the fight that The Worker has already been fighting. As an introduction, they have made him the dominant. His chest is bright white in contrast to the other characters with darker costume hues and dimmer lighting in this scene. The features on his face are sharp. We see the bags under his eyes and his flared nostrils.
The Worker is still our hero as well, and our eye scans him as in subsidiary contrast. We do not see his full body and his lighting has more shadow. He is still in focus with shadows under his jaw. He is definitely surprised that his meek neighbor has turned into a master kung fu fighter without a doubt. In this shot, we get a look like, What? Ok! He is respecting the dominant person in the shot.
As the text says, the composition guides our eyes. First to The Tailor, then The Worker and then the periphery. The Axe Gang are well staged in a semi-circle but if this were not a screenshot, we would not really notice the features of the actors. They just seem as an anonymous group of assailants. We're not focusing on their faces. They are important but are of diminishing interest in relation to The Tailor.
The shot is wide lens with a slightly more shallow focus in front with the two lead characters and a slight out of focus in the back with the gangsters.
Student responses:
Rudy Giron
ThursdaySep 30 at 11:29pm
Hey Ida I like on how you had noticed the details on what was being used to show what kind astetics is trying to to be seen.
Mickey Chiu
4:58pmOct 3 at 4:58pm
Hi Ida!
Great analysis and I love your choice of shot to display as an example. The screenshot is also a great way of displaying spatial language as the more important and dominant figure, the tailor, is centered on the screen and closest to the foreground as you mention. As we move into the middle ground and background of the image, the worker and ax gang are shown with less detail since the foreground subjects block our view. The fact that the axe gang are all dressed the same to helps us visualize that none of them shown in the background are of any significant importance.
Chelsea Deras
8:44pmOct 3 at 8:44pm
Hey Ida,
I agree that the scene you chose is a perfect example of wide camera angles. It truly does show in this specific scene of how dangerous this fight that the 3 men will have to go through, but also shows how powerful they are to go against so many men. What a great point you made there!
Grade and comment from Anna: 10/10
Excellent post as always. I am amazed at this class and the choices you and other have made in regards to discussion posts. Thank you for choosing the scene/still you chose and your insight.
As a far as your question, I was kind of unsure what you were asking. The dominant, or dominant contrast is a term often used, but not all authors/film theorists use it. The dominant contrast is often, and maybe always the focal point. I say maybe because I am sure there is a story somewhere that due to the dialogue and dramatic content the audience is more focused on the actions of one character while another is visually more apparent, and thus the dominant. The thing is because the images move and edits occur the dominant can easily change as the focal point does as well.
Uses axis in a sentence and by its context I will describe its meaning.
Anna Geyer , Oct 4 at 2:26pm
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