The film that I’ve chosen to analyse is a clip from the movie ‘Chicago’ of six minutes and thirteen seconds. Throughout this document I will be analysing this clip using the elements of mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound and editing. Chicago was released in 2002 and was directed by Rob Marshall - an American theatre directer, film directer and choreographer. He is a six-time Tony Award nominee, Academy Award nominee, Golden-Globe nominee, a four-time Emmy Winner and his most noticed work is this 2002 Academy Award for Best Motion Picture, Chicago. The main genre of this film is Musical with the sub-genres being crime fiction, drama and comedy.
Mise-en-scene is one of the most important aspects to be used in the creation of any film and Marshall has filled all these aspects perfectly. The setting/location is a very important part of mise-en-scene because it sets up the whole scene. In the jail scene its dark and cold but clean and not cluttered, keeping the focus on the dialogue being said, because its a very important part that is needed to be known for the next scene. The press conference is outside, during the day, outside the courthouse, showing that it is avery serious matter and the main character is under some serious charges. The musical scene occurs in a theatre thats small and classical but is also used as if Richard Gere (Billy Flynn) were using as it as a puppet show, this meaning that he's conducting it all for the press to print what he wants to make ‘Roxie’ look innocent. The newspaper and black and white scene is on a TV but the newspaper is shown over New York City, then cuts to out the front of shops and then again to inside Renee Zellweger (Roxie Hart) house where her crime was committed, this really helps relate back to the main genre and storyline of the film also showing how far back in time that this is set. Props/costumes, gives the audience an opinion of the characters and set and what it represents. In the musical scene it is used as a metaphor to get a point across so Renee Zellweger (Roxie Hart) is wearing a blue dress with a wooden handle on the back that ‘Billy’ controls her with, skin coloured tights, blue heels, makeup and hair done for a performance on stage. Richard Gere (Billy Flynn) is wearing a flat hat with a stripy suit and bow tie, dress shoes, pocket watch and his makeup too is done for a stage performance. The props used were; journalists dressed like puppets behind ‘Roxie’ and ‘Billy’ on the stage with strings contacted to them, the chair ‘Roxie’ and ‘Billy’ sit on together, an audience and a spotlight on ‘Roxie’ and ‘Billy, proving further that the whole point of this scene is like putting on a show and performing. Lighting too is very important in this clip because in the main scene which is the musical scene Marshall uses many different tints of the lighting to change the mood without changing the environment. The lighting he used is reds & oranges to excite the ‘press’ and get them interested - becoming friendly with them, it then changes to blues & purples when explaining her story making her sound innocent - making the ‘press’ feel sorry for her and believe her. The final tint was a light pink - saying everything she did was understandable and alright. The style of acting obviously is very well done as it is a musical and the whole film is very theatrical so they fit it perfectly and I couldn't see it any differently. As well as these two aspects of mise-en-scene there is an importance of cinematography used throughout the clip.
Cinematography is where the director has positioned certain aspects in or in a particular place in the frame. In the scene that took place in the jail the aspects of cinematography are; the rule of thirds used (vertical and horizontal) - this puts characters in places that an audience members eye would immediately go to if watching, the camera is low and canted to give a lay back and non-stressful environment, it is a medium shot only showing the waist up, its underexposed to show that they are in fact in a jail and its not a good place to be, it is perfectly in focus being crisp, clear and sharp. In the musical scene cinematography is very important which is why the director used the rule of thirds used (vertical and horizontal) but in only some parts of the scene otherwise the main focus is dead centre so the audience can not be distracted from the main point. The camera is in a low position - almost as if the viewer was sitting in the audience, its a whole body shot, underexposed because they're in a theatre, in focus and there is a very deep depth of field. Not only is mise-en-scene and cinematography important but without sound and editing there would be nothing interesting about the film.
Editing and sound can make or break a film. The editing in this clip, in between or in the scenes is quick, clean cuts. The director also used slow editing - rhythmic editing, also including rhythmic matches throughout the clip. There is a use of temporal editing between the jail scene to the press conference, and a temporal editing montage used in the musical scene, there is visible editing through the whole clip. The sound in this clip when the characters are talking is very clear and well heard, with the quality of sound in the whole clip being excellent. The musical scene is done to perfection getting the message or metaphor its trying to get across easily, and the timing is perfect. All three of these elements are needed for a good quality, functional film.
‘Chicago’ a 2002 film that won many awards with the main genre of musical but also with sub-genres of; crime fiction, drama and comedy was spot on with their use of elements to contribute to a brilliantly written film. Every single aspect of this film in my opinion was done to perfection using every possible aspect to make sure its perfect. As it is seen earlier in this document every aspect complimented the genre’s film right where necessary, never missing a point or have anywhere to improve.
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