Close Reading Assignment- Film Terminolgy- Mise-en-scene/ composition

The Mise-en-scene used in the opening credits of grease really helped to show us about the characters, the rest of movie and the setting. Though animated the opening credits have a lot of things throughout the scene to help give us clues about the movie and for our enjoyment.

Though animated the opening credits have a lot of things included in the scene to gives us clues about the movie and for our enjoyment.

Danny's room is a really good example of how mis-en-scene has given us clues about the movie and about the characters. Mise-en-scene involves a lot of symbols when it comes to Danny's room for example the messiness of his floor gives us the impression of a messy teenage boy which is exactly who Danny is. Also the Roydell flag above his bed tells us the school he goes to and also gives us the impression that this might be an important part of the movie as it is shown very obviously. A poster on the wall beside his bed of a famous artist with a guitar and the word 'rock' on it helps give us the setting of the 50s and the type of person that Danny is.

The mise-en-scene also helps to tell us about the movie because all of those things are there for a reason and obviously the director is trying to tell us different things maybe messages, about the movie or even setting. A lot of the things that are in the scene give us clues that the movie is set in the 50s for example in the Rizzo introduction scen we see behind her a poster of James Dean a famous film actor in the 40s-50s. This also helps to give us a clue about the character of Rizzo as his most famous movie is "Rebel without a cause" giving us the clue that she might be a bit of a rebel herself. The Rydell flag that we see in Danny's room is also present telling us she goes there as well and telling us that she is a teenager. Behind her is a pink ladies sign- though we may not register now from not watching the movie this is a very iconic clique that Rizzo is in. All of these things we see in her room give us little clues about her and about her life. The director obviously put these in to let us know a bit about these characters before the movie starts.

Mise-en-scene also helps draw our attention by the use of the dominant picture. For example when we see the scene with the t-birds we are immediately drawn to them by the use of colour (black against dull colours so black stands out) and the use of movement. Another thing that the director has done to get us focusing on what needs to be focused on.

The density used throughout the scene also gives us an impression of there lives. For example in Danny's room a lot is happening on his floor, his walls and just in general everywhere when we contrast to Sandy though there is no where near the amount of stuff that there is in Danny's symbolising the difference in money, character etc...

Mise-en-scene gave us a lot of things to think about while watching the opening of grease. The directors choices of what he put in and what he didn't gave us clear ideas about what the rest of the movie will be like.

Close Reading Assessment- Film terminology- Music

Music is one if not the most important part of not only the opening credits of grease but the movie itself as the movie is a musical.
The song that is used in the opening credits of grease is 'grease is the word' sung by the beegees. Grease is the word is an up beat happy, fun, energetic kind of sign that is very much a song that gets stuck in your head. I think that the song is one of the main factors of the opening credits being mrmorable. It is a song that most people to this day know even though it was made in the late 1970s.
These lyrics really help us to relate to the overall movie and give us a bit of insight into the type of not only film we are watching but the characters as well. This song is really based around teenagers and gives us a feeling of the type of life that we are about to be thrown into for 2 hours.

"We take the pressure and we throw away
Conventionality belongs to yesterday
There is a chance that we can make it so far
We start believeing now that we can be who we are"
These lyrics really give us an insight into the themes of grease itself so I would say that they are almost forshadowing what happens in the movie. As well as delivering a message to the audience not only about the movie but the characters themselves.

The use of the up beat music really gives us an impression of the characters before the movie even starts.
It also helps us get into the mood and into the context of the movie and gives the opening scene some flow. The song itself uses the title "grease" in it repetitively to help emphasize the title of the movie and also shows that grease will be important throughout the rest of the movie. It also helps to show us the time period of the movie as grease put in peoples hair was big in the 50s.

The music in grease also helps to entertain us and get our attention as it is an upbeat song with repetition of the line "grease is the word" so that we as viewers can easily learn the words and sing along with it. It keeps us watching the screen and helps us to get into the mood of the musical. Entertainment being the key word though as we are drawn to the screen because of the catchy song and keep watching as it continues.
The music in grease also helps us to recognise the genre of the movie- musical as the type of song helps suggest this.

The music in grease helps set the genre, the setting, the era, the mood/tone of the movie, tells us a little bit about the characters and a little about the movie itself.