Mise en Scene

Due to the lack of dialogue in The Holding Pattern story I feel the main way to get an emotional response from the audience will be in the form of close ups. Although the script was presented with no character speech I have the opportunity to add some in my script re-write, which I plan to have done by before the Christmas holiday. However, at this point in time I feel with the use of close ups, especially on Bogdan’s face I will allow the audience to make up their own narrative for Bogdan’s inner-monologue. However, in order to portray Bogdan’s social actions I will have to use long or medium shots to show the environment he is in and how alone he is. Showing close ups of the face and hands will juxtapose the long/medium shots used to show Bogdan’s solitary existence.

Scene Breakdown :

1.) From day one I have always had a clear idea in my head about how I will shoot this scene. The scene will start with the sound of whizzing cars on a black screen then fading in the audience will see Bogdan stood at the side of the road. The audience hears nothing but the cars, each one rejecting Bogdan’s plea for a ride. As soon as I started to think of locations I imagined this scene being filmed on the main, busy road leading out of Nottingham towards the motorway. With the backdrop of the nuclear power plants and nothing but desolate landscape I think the location will tie in with the forthcoming story. Fading back to black the intro to the song will play. The shortlist reads Gong by Sigur Ros, All Things to All Men by the Cinematic Orchestra or Transmission 1 by DJ Shadow. All of these songs are quite slow and will hopefully establish the film as a sad tale from the off. However, for the sake of copy write and showing the film at festivals I have decided to create my own music for the film in a similar style. For some reason I have always pictured Bogdan in a suit while he is hitchhiking. Although the script says nothing of a suit I just pictured Bogdan in a suit and tied loosened. I’m not sure whether this will work in the overall story of the film as I see Bogdan’s living conditions as slightly run-down and his living situation just as bad.


2.) This is the most important scene of the film for me. The scene where Bogdan is awaiting to be seen at the government offices. I am struggling to think of a location for this scene. I want the office to look professional but filming in an actual government building would be very hard I imagine. The last thing I want is the film being dragged down by one scene shot in a shoddy location. I am currently designing the posters mentioned in the script to put on the walls of the office. Bogdan’s lunch is critical to this scene. I think it gives a great insight into his life. The sandwich will be very plain and half eaten already. Instead of Bogdan taking water from a cooler I think it would give more of an insight into his life if he also had a bottle of water from home, not a purchased mineral water.


3.) For this scene I have been trying to keep my eye out for a tabloid paper with a racial headline. I think this would work very well with Bogdan’s personal situation being portrayed in the national newspapers. I have been keeping my eye out for newspapers with immigrant headlines. I think having Bogdan reading the Daily Mail or The Sun newspaper might add to the story. Again, Bogdan’s bottle he re-fills is present in this scene and this time he is eating a small pastry, maybe a cheap supermarket sausage roll. I don’t see Bogdan buying his pastries from Greggs or another high-street bakery.


4.) This scene is very important to the film as it is Bogdan’s link to home. The scene will be filmed in his bedroom, instead of the living room where he was reading the newspaper. Bogdan will be hanging up his clothes or doing other daily tasks but then when flicking over the radio to the Romanian station his will abandon his simple household task and dance around the room. The only time the audience will see Bogdan genuinely happy. Bogdan’s room will be very cheap room with very basic furniture. The walls will be bare but the bed-side table will have a small picture of a female. The picture will be old and sepia but will play a great part in the film.


5.) Once more, when there are other characters in the scene they have nothing to do with Bogdan. This scene has a football game being played in the background. These characters will be at a great distance from Bogdan and will not acknowledge him. Bogdan will be counting the little money he has out onto the bench. There will be plenty of coins, lots of silver and not a lot of pound coins. Bogdan will be sitting on the bench or maybe he will get up from the bench and walk around to where the football is being played with maybe a literal barrier between them.


6.) Once again, the location of this shot if vital to the film. The easy option would be to have Bogdan writing the email in the university computer rooms, its quiet at times and I can film in there very easily. However, it could jeopardise the film is Bogdan is this outsider character but then all of a sudden has access to student computer faculties. So I am thinking about filming this in a public library, if permitted. Bogdan will not have a great knowledge of computers and his typing will be slow. I imagine Bogdan to be sitting right up close to the computer as well, absorbing the information, presumably sent from home. Maybe a link to this picture we have previously seen.


7.) Again, back at Bogdan’s house. He will receive this official letter that decides his fate. I think I will film this in the living room again, with maybe Bogdan collecting the letter from the hallway. I think this mise en scene report is not really what I’m going to put in this scene but it’s more about what I am taking out of my locations. I will be removing the vast DVD and CD collections on show in my living room and taking down the film and women posters associated with most student houses. The room will be bare. Apart from this picture Bogdan has been looking at all film, maybe a loved one from Hungary.


8.)The Holding Pattern really only has a handful of locations and once again we are back to the government building in scene two. Having already set the scene earlier in the film I can now concentrate on Bogdan’s facial expressions in this scene. The audience knows he is dealing with the government so his face should be all they want to see in this scene.


9.) The film has came full circle as we are brought back to the first location again. Bogdan is standing by the side of the road again but now we know his story we are much more connected to him. Bogdan will tear up the letter and take another look at his little picture. (See scene one)