Mise-en-scene
I decided to comment on the mise-en-scene of the new NetFlix series "Living Undocumented". I choose this because I wanted to see if things like sets, lighting, costumes, and blocking would be easy to spot in documentaries. Another reason why I choose this film would be my genuine interest in documentaries involving highly controversial topics and that inform you of the way others live.
The first episode, "The Prayer In The Night", opens up by switching back and forth from different scenes from each undocumented family and to a woman that is describing different scenarios that immigrants have to go through. When the documentary cuts to the woman she is looking straight towards the camera every single time. When this occurs it allows the viewer to feel as if the woman is talking directly towards them, this is a great example of frontality. Frontality was a great way to open up the series because it creates a connection with the viewer right off the bat, allowing the viewer to become invested in the series and wanting to watch the rest of the episode.
Throughout this episode the lighting changes back and forth depending on the setting. As the documentary introduces the first family it shows a birds-eye view of Luis going about his day. Due to this shot being filmed outside, the lighting here was very bright. Once it switches to Luis inside his house the lighting is very bright and the colors of the objects around him are very soft. At this point, the light would be considered Highkey lighting. The lighting then switches again when Luis is interviewed. Because the documentary talks about such a serious topic, the lighting is very dim and multiple shadows appear to focus on Luis and make everything that is said more dramatic.
Because this is a documentary there are no sets and the people that are shown do not have costumes. Instead, it shows the people living life in America wearing ordinary clothes to emphasize the fact that they are ordinary people. The only scenes that are "staged" would be the shots of the border or the closeup shots of each family member when introduced.
The first episode, "The Prayer In The Night", opens up by switching back and forth from different scenes from each undocumented family and to a woman that is describing different scenarios that immigrants have to go through. When the documentary cuts to the woman she is looking straight towards the camera every single time. When this occurs it allows the viewer to feel as if the woman is talking directly towards them, this is a great example of frontality. Frontality was a great way to open up the series because it creates a connection with the viewer right off the bat, allowing the viewer to become invested in the series and wanting to watch the rest of the episode.
Throughout this episode the lighting changes back and forth depending on the setting. As the documentary introduces the first family it shows a birds-eye view of Luis going about his day. Due to this shot being filmed outside, the lighting here was very bright. Once it switches to Luis inside his house the lighting is very bright and the colors of the objects around him are very soft. At this point, the light would be considered Highkey lighting. The lighting then switches again when Luis is interviewed. Because the documentary talks about such a serious topic, the lighting is very dim and multiple shadows appear to focus on Luis and make everything that is said more dramatic.
Because this is a documentary there are no sets and the people that are shown do not have costumes. Instead, it shows the people living life in America wearing ordinary clothes to emphasize the fact that they are ordinary people. The only scenes that are "staged" would be the shots of the border or the closeup shots of each family member when introduced.
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