Research & Planning: Mise en Scene Analysis:Kes

Social Realism: Kes (1969)

Can you tell the genre from the mise en scene?

Lighting: In this still the only lighting used is natural from the windows on the right. This casts shadows amongst most of the kids faces. The use of natural lighting also means that no studio is needed therefore conforming to the conventions of the social realist genre.

Colour: This still creates a lot of blue tones, in the form of the clothing and in the background on the stairs, this adds a very dull, gloomy, depressing aspect to this one scene. Social realism films do include a lot of blue tones to reflect the mood of the film on a whole. 

Setting: This still is taken from a school full of kids from all walks of life. The school is an everyday place for characters of that age. Everyday settings are what make social realism films "realistic". This adds a sense of authenticity.

Location: As I previously said this still is taken from a school which is set on location in Yorkshire, without the use of a studio or special effects, therefore lowering the initial budget for the independent production company. The fact that no special effects were used and that the location is real again conforms to the social realism genre.

Actors: The actors in this still are all very young and unprofessional (lowering costs). The actors are age appropriate meaning that they don't need a high level of acting experience to portray characters older or younger than themselves. 

Characters: All characters like I said are very young, protraying the crowd of a school. Many of the children have blunt cut fringes showing the 1960's era throughout the film. (Costume) There is no set uniform at the school but all children are wearing smart clothing to show that they can and are in a school setting.

Props: In this still there are no props, in a school assembly type setting there wouldn't be any props to distract the children. The school isn't well funded and is only a small school so it wouldn't be able to afford much equipment, making the school a rather bare and bleak setting.