Title: Elements of Illusion
Course: ENG225: Introduction to Film
Instructor: Jonathan Belle
Author: Amanda Manley
Date: 3/20/2014

During the process of envisioning and designing a film, the director, production designer, and art director (in collaboration with the cinematographer) are concerned with several major spatial and temporal elements. These design elements punctuate and underscore the movement of figures within the frame, including the following: setting, lighting, costuming, makeup, and hairstyles. Choose a scene from movieclips.com. In a three to five page paper, (excluding the cover and reference pages) analyze the miser-en-scène.
Used this type of lighting because of the significant effects it would present in the scene (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). When the movie starts, Aro the leader of the Volturi is fascinated when he sees Bella is immune to all the vampire’s amazing powers the lighting looks hazy with smoky appearance. The lighting defines Aro making him stand out more; his eyes were noticeable blood shoot red while the appearance of Marcus and Caius were a bit blurred. I thought the lighting of the scene evokes fear, worry, and death of Bella and Edward. The use of back lighting made the focus on Belle clearer which gives me the impression that the director wanted to show the dissimilar of dead and living highlights to detail features of Bella’s rosy cheekbone.
By using low-key lighting, this allows the film to have huge amounts of shadow which create a lot of intensity in the overall storyline of the film. The director’s choices of lighting create depth in the structure giving each character a mysterious appearance that was noticeable (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). The biggest impact on the movie is gives a sense of illusion of being mysterious, drama feels and romantic feel. People can relate it to a classic movie having an olden day charm.
The Volturi was the unsanctioned royalty of the vampire world, and living in the city of Volturi, Italy. They were known to exist for at least 3000 years during the 18thcentury (Meyer, 2007). The Volturi dealt promptly and authoritatively with anything they consider to be a danger to their city or to the vampire world; for example, they protect vampires' way of life in secret. These covens of vampires did not walk around humans; however, they prefer to live underground (Meyer, 2007).
The costumes best help with the emotional and physical needs of each of the characters which will reflect the element of the film’s plot (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). The selections on the custom choice in the “Volturi Fight” want to introduce them in a more exaggerate way to stir the viewer’s interest with a sense of mystery. For example Aro had on slim coats to their knee, breeches, and long hose and muslin shirts with stock around their neck. This color coding represents ranking, with Aro’s supremacy as the relaxed head of the Volturi reflected in his clothes. The clothing choice has to flow with the film to create cohesiveness and match the theme while giving each character a sense of identity. The customs deliver information about the characters personalities and role in the story.
Just like the costume designer, makeup artists have to tell a story also. The hairstylists and makeup artists have to ensure the actor’s role is believable (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). Movie makeup has become so high tech that makeup artists can create looks that are three dimensional on actors. At the end of scene when Edward’s face looks crush and skin pale, the makeup artist has ensured that Edward is looking dead and his face is cracking as his head is slam against the cement floor. The makeup artists and hairstylists have to replicate the time period, lifestyle, and social status of the character. So no matter how many breaks or time lapses, both makeup and the actor’s hair must appear reliable from shot to shot.
The “Volturi Fight” scene in The Twilight Saga: New Moon has dangerous and romantic sequence because of its rich mise-en-scene and concerning cinematography which invites the audience to have compassion as Edward fights to keeping Bella unharmed. The close ups of Bella displays terror, and by quickly cutting to different scenes, heightens the tension, but the lighting above all shows the “Volturi Fight” using the mise-en-scene of light and dark to add power and weaknesses. Inclusive, these elements make the transition of the scene work together as a whole.
I think this scene has a good sense of discordant because of the fact that Bella was outnumbered by being in a room full vampires trying to kill her was rather exciting and scary. I agree that the design elements are congruent with the film maker’s vision in the Twilight Saga: New Moon, the filmmakers continue to explore the love between a human girl Bella and the good-looking vampire, Edward. In the movie the audience is left to experience the darkest moments in Bella’s life and meet new vampires called Volturi.

Reference page:
1.) Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridge point Education, Inc.