Mise-en-scene

For our Multimedia Mise-en-scene project, our goal was to develop an interactive station that portrays our character’s personality. We learned how things like props, costumes, and sounds can all be used to represent a character’s life. 

My group’s character, Robert Williams, is 46 years old, an investment banker, and single. He’s very energetic, social, and organized. He’s also very sentimental. He lives alone in a sleek, modern apartment, but his home is always full of people because of all the dinner parties he throws. His hobbies include taking his dog, Bella, to the park, working out at the gym, binge-watching TV shows (especially Love Island), and hosting gatherings with his friends and family. He also has many quirks like singing in the shower and matching clothes with his dog. 

To illustrate Robert’s character, we used: 

• A dog leash to represent his dog, Bella 
• A charcuterie board from Sam’s Club to represent a snack at one of his parties 
• A personal journal filled with his New Year’s resolutions, scrapbooking, and journal entries about his day 
• A stocks app to represent his job as an investment banker 
• A Tinder profile to represent him being single and looking for love 

• An interactive apartment tour to show his setting 

• An interactive phone with different apps like his calendar, music, and photos 

• A mood board portraying his aesthetic 

Robert’s station included the tactile elements (dog leash, journal, and charcuterie board) on the table, while his phone, apartment tour, stocks, and Tinder profile were displayed on the computers. His Spotify playlist on his phone included a variety of songs from “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” to “Flowers.” 

We developed Robert’s character using key concepts from our representation lesson. Our teacher gave us a basic description: a single bank employee who enjoys taking their dog to the park, working out, and binge-watching TV. But we expanded this into a full character. We explored how Robert fits into the representation of a successful urban professional while also challenging it. His sleek apartment and stocks app reflect the stereotypical representation of a Banker. But his sentimental quirks and guilty pleasures (like dressing up his dog or watching Love Island) make him more relatable. We also considered how Robert moves between different communities, his professional environment, and his dating life. His bisexuality is represented through his Tinder profile, which allows both male and female matches. Overall, we created a station that reflects both his public and private sides of his personality.  

Everyone in my group contributed ideas to develop Robert’s world, from his journal to the different outcomes in his Tinder app. First, we brainstormed his backstory. Then we came up with interactive game ideas to show his personality. We also assigned who was going to bring the props and design the different parts. The final station was very interesting and immersive! We got lots of feedback on how his dating app was a great idea and came out very well! 

Here's a link to a folder with all of our digital elements!

Multimedia Mise-en-scene - Robert Williams