Mise-en-Scene

Our Multimedia Mise-en-scène project involved creating an interactive character station to welcome audiences to a fictional person through images, noises, and items. Our goal was to create a character with physical, digital, and audio properties that worked together to tell their story. This included developing a place that disclosed the way in which the character exists, developing a mood board that described their personality, and including sound and touch items so that the experience became real. We also had to be mindful of the way in which all these contributed towards building meaning, showing how mise-en-scène could be used to determine the way in which an audience sees a character.

Our protagonist was a single bank clerk who lived alone but had a lively and social existence in any case. He loves to take his dog out for a walk to the park, go for gym sessions, and watch new TV shows. Even though he lives alone, he often hosts his friends and family members for parties, which proves that he likes the presence of others. We wished him to be authentic, someone whom you could potentially know, and to show how his life had autonomy as well as social interaction.

To create this character, our team developed a multimedia setup that was focused on immersion as well as interactivity. We built a virtual representation of his phone, where visitors could initiate applications like his photos and playlists to get acquainted with him. We also designed a dating app simulation in which people could choose lines of dialogue and talk to the character so they would get to know his personality. Furthermore, we designed a virtual tour of his bedroom with a mood board, and we made real objects available, such as gym equipment, dog toys, and wall decorations, concerning his interests. Everything in the station was put in order. Tourists started by watching the material items, went to enter his bedroom, rummaged through his phone, and ended up engaging him directly on the dating site.

In developing this character, we were interested in how identity is constructed in media through what creators have revealed. We applied selection and construction to conceptualize the manner in which audiences would perceive him, starting from the general notion of a young professional managing the demands of work and life. This rendered him relatable yet realistic in a practical sense. We steered clear of stereotyping and didn't want to make him seem exaggerated or unrealistic. Instead, we wanted his story to sound genuine. We worked well together as a team, dividing the work into digital and physical components, which made the final station easily come together. Finally, our project showed how mise-en-scène can be used to create a complete and believable character through space, sound, and detail.

Multimedia Mise-en-scene - Robert Williams