Moulin Rouge- Opening SceneBy Natasha Christensen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wei3ydjvGe0

Moulin Rouge- 2001Ewan McGregor Nicole Kidman

Mise En SceneAt 1:14- there are many elements

that come together in this scene to create the mise en scene.

You can clearly see that there are 3 or 4 bottles of beer

The typewriter shows the time period that the musical is set in, which is the early 1900’s and the cobweb on it suggests that it may be old and hasn’t been used in a while.

Camera AnglesFrom the beginning until 1:11, the

whole scene is filmed in one shot from a crane (even though it looks animated) and ends up zooming to a close up of the actor’s face.

There are a lot of close ups of the actor in this scene

At 1:15- A camera is set up from the ceiling and films downwards onto the room where the actor is standing in the corner.

LightingAt 1:10- Expressive and low key lighting is

used to light up half of the actor’s face to create a more powerful effect and to almost suggest that the character might have a dark side that he’s trying to hide.

At 1:23- Expressive lighting is used again, however the lighting includes a ‘blue filter’ which makes half the actor’s face blue to create a melancholic and depressing mood as blue is often associated with sadness.

SoundThroughout the whole scene, there

is a song called Nature Boy by Eden Ahbez playing, which is a depressing song that ties well together with the whole story and the sadness of the character.

The sound of the typewriter can also be heard over the music at 1:31 to create a sense of realism and authenticity.

Non-diegetic music- melancholic and depressing

Performance and Movement In this movie Ewan McGregor plays the

character of a poor English poet who is trying to write a story/poem in the middle of Paris.

The audience first sees the actor sitting on the floor with his knees up to his chest and covering his face with his arms. This body language clearly indicates that the character is quite upset.

The fact that the actor is crying, further convinces the audience that the character is depressed.