The Great Gatsby - Mise en Scene

The Great Gatsby is a visually stunning film created by Baz Luhrmann. The screenshot that I have chosen to analyse is from one of the many party's Jay Gatsby throws at his mansion. Jay Gatsby is obviously a fictional character and the creators of the film had to create a huge party that would be thrown in the 1920's.

The main part that gives away the time period is the clothes that are worn. The costumes were designed by a lady called Catherine Martin who received help from Miuccia Prada. It is mainly the dress designs and the jewellery worn by the women which is a big hint to the time period as most of the men in this scene are just wearing suits which are still worn even today.

The fireworks in the shot show the enormity of the party as there are obviously a lot. Also fireworks at the time where very hard to get hold of and extremely dangerous.

You can see the conductor on the podium with his back to the camera and the band stood off to the right and the left which suggests that there is music at this party. Again is is an orchestra rather than speakers which reinforce the time period that the film is set.

The pool, the band , the fireworks and the butlers all stood around suggest that Jay Gatsby is very rich.

There is nothing in this scene that suggests where the party is in the world.

Olympic Animation - Shot Put

Character Design

The famous historical character I have decided to use Ragnar Lothbrok or Lodbrok. He is famous due to his raids on the east coast on England and the alliances he made because of these raids.  

In myths Ragnar is referred to as a god or a godly figure. He was a Conqueror. Because of this i wanted to design him as this huge bearded man.

Main Features of a viking/How vikings are portrayed in pop culture;

- Tall strong men

- Blonde Hair and Blue Eyes

- Bearded

- Ferocious looking

- Bare Chested

- Stereotypical Viking Helmet

- Dirty

Reference Images

Rough Sketches

Refined Sketching

Blocking and Tests



























































Storyboard

Animation so Far

Animation Techniques

Squash and Stretch - Shot Put.

Anticipation - Preparing the Shot Put in his neck.

Staging - I am going to make sure that both the Shot and Ragnar are the clearest part of the scene so it is clear on what is the focus.

Straight Ahead/Pose to Pose - Will be using Pose to Pose Animation.

Follow Through and Overlapping - Show the speed he generated from the spin by making him continue.

Ease in and Ease Out - The character is going to ease in and out of a lot of poses such as putting chalk on his hands.

Arcs - I can use Arcs to create smooth natural looking movements in the throw and other actions.

Secondary action - Will add facial expressions to the characters.

Timing and Spacing - The animation so far is just a rough estimate to what the timing will be. I am going to refine this for each action to make sure it looks realistic.

Exaggeration - I am going to exaggerate the weight of the shot put for the smaller man so that it seems really heavy to add to the idea that Ragnar is extremely strong.

Appeal - I have tried to make the character appealing to the audience.

Sounds

Squelching sound to give the idea of wet muddy floor.

Light wind noise

Crowd cheering in background

Birds chirping

Rustling leaves

Slapping noise when he picks up Ball Man

Manly Grunts From Ragnar (Random) (Maybe)

Skin flapping noise when Ball Man Is Flying

Cracking and Dragging sound when Ball Man Lands