Mise En Scene

 

    In a previous blogpost I talked about the show breaking bad and how great of a watch it was. After that was finished, I decided to move on to a show that stars in the same universe as Breaking Bad; Better Call Saul. This show truly captivated me and each season is incomplete without the context of the rest of the seasons. Today I want to talk about the Mise En Scene of Better Call Saul and how it influences the audiences thoughts on the show.

    The production and studio design within Better Call Saul gives incredible depth to the characters and gives the show a more classical, gritty, or grungy desert look. It resembles the production of breaking bad, but also has a fresh look for the show. The sound design also shows the audience what the characters are thinking and sets the mood of each scene (usually tension, fear, shock, or contentment are the atmospheres created). This production allows the story to keep pushing while influencing the way the audience feel about characters and their actions. For example, for most of the scenes with Gus Fring, there is a sort of classical, serious background sound making him seem more serious and a threat. The scenes with Gus can starkly contrast each other in the mood it creates, as in one scene Gus can be seen as a lovable manager who is polite, while in another seen the production can show Gus as a ruthless drug lord that doesn't yield to pressure. This serious nature created directly supports the genre of the show, which is a suspenseful, crime and serial drama.

    The setting and location can vary greatly depending on the scene. When Jimmy is a public defender, the setting is very drab and at times empty, with plain walls and flooring. Sometimes though, the setting is bright and leans in on a more classical feel. Also, the setting is used symbolically to represent an event or state of a character in the story and to show only the audience of a detail not known by the characters. The setting of a scene at times accurately reflects a characters current state, such as the black and white scenes of jimmy feeling empty in the future. I feel that the location helps to create tension for scenes as well as other emotions which underlies the genre of the series as being a drama/thriller/crime film/tragedy. The setting and location is also very natural and follows the story without being contradictory or disruptive.

    Touching on the set designs properties of better call Saul, the fine details within each set are clearly carefully constructed, making the scene look neither empty nor cluttered. While in scenes meant to evoke feeling of messiness or loss of self, the scene is constructed keeping in mind this essence as well as the feelings of the characters.

     A very important part of the symbolism and plot within Better Call Saul is the costumes and get up of the characters. At times the clothes worn by the characters such as Jimmy McGill are used as a step in the narrative such as when he wears a bright suit to get fired from his job or when he puts on a white suit to show his change to elder law. At other times, a change in the costume of the character is used to show the character going through a change of personality which is seen a lot throughout Better Call Saul. A clear example is jimmy's transformation into Saul Goodman, a flashy, exaggerated persona he created which is directly shown by his change to flashier suits with loud ties. The getup of a characters also show us their mental state whether that be depression, happiness, anger, exhaustion, and many more. The makeup of the photo below gives off feelings of exhaustion and the clothes are simple making them look like a sorry sight. Not to mention, when characters in Better Call Saul wear full on suits or professional attire, it usually evokes a sense of tension which is boosted by the other elements of the scene.

   

     In Better Call Saul, the scenes use low-key lighting the most often, making the scenes look mysterious, and more melancholy. Also, Chiaroscuro lighting is used to show times when we are seeing a flash forward in Jimmy's life. The lighting makes me feel like I am with them in the room and it is very natural as well. Since the low-key lighting emphasizes the mysteriousness of scenes it plays into the shows genre being a suspenseful drama. The light in the show is always perfect for each scene, not being too bright or too dim.

    Finally, each character has a certain emphasis of color about them. We can see this with the character Nacho who is typically either seen in red or around red. This depicts his violent nature/ nature to do whatever it takes to save his family. The character Mike is seen around more olden and plain colors depicting his old style and values. A certain mood established by color is the feeling of emptiness with the colors of black and dark blues.

    

    In conclusion, I would highly recommend people to take some time to enjoy this show. I truly have no gripes with the show and would go as far as to say that it is essentially perfect. To the production, to the setting, to the studio design, to the costumes, to the lighting, to the color usage everything was expertly created with regard for the thoughts and feelings of the audience in mind to give them a satisfying watch.