Meeting with Lynn

Had a meeting with Lynn and after having a big chat about what I was interested in, she suggested I look into "mis en scene" since it incorporates a lot of the theories and practices I want to explore during this project.

What is Mise-en-scene?

Okay, So I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't actually know anything about this when Lynn brought it up with me. so I was pretty much in the dark. However, after some hunting around I found a nifty slideshow which pretty much summed up what Mise-en-Scene was all about, although from what I've read it pretty much derives from Cinematography. It's essentially everything that makes up a scene, from lighting to props and decor.

Case Studies

We also decided it would be a good idea to do an in depth study of "the finger scene" in QuanticDream's Heavy Rain. Using the methods I've learned from looking into narrative theory and mise-en-scene I plan to deconstruct the scene and look at how the game shows you what choices are available. I'd also like to ask a few other people to play through the same scene and take notes on which choices they make, what leads them to it, and why.

I've also been advised to play through the first Bioshock since I never have, mainly cause it looked too scary but I guess I'll have to man up and try it!

Tests

Came up with the idea of designing a room around a specific pre-existing character (that way I wouldn't have to spend time writing a completely new character and go into depth about their back story and motivation). The room would essentially "tell the story" of the character's personality, and give me a starting point for looking further into how a scene or environment can tell a story. The room would then be put to test by other people and have them attempt to answer questions like;

Who lives here? 
What kind of person are they? 
Why do you think that?
What are some words that describe the character?