Mis en Scene!!!

Okay!! So, learning about mis en scene was so much fun and so informative, and also apparently has been something I’ve been doing for years!  Ive decided that in particular, Howls Moving Castle would be my dream movie to study the mis en scene of. As a resident nerd of course Studio Ghibli is inspiration for maybe… 50% of my work? So yeah, It’s a big focus for me, hence why i’m so hyped! Without further ado, let’s just get started, shall we? 

To start, this scene in the beginning of the movie really helps to define who Sophie is at this point just by this scene alone. Starting with costume, sophie here wears a long green dress. Vaguely through this outfit you can identify the general time period, and quite a bit about Sophie’s personality. She wears green, which blends in strongly with the rest of the picture shown here. She wears things that are simple, and therefore she tends not to stand out. Same with her hair, She ties it back rather than doing much to style it, showing her simplicity along with her dedication to her craft, as its much easier for her to work with her hair tied. Of course, the environment makes things easy to establish too, since with the hats and accessories littered throughout the room, it’s an obvious that Sophie is a hat maker, but also that she’s a bit disorganized. However I think an important thing to note is the lighting. There’s only one light source in the room, and it’s the window; which shines light directly onto Sophie. Despite the mundane look of the scene, you know from the start that she’s our protagonist. 

This scene is exactly why I adore this movie. Littered with objects all around, saying so much but so little. So to Start with the obvious, Howl can be characterized pretty easily by his room, and where he’s placed among it all. The lighting again starkly highlights our two protagonists, while also putting a stark shadow on every item surrounding howl. Speaking of those items, they are all over his room, adding to the magical tone of this all. Even if you’ve never seen this movie, you can tell that there’s some sort of magic just by the items in this room. However, in particular howl seems to be ignorant  to all of it, only focused on Sophie as she looks down at him. 

Here, You get to see a lot particularly when it comes to the scenery. Starting with the flowers and grass, the flowers are layered throughout the scene, but not directly on the grass where the characters are sitting in front of the castle. This, of course, is to emphasize the castle along with our lead characters.  Speaking of the castle, the structure itself says a lot in this scene. It’s ramshackle build, as if it’s barely holding itself together, emphasizes more about the people living in it, and particularly the person who owns it the titular character that is the title of the movie. With this feature, you can see the theme of family, despite howl’s erratic actions, he’s made a family through the people his let into his home. 

With this scene, we can focus a lot more on the characters environment. The first noticeable thing to see of course is the architecture. Built up of a variety of very high-end classical looking structures, it’s safe to assume that the people here seem to live comfortably and wealthier. Another thing to know it is the flags. With this added touch, it’s easier to identify the nationalism and overall support the people who live here have towards their country. Last but not least, the small but stark difference of the planes speak volumes about this scene. Seeing these above the city almost pose, a danger in contrast to what looks like a peaceful thriving area, and foreshadows the future as a result. 

 In this final section, we can look a bit more closely at the feelings surrounding a scene. Let’s start with the lighting, which is simply illuminated by the character Calcifier. Because of this warm set of colors, the scene feels more like home, causing the viewer to feel more safe and protected. Along with that, you get to see the environment, most noticeably, the prop set up behind and around Calcifer, further showing the magical properties of howl. Speaking of which, the built-up dust from the furnace, and the broken wood surrounding it, shows Calcifer and Howl’s of lack of care for their space and surroundings. Lastly, Calcifer’s his expression of shock and discomfort helps to build the comforting humor of the scene.