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—a thread analysing and explaining mise-en-scene of different house of anubis scenes and rating them
first of all, i’m a media studies student so i know what i’m talking about to an extent! secondly, it’s also up for interpretation, so this is really just my educated opinion on it and i’d love to hear what you guys think (and your ratings of each one) but pls quote not reply!!
welcome to the first scene we’re looking at! this is honestly quite interesting to look at, and a there are a few things to dissect here. for a starter, nina is alone - she’s not at a train station bustling with people, they’ve placed her alone to truly emphasise ghat she’s away-
-from everybody that she knows, and is going to a new school alone. this makes us feel more sympathetic for her when all of anubis house are dicks to her. we also see she’s a student (books) and american (the flag), but those are simple things to pick out. let’s delve in more!
in the first episode (and probably the others too), nina is constantly shown in a golden light - there’s always a hint of gold and light on her. this is to emphasise that she’s good and “pure of heart”, and there’s something magical, special, and important about her.
she’s also looking at the shadows - the place she’s about to go is shrouded in mystery, and is initially a terrible place for her to go. this shows that wherever she’s going isn’t about to be so bright and happy.
once again, nina has a golden light all around her, like it’s a halo of sorts. meanwhile, the man driving her to anubis house is dressed in all black, his taxi his black, and there is hardly any light on his face. he’s taking her to the place where she’ll suffer initially.
the first shot we get of anubis house, and all around it is very dark and there are many trees around it, like it’s hidden. however, the actual place seems bright and there’s the golden/warm hue upon it once more. it hints that something special is inside, but it’s hiding smth.
there’s also the feeling of mystery in this shot - we only see part of the school, and not all of it. what else is it hiding? what does the rest of it look like? it creates this enigma that makes the audience wonder more and creates more mystery.
now that nina is driving into the school grounds, the golden hue disappears somewhat - it’s not as bright as it was before. as she gets closer to anubis, the brightness disappears and she’s getting closer and closer to having a few terrible days and meeting a whole new world.
fabian and joy - they’re both not wearing their blazers, sort of providing a sense of them being open to one another and also making them look quite similiar. they’re similar people and are close. there’s also the red blazer underneath them, which could be interpreted as a pool-
of blood. it sort of signifies that their relationship is going to die out soon, and that danger is near their relationship (especially since it’s a dark red). however, let’s look for positives for all the jabian shippers out there (hi @BradKavanagh),
red also stands for passion and romance, which shows that their is a budding romance between them (plus their proxemics and interactions with one another basically confirm that). also, the way they’re sat on the blazer is also like they’re on the edge of them - they’re near the-
-grass. green grass symbolises so much - life, for a starter (the elixir of life that joy is taken to help the secret society to make?). it also suggests that if joy and fabian try hard, they can get out of the red patch and the danger and stay on the safe/life side of things.
nina is central to anubis house. she’s important, and this is where she’s meant to be. there’s not much else i can really say about this scene, but it’s an important one.
once again, nina has that golden hue and the light on her face. she’s happy, she’s special, she’s pure - it really drives that point home throughout this episode.
meanwhile, victor is in the shadows and the darkness. he’s not happy, he’s not pure, and he’s not special. he is the complete opposite to nina, who is the light. this already makes the audience aware he’s probably bad, or at least has a lot of secrets and we should be wary of him
unfortunately, this one is for the mickber shippers (sorry @BrennahHOA) but,, proxemics - mick and amber are closer. mara is further away, and amber is between mick and mara. mick and mara arent close because amber is the wedge between them, whilst there is nothing between amber-
-and mick.
JOY LEAVING JESUS LORD THIS SCENE THE MISE-EN-SCENE THANK U SO VERY MUCH. anyways,, everything to do with the car is black - the man inside is wearing black, the car is black, the windows are black. it’s in the dark. there is so much mystery surrounding the man and the car but-
-we know that it is bAD and mysterious. dark is things about to go badly, mystery, secrets. black also symbolises death, but we obviously know that doesn’t happen to joy. however, it does make the audience think patricia’s onto something when she says joy is dead.
also mr sweet is in partial black clothing - he’s the one taking joy to the car. he’s leading her to her “death”.
also,, joy is now wearing her blazer. she could have carried it, but she’s opted to embrace it and wear it. remember what i said about the dark red colour being danger?? yeah, she’s entering danger - the blazer is now around her.
and thus the danger is around her.
THIS PART. JOY IS MAINLY HIDDEN BEHIND A BLACK SCREEN - WE CANNOT SEE HER AND SHE IS BEHIND DARKNESS. AHHHHH THE MISE EN SCENE IS KILLING ME HERE but basically, she’s disappearing and entering the “dark side” per se.
fabian first meeting nina (other than the run in) - he’s wearing blue, which could mean he’s a little bit sad about joy leaving. however, there’s a golden light hitting his face when he turns his head to greet nina - it brightens him up.
we have some mickara here for @BrennahHOA - mara’s wearing pink, both amber and mick are wearing grey. the couple wearing grey sort of suggests they’re in a bit of a dull relationship, it’s not working. mara wearing pink (also it’s bright) shows that she has a BIG crush on mick
notice how there’s hardly any light on nina and she’s wearing blue?? it’s depression hours folks!! i can finally relate to her!
the packaging is blue - as i’ve said, blue = sadness. what’s inside the packaging (bracelet) becomes something that really messes up mick and amber, plus amber and mara’s friendship.
mara coming in between amber and mick,, do i need to explain this??
whilst amber and mick are closer together, notice that it is amber holding him rather than him holding her. dude is just tryna eat his banana. also, mara is on the same side as mick... do i need to explain it?
mara’s in light
amber’s in dark
also ^^ notice how alfie is next to her,, it’s sort of hinting that they’ll be close
mick and mara are both in blue - this is a sad scene for them, but also shows that they’re connected emotionally. also, she sits on his bed - they’re close, also take all the sexual interpretations u want about that one.
mara stands up and moves away from mick when he laughs at them being together. she’s physically and emotionally distancing herself from mick, she’s not on his bed anymore.
the bracelet isn’t packaged. it’s open, for everyone to see - mick wants people to see it. also, it doesn’t have the blue packaging. for them, the bracelet isn’t sad.
also,, interesting thing i noticed - mick puts the bracelet on mara,, but amber put the bracelet on herself.
okay,, i don’t wanna do episode by episode bc that would take too long (also s1 truly is not the best for mise-en-scene, it becomes much more featured as the seasons go on) so i’m gonna move on to scenes you’ve requested or important scenes from s1!
mick is in the dark mainly. he’s not going to be happy in a second.
the golden light hitting them hints that this is a good thing, but there’s a book in between them. it’s a reminder then it was all an act, a scene, not real. also, amber’s wearing her blazer - she’s closed off. alfie, however, isn’t.
mick wearing red = anger.
amber coming in between mick and mara flirting.
^ she’s also in the dark, whilst they’re in the light. amber isn’t happy, but mick and mara are.
i like this shot because of the low angle. it’s giving that feeling that amber is in charge, she’s more powerful and more confident than mara.
notice how now there’s nothing in between mara and mick?? amber is instead behind mick, like she’s not on the same page or caught up with him anymore
^^ also,, the blue tests - blue = bad, sad. tests were bad and sad for mara and mick
requested by @camelotslady,, the chandelier scene! obviously, we have the golden hue from the house and nina - they’re both special and unique,, and nina is pure. then, the green from the chandelier - green is assosicated with life (the search for the elixir of life), and also-
greed. everyone’s greedy for the elixir of life, except for the person in the gold. notice how, whilst the green is reflected onto nina, she still has the golden hue on her?? that’s because she’s still pure and not greedy.
also,, it’s above her and this shot is a very high long shot. this quest is above nina alone (she’ll need sibuna) and the reward is much bigger. she’s smaller than what she’s facing.
it’s just golden and hardly any green. she has the next clue and there’s no sign of greed for more, because she’s pure.
