Media essay

Discuss the use of sound and mise-en-scene in the extract from ‘Life on Mars’. Make specific reference to examples from the sequence.

The use of sound in the extract gives atmosphere to the scene. There is asynchronous sound when he is driving as you can’t hear the sounds of the other cars and the soundtrack has nothing to do with the visuals however the sounds create an emotional atmosphere which makes the audience feel more connected to the character because he is upset and the music helps to build on the emotion. The diegetic sound of the car horn shocks you; it is diegetic because it belongs in the scene. Now we are able to hear the song that is playing on his iPod which is diegetic, asynchronous and is also a sound bridge. It’s diegetic because we see a shot of the iPod in the scene. It is asynchronous because it is not related to the scene, however it becomes a sound bridge into the next scene when the era changes to the 70’s, as the song links the two scenes together and plays throughout.  

The use of Mise-en-scene in the extract is to create the characters through dress and the location through buildings and the surrounding area. At the beginning of the sequence there is a building which makes the area look rough which creates a dim atmosphere. It also shows what time era they’re in as later in the sequence the scene changes to show him in the 70’s. In the scene there is rubble and smoke and a factory to show that the scene is now in the 70’s. The lighting is bright as the whole sequence is set outside. The main character wears a suit in the beginning of the sequence to show he has a higher status over the other police officers. When he is in the 70’s he wears flare jeans and a leather coat to show the era and he now has no status.