Elephant Mise En Scene
Elephant Elephant is a film that lets us experience a day in the lives of a group of teenagers in high school. The director, Gus Van Sant, bases his film on a high school massacre, Columbine that occurred in April 20, 1999. The film follows each character throughout the film and shows us their daily routines. Alex and Eric are two students who are seen as the victims of bullying, and rebel by plotting an attack on the school, causing a large amount of violence. Van Sant simply takes us on a journey of what unfolds during a high school shooting and how most violence is committed with a sense of randomness by showing us this through cinematography, mise-en-scene, and the use of music. The Cinematographer, Harris Savides, wanted us to feel as if we are living within the characters by their day. Most of the scenes throughout the film are long run tracking shots that quietly follow the students, observing their every actions. These long run tracking shots allow the audience to connect with the characters. For example, in the film there is a scene where the students are sitting in a classroom and the camera comes in
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Van Sant wanted us to view the film very naturally, therefore being very particular on the way he has different objects in the scene and the way the characters are positioned on set. For example, when we look at the scene where the group of students are in the cafeteria, a lot of the students are sitting down with food on trays. Other students are waiting in line to get food. Another way that Van Sant made the film very natural was by having us follow around different groups of teenagers within the school, listening to the conversations and different gossip. During these scenes we also see other students walking around as the classes are changing after the hour. Overall, Van Sant wanted to communicate a realistic approach to what it was like during the Columbine
Van Sant wanted us to view the film very naturally, therefore being very particular on the way he has different objects in the scene and the way the characters are positioned on set. For example, when we look at the scene where the group of students are in the cafeteria, a lot of the students are sitting down with food on trays. Other students are waiting in line to get food. Another way that Van Sant made the film very natural was by having us follow around different groups of teenagers within the school, listening to the conversations and different gossip. During these scenes we also see other students walking around as the classes are changing after the hour. Overall, Van Sant wanted to communicate a realistic approach to what it was like during the Columbine