Here is my analysis of the effects of mise-en-scene used in Hunger Games- Catching Fire:
Narrative - In this scene in Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the scene starts with Finnick Odair and Katniss Everdeen (the main character) having their first conversation about "secrets", this is because they have both been selected from the pool of victors that have previously won the hunger games (an annual 'game' where one male and female aged 12-17 are selected from each of the 12 districts and forced to battle to death in an arena to provide entertainment for the capital (the central powerhouse) and to stop the districts from revolting). When the pair are talking about "secrets", Katniss states that "everybody seems to know my secrets before I know them myself" and Finnick agrees and then Peeta walks into the scene. The choice of Peeta walking on scene in this particular moment, foreshadows how Katniss doesn't know yet, but she is actually in love with Peeta, and how Finnick realizes this even before Katniss herself. Peeta and Katniss then go out on the carriage, holding hands wearing black clothing, and Katniss is wearing very heavy black eyeshadow.
This choice of make up make-up and clothing makes the pair appear very intimidating and makes them stand out, due to the contrast of their pale, colorful surroundings, emphasizing that the pair are the 'black sheeps' and not the normal hunger games contestants you would expect, foreshadowing that they are going to rebel against the capital one way or another in this set of games. Katniss and Peeta directly contrast the two presenters as they have colorful hair and makeup that is more of a pastel and they look the opposite of intimidating. This creates a further contrast in the class system of the hunger games, as district 12, Katniss and Peeta's district is the lowest section of the class system and the two presenters are from the capital, which is the highest section of the class system and the complete colour pallet difference really reflects this and emphasizes the whole point of the narrative, which focusses on an unfair class-system.
This is further highlighted, when Katniss and Peeta's clothing is set alight (on purpose) mimicking Katniss' name 'the girl on fire' and in this particular scene, she stares at the president and he stares back. The president is situated on a high up, isolated podium, symbolizing his significance and power, as he is shown as above everyone, but Katniss stares back in rebellion, inferring that she will continue to rebel as 'the girl on fire' and the mise-en-scene choice of her dark eye-make up makes her look even more intimidating and rebellious.
Genre - The genre is dystopian, which is displayed by the constant mise-en-scene of the surroundings. In the extra-wide shots it shows the massive runway, with the enormous seating areas, all in uniform, adding to the dystopian feel. Everything is the same shade of grey, apart from the red and yellow banners that are hung everywhere and they all have the capital logo on them which is a yellow circular symbol that represents bird wings on a red background. The banners have a sort of Nazism feel to them, as they are hung everywhere to indoctrinate the people seeing them all the time (the capital citizens) and this is very dystopian as it creates a close, but imaginable image of the future for the audience, where everything is in order perfectly, with all of these grey skyscrapers surrounding the pathway.
To add to this eerie sense of order, all of the drummers are drumming exactly in sync, in a very straight line, with equal gapping in between them, all dressed the same. In the background, there are enormous spraying water fountains, taller than buildings and one of the most dystopian factors is probably, Katniss and Peeta's clothing having the ability to be set on fire without harming them, as that is not currently possible and implies the film is set in the future, which it is. The arrangement of the audience, in these perfect squares is very dystopian too, especially when the context is that all of these citizens in the crowd, who are smiling and cheering, have come to see the victors chosen for the hunger games, live, before they fight to the death, all for their entertainment.
Audience - The audience is aimed at teenagers, as it is 12A in the UK and has some violent scenes in it, but is also not as grown-up as it could be and generally appeals to teenagers (especially female) as it presents a strong female character, who goes against the dominant ideology of being 'the damsel in distress' and is constantly saving Peeta and standing up against the stereotypes, as she is a strong independents lead.
Institution - The film is made by Lionsgate, and they are a popular film producing company, and have had many successes in the past including 'The Expendables', the Saw films and the first 'Hunger Games' which all did very well in the box office, especially the first hunger games, which got $677,923,379 in the box office worldwide (Catching Fire beat this with $864,868,047). Lionsgate normally takes books and turns them into films, as done by the hunger games, which works very well for them as there is already an audience for the books that would like to see the film, especially with very successful books like the Hunger Games series.
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