Mise-en-Scene Analysis (500 Days of Summer)Producers: Mason Novick, Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Walters, & Steven J. Wolfe

Director: Marc Webb

Screenplay: Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber

Cinematography: Eric Steelberg

Editing: Alan Edward Bell

Original Music: Mychael Danna & Rob Simonsen

Main Cast:

Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)

Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel)

Subject: FLM278 BB

Student: Syed Ehsan Azam

Date: 05/03/2013

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(Section 1)

Summary:

500 days of Summer is not just any movie. In a way, it is one of the most complex and

unconventional romantic comedy we can ever find on set. With the usage of non- linear structure

alongside with flashbacks, this movie tells us a story of young man named Tom Hansen (Joseph

Gordon-Levitt) who believed in finding his true love while ending up loving a one of a kind girl ,

Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel).

Having two main characters during the movie, it emphasized on Tom Hansen’s prospect of view

towards love in general. Even though this affair was one sided from his part, they both merged

into it with many trials and errors. At times he was sufferings from doubts about Summers

feelings towards him however, he was unwilling to give up towards day 434.

Protagonist and his obstacles between his main goal (Winning Summer’s heart forever)

Having said that our protagonist is Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), his main goal was to

understand if love truly exists and in what form. His goal was led by his relationship with

Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel). In the end, we can see that from that relationship with her he

had realized that there is no fate, no destiny and its nothing but coincidence. Love was just a

substance in this matter.

Tom’s obstacles were mostly in his relationship. During these 500 days, he had his best days

with Summer where they were happy butterflies. Yet there were days, where he was full of

doubts about their relationship since, Summer made it clear to him that she was not looking for

something “Serious”.

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Narrative Style (Voice over Narration)

The narrator of this movie used voice over narration in order to explain the situations throughout

the movie. Yes, for many fans it could be hard to understand and get distracted by 3rd persons

voice and scenes. Perhaps the producer felt everyone else could be as intelligent as them to

understand this movie.

However, this narration technique did work due to the fact that Cinematographer Eric Steelberg

had used many split screen scenes for that purpose. That made it easier for us to understand what

is going on actually.

(Section2: Camera, Editing, Lighting, Sound, Transitions)

Eric Steelburg was really creative at this movie with his work. Exceptional visual graphic at

times where images would fade into drawings, giving it a artsy look and bringing emotion to it.

It’s like a present memory turning into a drawing where the moment is preserved through sketch.

Throughout the movie, many split screen shots been presented where one side was presenting

reality and other half was showing expectations of Tom Hansen. It was creative.

We can also find many flashbacks throughout the movie. In order to present them Fade in,

Dissolve and Wipeout shots been used. To be honest, this movie is a great example of where so

many techniques have been used at the same time in order to intensify the whole experience.

We can also see that Eric Steelburg had the knack for presenting great amount of details. In order

to describe Zooey Dechanle or Summer…. He had used many extreme closes up shots. From

zooming onto her Lips, Eyes, Teeth he had moved with close up shots by describing her builds,

shoe size and other details.

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Usage of 2:4:1 widescreen ratio allowed Eric Steelburg to zoom more on closer shots.

For sound purpose they mostly used Star Miking by capturing the real sound as camera rolled on.

However for few scenes, I am sure they had to use studio recordings after the shots were taking

and then synced into them.

For lighting purpose, they had used realistic Lighting in most cases. It was impossible to light

out most parts of the movie since most shots were day time shots.

(Section 3: Shot to Shot Analysis)

Day 488 Last encounter between Summer and Tom was in a park in San Francisco. They

were sitting side by side on a bench. Throughout the scenes, we can see the shots being changed

with wipeout shots.

Pan camera technique was used during this scene. Angling from side to side, focusing on their

facial expressions. Medium close up shots were giving us the view of their body language.

Low-key lighting was used to make this scene as realistic as possible. Once again these shots

were taken in a park where they did not need any artificial lighting.

So far, this movie was made purely to give us a feel for realistic relationships that do happen in

our twenties. This last shot was very emotional and both actor and actresses performed really

well. To be honest, this scene made me fall into tears.

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Conclusion

Overall, this was a great movie. Since my recent major break up, I was able to understand some

aspects of a relationship through this movie. I wanted to write something about it. Mise-en-scene

analysis for Film studies class gave me this opportunity.

I recommend this movie for everyone who wants to learn more about themselves and their

partners in a relationship. At times, these movies give us great messages such as 500 days of

summer did. Unconventional? Yes it is. True? It definitely was.

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