Props in Film and TV

Props:

·         Short for “Property”, much consideration goes into the strategic inclusion and positioning of functional objects to support the narrative – past, present and future (sometimes recurring as a motif).

·         Camerawork and lighting are integral to the effectiveness of props as meaning constructors.

·         Props are used to indicate genre, as well as the era in which the film is set.

Use of props in Luther:

Car, documents(to add to the set has no value in the lot as Luther does not even read it on screen), police cars and police tape( shows that it is a crime scene and that it is under control), notepad(used by an officer at the entrance to note down everyone who goes in and out of the crime scene and at what time), dead dog( massively relevant to the plot and is the first thing we see when Luther enters the house), certificates on the wall shows that someone most likely the daughter is very good at what they do but it could also be the farther as he is found in the room with the certificates), sleeping pills (used to make what Luther is saying make sense as he is noting that the wife has sleeping pills by her bed), earbuds( used to further the plot as it shows that the farther there did not hear who killed him or did not take any notice), photos (used to dress the set to show realism), phones( used by Luther to ring his wife), welcome home banner( used to show that Luther has been gone a while and that the team at the station missed him), novelty mug( a mug bought by Luther co-workers used to show their affection to him), Bits of evidence (used to make the set more believable),

Ask yourself:

·         Is Mise en scene used to create a sense of realism or is it used to create a surreal world/ Fantasy

·         Does it link to iconography of genre or time period

·         Does it subvert it what does it tell you about characters? ‘does it create enigma.