Mise-en-Scene: The Diary

One of the most important aspects of the movie and its development is the use of Maddie’s diary. This diary will be shown in the opening and will allow the audience to get an insight into her struggles and mood. 

Maddie started writing in her diary at the age of 12 as a way to write about her adventures. This diary will start with colorful entries with drawings and even pictures of Maddie’s old summers and will be seen as she flips through the pages. As the audience sees more of the journal, there is a contrast between the earlier pages and the newer ones. Now the pages are written only with black pen, with no pictures, the handwriting is messy.  The way she writes in the diary really reflects how her life is getting harder, and it’s one of the only ways she can express how she’s feeling.  

I want the diary to be a bright color (orange or red or yellow) since these colors tend to be associated with happiness, symbolizing the joyful time in her life when she first bought it at the age of 12. The bold color of the diary contrasts with the dreading entries she now writes in it. It also contrasts with the dull and bland colors of her room. We will make the diary look worn since it has been with Maddie throughout most of her teenage years. There are creases on the spine, stains on the cover, and stickers that show it has been well-loved and frequently used.  

Here are some pictures of how the diary could look like before we make it look worn:

Additionally, another prop that goes with the diary is the special pen she uses to write. This pen was given to Maddie by her childhood best friend before she moved away. The pen itself will be a normal black ink pen but for Maddie it will have more sentimental value, and she can’t write in her diary without it. I’m still not sure what the pen will look like, I think I will also make it a bright color (pink or purple) to symbolize the happiness that friendship brought her.  

Here are two options of pens I have:

We will have to purchase a new diary and write various entries for the scene where Maddie flips through the pages. On top of that, we will need to scratch, stain, and do things to the diary to make it look old and achieve that used look we want.