MISE-EN-SCENE

MISE-EN-SCENE: The Office- The Injury

Setting: The episode begins at the main office building of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company's Scranton Branch. This setting, while important for all episodes of the series is particularly important for this episode because it shows how bored all of the characters are. When Michael calls stating that he burned his foot, his co-workers finally find something that is amusing, so that they make their long day at work go faster. The setting is also important, because it is a basic setup for an office buildings, except its rather open instead of cubicles, making the viewers relate to the show. Many of the viewers have had or know someone with a similar office job, and can relate to the characters in the show by seeing the dull workplace that they too have experienced.

Lighting: The lighting in this episode also goes with the setting, because of the fluorescent lights. These lights make the office complex bland and abnormally bright as though to keep the workers awake while they sell paper. This unusually bright lighting also makes the office more welcome, and allows you to clearly see all of the characters of the Scranton branch for what they truly are. An example of this is when the lighting clearly allows us to see through the bubble rap that Michael Scott, had indeed burned his foot on a George Foreman grill, but it wasn't as bad as he made it out to be. This type of lighting is known as high-key lighting since many shadows do not appear, and the scenes seem bright and soft.

Costume: The costume design in this episode of The Office is very simple, but that is what makes the show work. Each character is made out to be an everyday man, or white collared worker that most people can relate to. These suits and ties, are not fancy, or anything close, but professional enough to make it seem as though the outfit was thrown together in a hurry at seven in the morning. The colors of these work suits are very bland, which contrasts with the personalities of the characters as they are anything but bland. This contrast also makes the show more funny, as you as a viewer realize that this is more than an office of boring people, but people that one is willing to spend time with. 

Staging: The actor's performance in this episode is very important to keeping the viewer invested in the plot. The plot is simple, the regional manager of a small paper supply firm burned his foot on the grill and no one is taking his minor injury seriously. Steve Carell, who plays the manager Michael Scott, provides the viewers with a great performance making it seem as though the character is in dire need of attention while also being funny instead of annoying, which most vain people tend to be. This type of acting is non-method acting, because you can still see that this actor is a major part of this character, unlike method acting where the character completely takes over the actor. The supporting cast does a very good job as well, to keep up with their boss' antics while almost ignoring him all together to help Dwight who suffered a concussion, and to get some work done. Without these great performances the well-written script wouldn't have come off as well-written, and this wouldn't have become such a popular show.