Who, What, When, Where & Why: Shots from "Mad Men".

In any program created for televison or film made for the big screen, every shot should mean something, serve a purpose. Because most moving pictures aim to tell a story, it's important that each shot no matter how overt or subtle, should build on telling that story or contribute to contextualizing the 'world' inside the screen. Here are some examples compiled below from the hit Emmy-award winning US series "Mad Men":

When

Set in the fictional advertising agency Sterling Cooper, Mad Men is set in the 1960s and every episodes will have scenes wherein the background and/or extras very much adhere to the aesthetic vales and historical authenticity of that time period, for example in this shot we can see that they are using typewriters, the office decor is historically accurate and the women are dressed in tight-fitting pin-up pencil skirts and hair up in a bun.

Why

This show is historically accurate but not just visually; its depictions of gender and racial bias, sexual dynamics in the workplace, and the high prevalence of smoking and drinking add to the reason why it's an Emmy-award winning show. The latter two 'vices' seem to constantly be on screen, and both in times of celebration and crisis, there ain't nothing wrong with pouring a drink or three.

What

The weird thing is that besides 'meetings' and the odd presentation, the folks at Sterling Cooper tend to always be taking 4-hour lunches and sitting around discussing non-work related topics (i.e their secretaries, other men's secretaries, you get the idea) and even when the boss (guy near the door) enters, well, he doesn't mind joining in on the fun either. Hence, this is what a 'meeting' is in Mad Men.


Where

The advertising agency Sterling Cooper, where half the show takes place, is set on New York City's Madison Avenue. Whilst you never see the actual building from the outside, shots like these allude to what the 'view' would be like looking down at Madison Avenue.


Who

Don Draper. The Ultimate Ladies Man. Creative director and eventual junior partner of Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency; Draper is the series' main character. His past is shadowy, but he has achieved success at the agency. A close-up like of him is commonplace in the series and often used to show what Draper is thinking. Put it simply, what makes Draper the main character in Mad Men is two things: his infidelity and the fact that this dude has serious childhood issues. Luckily he looks fantastic in a suit, struts around with supreme confidence, blows people away everytime he says anything, is uncannily successful at his job and most importantly, spends 90 percent of time with women remaining absolutely silent, only talking to say the best lines ever.



All stills were sourced from here.