Mise-en-Scene

1

What is Mise-en-Scene?

• Elements that appear in the frame that the director has control over.

• Mise-en-scene refers to all the elements in the shot such as setting, costume, lighting, gestures and movements the actors might make, the placement of the actors in the frame, the props, the colours and the composition.

• Bordwell refers to mise-en-scene as literally “putting into the

scene” All these elements convey meaning.

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• In formal analysis, start by asking filmmakers intent.

Ask some basic questions.

1. What is this scene about?

2. What do I understand about the character’s thoughts and emotions?

3. How did the scene make me feel.

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Robin stienberg’s Observation

• The important question to be asked is: How does the

organization of mise-en-scene direct our attention in the

frame and convey essential narrative information

regarding characters and their actions?

• One film may use it to create realism, others might seek very different effects: comic exaggeration, supernatural terror and any number of other functions.

• We should analyse mise-en-scene’s function in the total film.

Aspects of Mise-en-Scene: Setting

•The setting gives us a sense of place and time.

•It can be used to either create a sense of historical reality as

seen in Titanic and Ben Hur or to project a futuristic world as

seen in Star Wars.

•Apart from creating this sense of time and space, the setting

can also be used to symbolize the mental state of mind as seen

in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

• The set design provides us with information about where and when the action takes place, the moods of the characters, type of story and the genre of the film.

• The director may choose an existing setting or have a setting created. The overall design of a setting can significantly shape how we understand story action.

Aspects of Mise-en-Scene: Costume and Makeup

• Costume simply refers to the clothes that characters wear. Costume in narrative cinema is used to signify character, or advertise particular fashions, or to make clear distinctions between characters.

• Like setting, costume can have specific functions in the total film, and the range of possibilities is huge.

• Costumes may be realistic or stylised.

• The clothing worn on sets indicates the period and social

environment.

• Costumes are also an instant indication of the social class,

cultural background and traits of the characters.

• Make-up is also a very important element and it can have many different functions and effects.

• It can create a glamorous look on the characters and it can also generate the horrifying looking monster or a ghost.

• Make-up is also important in creating the illusion that time has passed.

The Godfather

Dead Snow

Aspects of Mise-en-Scene: Lighting

• Creates a composition and guides attention.• Creates shape and texture through highlights and

shadows.• Features include its quality, direction, source and

color.• Computers aid filmmakers in creating lighting

schemes in films with simulated figures and settings.

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• There are two basic types of shadow : attached or cast shadows.

Types of lighting also include :

• Sidelight/ crosslight

• Backlighting

• Underlighting

• Top lighting

• Key light

• Fill light

• THREE-POINT LIGHTING The standard lighting scheme for classical narrative cinema. In order to model an actor's face (or another object) with a sense of depth, light from three directions is used, as in the diagram below.

Low-key lighting

•A lighting scheme that employs very little fill light, creating strong contrasts between the brightest and darkest parts of an image.

•This lighting scheme is often associated with suspense genres.

High key lighting

• Produces an even illumination overall. There is little

difference in intensity between light and dark areas.

• Often used in comedies and musicals.

• Lighting is in fact one of the most interesting problems in the

creation of mise-en-scene.

• It is highly expressive. It can set the mood of a scene or

character as dark and dull or cheery and bright.

• It guides our vision through the frame by establishing a sense

of depth or flatness in the picture plane; it establishes

contrast or comparison between the background and

foreground of the image and so forth.

• Lighting is one of the most highly planned and technically

complex aspects of cinema art.

• In this respect, many cinematographers subscribe to an

aesthetic strategy called motivated lighting: that is the

arrangement and placing of lights to create the illusion of a

‘natural’ source of illumination.

• If ‘naturalism’ is the objective, why use lights at all?

• Existing light is precisely that – shooting only with the light

available in the filmic space. This is the strategy of many

documentary filmmakers.

• It is important to remember that the camera and film stock

do not record natural light like the eye.

Quality of Lighting

• Hard lighting

– Also called Harsh lighting

– Casts a sharp, clearly defined shadow

– Very bright and revealing

– Usually via a spotlight

Soft lighting

• Also known as Diffused light or Flat lighting

• Has a tendency to conceal surface irregularities and details

• Diffusers are normally placed in front of the lights to

diffuse the beams

• Creates a broad and even area of light.

• Produces the appearance of smooth surfaces

• Least shadows

Aspects of Mise-en-Scene: Staging

• Involves the movement of figures and the actors’ performance.

• The director may also control the behaviour of various figures in the mise-en-scene. They will manipulate the actors and use the actors’ inputs into the way a scene may be portrayed.

• Acting in film is a complex art. Shooting is done without continuity. It is different from stage acting.

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Mise en scene - Space

• Screen space refers to the overall composition of the shot. This can guide the viewer’s attention and create meaning.

• Scene space refers to the depth and volume of the depicted space. It is especially affected by movement.

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Time

• Involves the speed and direction of movement within a shot.

• Our eyes are drawn to movement, and so it guides our

attention.

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28 Days Later.

28 Days Later.