The Shot:

Mise-en-Scene

Film’s Stylistic System

• Mise-en-Scene (“putting in the scene”)

• Cinematography (“writing in motion”)

• Editing (compiling shots)

• Sound (all auditory elements)

Verisimilitude• Film, like all art forms, is a lie. That is, it

is not the literal truth. It is not real.

• Mise-en-Scene is the element of stylistic form that seeks to create verisimilitude, or the appearance or semblance of reality, plausibility, or believability.

Elements of Mise-en-Scene

1. Setting

2. Figures

3. Props & Costumes

4. Light & Shadow

5. Color

6. Perspective Relations

7. Performance

1. Film Setting

• Landscape

• Environment

• Spectacle

• Minute detail

• Directed attention

Landscape/Environment

Spectacle

Minute Detail/Directed Attention

2. Figures in Film• Figures in film have behavior and

motivation. Examples:

Characters (people)

Animals

Machines

Some objects

Figures in Film

3. Props & Costumes• Objects & clothing aren’t necessarily

props & costumes.

• An object becomes a prop when a figure interacts with it.

• An article of clothing becomes a costume when a figure wears it.

• A prop (or costume, for that matter) becomes a figure when it has behavior and motivation.

Objects vs. Props

Clothing vs. Costume

4. Lighting: Type/Source

• Hard vs. soft light

• Key vs. fill light

• Light source

Natural

Artificial diegetic

Artificial nondiegetic

Hard Key vs. Soft Fill

Natural Light

Artificial Diegetic Light

Artificial Nondiegetic Light

4. Lighting: Direction

• Frontal (flattens features)

• Sidelight (sculpts features)

• Backlight (creates silhouettes)

• Underlight (horror effect)

• Toplight (halo effect)

• Hairlight (specific toplight)

• Eyelight (tiny light for eye sparkle)

Frontlighting

Sidelighting

Backlighting

Underlighting

Toplighting

Hairlight

Eyelight

4. Shadows

• Attached shadows (aka shading) – object/figure creates shadow on itself

• Cast shadows – object/figure casts shadow on something else

• Chiaroscuro – areas of extreme light and dark in a single shot

• Film noir – “Dark Film”

Attached Shadows

Cast Shadow

Chiaroscuro

Film Noir

5. Color

• Descriptive – it looks like what it is

• Emotional – creates a feeling

• Symbolic – represents an idea

• Formal/structural – lines, areas of composition

Descriptive Color

Emotional Color

Symbolic Color

Structural Color

6. Perspective Relations• Size & Balance – create depth cues and

emphasis

• Depth cues – clues as to distance

• Planes (overlapping) – a depth cue

• Size diminution – smaller = further away

• Linear perspective – parallel lines converge

• Aerial perspective – hazing of distant planes

• Shallow vs. deep-space composition – few planes vs. many planes in the shot

Overlapping Planes/Size Diminution

Linear Perspective

Aerial Perspective

Shallow-Space Composition

Deep-Space Composition

7. Performance

• Blocking – general movement and placement of figures

• Choreography – specific/detailed movement of figures (dance, fights)

• Acting

7. Performance: Acting• Two aspects of an actor’s performance:

Visual elements (body, gesture)

Auditory elements (voice)

• Film acting vs. stage acting – largely a

question of scale and spontaneity

• Acting Styles:

Realistic (aims for verisimilitude)

Stylized (stagey, fantastical)