chapter 5: Mise-en-scene

what is mise-en-scene
o literally means staging or putting on an action or scene sometimes called staging
o refers to overall look and feel of a movie
o sum of everything that audience sees, hears, and experiences while viewing it
o design: process by which the look of settings, props, lighting, and actors is determined
o composition: organization, distribution, balance, and general relationship of actors and objects within the
space of each shot
design
o design should help express a movies vision, create a convincing sense of times, spaces, and moods;
suggest a characters state of mind; and relate to developing themes
the production designer
o works closely with the director in visualizing the movie that will appear on screen, supervises the many
departments that create the look
o art
o costume design and construction
o hairstyling
o makeup
o wardrobe
o location
o properties
o carpentry
o set construction or decoration
o greenery
o transportation
o visual effects
o special effects
elements of design
o most important are setting, dcor and properties; lighting; costume, makeup, and hairstyle
o setting dcor and properties
setting: environment in which narrative takes place
dcor: the colors and textures of the interior decoration, furniture, draperies, and curtains
properties: props, objects such as paintings, vases, flowers, tea sets, etc
o lighting:
essential element in drawing the composition of a frame and realizing that arrangement
on film
shadows may mask and conceal things
chiaroscuro: the use of deep gradations and subtle variations of lights and darks
within an image
o costume, makeup, hairstyle
makeup and hair are two most personal aspects of an actors image
costume: clothing worn by an actor in a movie (wardrobe)
o makeup: films generally have a contemporary makeup look to preserve actors images and new
beauty products that people could buy
o hairstyle: hairstyles were based on modified modern looks
wigs often used until 1960
international styles of design
o lumiere brothers pioneered the nonfiction film, shooting short, realistic depictions of every day activities
o melies was famous for creating the fiction film
composition
o composition: part of the process of visualizing and planning the design of a movie. organization,
distribution, balance, and general relationship of stationary objects and figures
o figures: any significant things that move on the screen
o framing: what we see on the screen
o kinesis: what moves on the screen
framing: what we see on the screen
o frame is the b order between what the filmmakers wants us to see and everything elsethe dimensions
of height and width that provide the shape of the movies images
o reframing: when the frame around the image moves and changes point of view
o POV: point of view
onscreen and offscreen space
o viewfinder: creates boundaries of the cameras point of view
o offscreen space: space outside frame
o onscreen space: space inside frame
open and closed framing
o open frame: designed to depict a world where characters move freely within an open, recognizable
environment
o closed frame: designed to imply that other forces, fate, social, educational, have robbed characters
of free will
kinesis: what moves on the screen
o includes movements of objects within frame and movement of frame itself
o movement of figures
blocking: actors and cameras familiarize themselves with movements and
positions