Mise En Scene
From the French term meaning 'what is put into a scene or
scene' Mise En Scene is visual information in front
of the camera that communicates information to the audience.
Several factors make up a Mise En Scene which
include:
Composition
How actors, objects and space are organised with a frame are all very important parts of the composition. Having balance in terms of the distribution of light, the objects and the actors in the frame is critical to keeping a sense of symmetry unless the director specifically wants something to capture the audiences attention.
Setting
Setting creates both a sense of place and a mood and it may
also reflect a character’s emotional state of mind. It can be entirely fabricated within a studio
– either as an authentic re-construction of reality or as a whimsical fiction –
but it may also be found and filmed on-location. In the following image, from Sofia Coppola’s
Marie Antoinette (2006), the ornate décor evokes 17th century France and the
castle of Versailles. But here the
baroque detailing overwhelms the character, conveying her despair. The actress’s position in relation to the
objects within the frame suggests that, as a pawn in the dynastic enterprise,
Marie Antoinette is little more than a footstool.
The next shot, from Pier Paolo Pasolini’s The Earth Seen
From the Moon [La terra vista dalla luna, 1966], provides a good example of the
many and various effects that can be achieved via mise-en-scène. Although the film was shot on-location, the
director’s style is not altogether realist. While he wishes to depict a shanty
town in the suburbs of Rome, the colorful rubble and freshly painted buildings
underscore his playful, ironic approach to the subject matter. The vibrantly clad children have no active
role in the film and, since Pasolini means to criticize romanticized visions of
Italian poverty, they are to be seen as location details.
Actors
The positioning of actors in a scene is also very important as it conveys information to the audience that may not be consciously recognised at first. An example of this is in the movie Citizen Kane(1941) where after discovering new found wealth, Mary Kane send her son Charles away to live with a wealthy banker. As she is signing the necessary papers, the audience can see that the child is in the centre of the shot, the mother is the closest and the father, who opposes the son being sent away, is furthest from the camera. The position of these characters tell a story;
- The child being in the centre is
no coincidence as he is the central topic.
- The mother being closest to the
camera and also her body language show that she is the most powerful
person in the room.
- The father is furthest away and
exemplifies his weakness as he seems powerless to change the situation.
The meaningful
arrangement of the actors on the set is called blocking. The way in
which the actors are positioned can show the dominance of one character over
another, the importance of family or religion, and a myriad of other
relationship possibilities.
An actor or actress’s
performance can make or break a movie regardless of how engaging the story is
or how well the editing was done etc… It is the actor’s duty to bring his or
her character to life within the framework of the story, and his emotional input
dictates how strongly the audience feels about the film. Acting depends upon
gesture and movement, expression and voice.
Costume
The choice of costume will dictate the time
period, the weather, and changes in character and help to make clear distinctions
of characters.
Lighting
Lighting is a very important feature as it can
dictate the mood, the intensity, and can show a wide range of emotions in a
scene.
High-Key
Lighting
High-key lighting involves the fill lighting
(used in the three-point technique at a lower level) to be increased to near
the same level as the key lighting. With this even illumination, the scene
appears very bright and soft, with very few shadows in the frame. This style is
used most commonly in musicals and comedies, especially of the classic
Hollywood age.
Sofia Coppola took a soft, high-key approach to
illumination in her film Marie Antoinette (2006).
An example of the common use of high-key
lighting in musicals and comedies of the classic Hollywood era is its presence
in The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Low-Key
Lighting
Low-key lighting is the technical opposite of
the high-key arrangement, because in low-key the fill light is at a very low
level, causing the frame to be cast with large shadows. This causes stark
contrasts between the darker and lighter parts of the framed image, and for
much of the subject of the shot to be hidden behind in the shadows. This
lighting style is most effective in film noir productions and gangster films,
as a very dark and mysterious atmosphere is created from this obscuring light.
One of
the most noted for their use of low-key lighting in their films was Orson
Welles. Used extensively throughout his film noir Touch of Evil (1958), Welles
also featured low-key lighting in several scenes of Citizen Kane (1941).
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