Mise-en-scene 3

ByJonathan Burden

What is Mise-En-Scene?

• French for “place on stage”, referring to what’s been placed on the screen.

• This includes, lighting, clothes, setting, props and sounds.• Mise-En-Scene allows creators to have creative control.• Without Mise-En-Scene, creators would not know how to

create an interesting piece or would end up using the same thing over and over.

Setting

• A setting refers to where or what the location is.

• A setting can either be man made, natural, (Like a forest), or computer generated.

• A setting can show viewers a time period, as well as the current situation of the story.

• Different settings can create certain expectations from the viewer.

Settings Continued…This is the opening scene of the 2001 adaption of The Planet Of The Apes. The setting is on another planet and the planet has a sci-fi look to it, along with drab colours and destroyed buildings.

Meanwhile, in James Bond: Skyfall, the end of the film takes place in an abandoned house in England. The location is fairly ordinary, along with some fog and a countryside backdrop.

Props

• Props in a scene can amplify it’s meaning or give the audience a clue as to what may happen next, (knife used to stab victim).

• Props, like the setting can be natural, man made or can be computer generated.

• Props can be used to represent iconic features on a person,( Batman’s cape or Batmobile).

Props Continued…

Batman’s costume defines the character as he relies on it to fight crime and get out of tricky situations.

In the Star Wars Universe, Jedi’s always carry a Light saber for when they are ready to fight or to get past obstacles. This prop defines Jedi’s since no Jedi is ever without one.

Lighting + Colour

• Lighting can be used to make an item or person stand out in the background.

• Lighting can enhance or change the mood of the film, (Dark blue makes scenes gloomy while brighter films indicate happiness).

• Colours can also show what kind of film you are watching, (Bright colours could mean comedy while dark colours could mean Horror).

Lighting + Colour Continued…

In horror films, especially in darker scenes, the colours tend to have a blue filter over the current scene and the important parts stick out with bright colours like white or red.

In The Fifth Element, the lighting is quite bright but the colours consist of mainly brown, grey and green.

Costume, Hair and Make-Up

• Different costumes can show different time periods and can show the personality of a character.

• Clothes can also show where the character is brought up from or what their lifestyle is.

• Costumes can play a part in certain scenes later in a film, (Batman's cape is bulletproof).

Costume, Hair and Make-Up Continued…

Star trek is set in the future, complete with Sci-Fi looking clothes, even though the hair styles are not futuristic. Not all of the people are humans, in the case of Spock, who has much pointer ears than the other cast members.

In Notting Hill, The two stars dress normally and casually in modern, showing that the two are from the present time.

Facial Expressions+ Body Language

• Body language can tell the viewer what the person is trying to say.

• Facial expressions show the current emotions the character is in.

• These can help make the scene very powerful between actors and the audience.

• Correct expressions make the actors much more believable in the viewers eye.

Facial Expressions+ Body Language Continued…

This infamous scene in Troll 2 shows one of the main characters witnessing one of his friends getting eaten. His mouth is wide open, complete with sweat on his face and his eyes looking focused off screen. This actor is scared for his life.

Positioning And Space

• Positioning in a frame can audiences to an important prop or object in a scene.

• It can also be used to show the statuses of peoples relationships.

• Space refers to the depth of a scene, (shallow space, off-screen space or Deep space views).

• This can give viewers the sense of adventure or make a scene tense.

Positioning And Space Continued…

This romantic scene is positioned in such a way that the couple in question has most of the screen space and all of the focus is on them. This allows the camera to focus on the body language.

In the beginning of Saving Private Ryan, a massive battle on a beach ensures. The cameras here are near the shooters, showing them firing on their opponents from afar, while boats and objects and the sea take up the space.

Visual Effects

• Visual effects in film refers to the special effects used in a movie.

• They can be made by hand or they can be made in a computers.

• Special effects are used to enhance scenes, like the backgrounds, (Star Wars), or explosions, (Action or disaster movies).

• Visual effects can also enhance the look of movies to make them look more like the creator’s vision, (Sci-Fi fims, etc).

Visual Effects Continued…

Avatar is mainly all computer animated, using advanced GCI effects and motion capture to show of the world of Avatar.

In Transformers, all of the robots are computer generated, interacting with real actors. They could build these but computers make this more flexible and cheaper in the long run.