4. 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?
5. • 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.
6. 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.
7.
8. • 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.
9.
10. 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.
11. • 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.
12. • 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.
16. • 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
17. • 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.
18.
19. 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.
20.
21.
22. • 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.
23. • 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?
24. • 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.
25. Quality of Lighting
• Hard lighting
– Also called Harsh lighting
– Casts a sharp, clearly defined shadow
– Very bright and revealing
– Usually via a spotlight
26. 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
Mise-En-Scene is a French term that has originated from the theatre.
It is originally used with respect to stage direction.
Literally it means ‘put in scene’ or simply defined as anything that is seen in the composition and captured by the camera.
These include the composition itself, framing, movement of characters and thecamera, lighting, set design, props, costume and make-up
It is often better to examine the functions of mise-en-scene.
In these shots from 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1969) the futuristic furniture and reduced color scheme stress the sterility and impersonality of the space station environment. Later, the digital nature of the HAL computer is represented by the repeating patterns and strong geometrical design of the set.
A backlight picks out the subject from its background, a bright key light highlights the object and a fill light from the opposite side ensures that the key light casts only faint shadows.
But paradoxically, at least where the classical Hollywood cinema is concerned, all the fuss, bother and technology required by lighting is geared towards a specific effect, disguising or downplaying the artificial nature of the image.
Movement looks at the position and movement of characters or objects within a frame.
Acting
There is enormous historical and cultural variation in performance styles in the cinema. Early melodramatic styles, clearly indebted to the 19th century theater, gave way in Western cinema to a relatively naturalistic style. There are many alternatives to the dominant style:
