Chapter 4

The Shot: Mise-en-Scene

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What Is Mise-en-Scene?

• Elements that appear in the frame that the director has control over, whether they are intended or not.

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The Power of Mise-en-Scene

• Notions of realism vary across cultures, over time, and among individuals.

• Sometimes style precludes realism.• Evaluation should involve function,

motivation, and the element’s relation to the rest of the film.

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The Power of Mise-en-Scene

• George Méliès built one of the first film studios.

• This allowed him total control over every element in the frame.

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Components of Mise-en-Scene: Setting

• Design can shape how we understand story action.

• Choices can involve color, existing or constructed locales, use of props, and overall size.

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Components of Mise-en-Scene: Costume and Makeup

• Can also have specific functions within the film.

• Can be realistic or stylized.• Interacts with setting.• Digital technology also plays a role.

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Components of Mise-en-Scene: Lighting

• Creates a composition and guides attention.• Creates shape and texture through highlights

and shadows.• Features include its quality, direction,

source, and color.• Computers aid filmmakers in creating lighting

schemes in films with simulated figures and settings.

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Components of Mise-en-Scene: Staging

• Involves the movement of figures and the actors’ performance and will be individualized and stylized.

• Is best evaluated in terms of functions and motivation within the film as a whole as well as in the context of other techniques.

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Putting It All Together: Mise-en-Scene in Space and Time

• In L’Avventura, the filmmaker guides the audience’s attention through juxtaposing physical shapes with surroundings, position, movement, and use of props.

• This adds to the meaning of the scene.

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Space

• Screen space refers to the overall composition of the shot. This can guide the viewer’s attention and create meaning.

• Scene space refers to the depth and volume of the depicted space. It is especially affected by movement.

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Time

• Involves the speed and direction of movement within a shot.

• Our eyes are drawn to movement, and so it guides our attention.

• Frontality can also guide attention.

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Narrative Functions of Mise-en-Scene in Our Hospitality

• Settings divide the film into scenes and create contrast between them.

• Settings have important narrative functions.• Costumes highlight plot points and differences

between characters.• Lighting has both general and specific

functions.

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Narrative Functions of Mise-en-Scene in Our Hospitality

• Acting supports the narrative.• In-depth staging allows for narrative economy.• Motifs are used to both unify the narrative but

also function as motivation.• Mise-en-scene is also used for comedic effect.

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