PropsProps are when an object has a function within the ongoing action. They can serve to drive the narrative or become a motif to underscore the themes of the film.

To be able to understand how setting and décor is used to reinforce character and theme.

If you were to think of yourself as an object, what would define your

situation right now?

Learning Objective:To be able to understand how props are used to reinforce character and theme.

Level Grade Descriptor

2 D/E To be able to identify props and describe their effect.

3 B/C To be able to analyse props and explain their effect.

4 A To be able to evaluate props and justify their effect.

Level Grade Descriptor

2 D/E Basic understanding of the way that mise-en-scène is used to construct representation.

3 B/C Proficient understanding of the way that mise-en-scène is used to construct representation.

4 A Excellent understanding of the way that mise-en-scène is used to construct representation.

Prop as motif

Over the course of a narrative, a prop may become a motif. In Alexander Payne’s Election, the fussy, frustrated high-school teacher is shown cleaning out spoiled foodand hallway litter, and these actions prepare for the climactic moment when he crumples a ballot and secretly disposes of it. Payne calls this the motif of trash, “of throwing things away, since that’s in fact the climax of the film. . . . So we establish it early on.”

Mise-en-scène Analysis

Props – Barton Fink (Joel & Ethan Coen, 1991)

To be able to understand how props are used to reinforce character and theme.

How do the props in the following clip give information about character?

List all of the props you see in the scene.

VERISIMILITUDEThe representation of realism

Notions of realism vary across cultures, over time, and even among individuals. To insist rigidly on realism for all

films can blind us to the vast range of mise-en-scene possibilities.

The best sets are the simplest, most ‘decent’ ones; everything should contribute to the feeling of the story and anything that does not do this has no place. Reality is usually too complicated. Real locations contain too much that is extreme or contradictory and always require some simplifying: taking things away, unifying colours, etc. This strength through simplicity is much easier to achieve on a built set than in an existing location.

Stuart Craig, art director, Notting Hill