1. Mise en Scène the staging of a scene where the action unfolds
the overall look and feel of a movie
the sum of everything the audience sees, hears, & experiences

2. Four Basic Elements of Mise en Scène:
Setting
Actors (and their performance)
Lighting
Composition

3. Setting (where the action unfolds)
Can be: general or specific, real or imaginary
sets, on location, CGI
All are creative and $ challenges

4. Setting Visual and spatial attributes of setting
Inside/outside, bright/dark, open/closed
eg: open spaces can be limitless (Red River, Sound of Music)
or show dread (Castaway Open Water)
Contextual use of setting: qualities of what’s included
Cultural meaning, insight into characters
Function of setting
estb. time and place, themes, ideas, create mood

6. Actors* Casting Acting style Actor placement
(type-casting, A-listers)
Acting style
(impersonation, personification, method, character actors)
Actor placement
Props, costume, and make-up

7. Lighting Illuminates set /actors; used to create mood and effects
Three attributes of light:
Quality (soft/hard)
Placement (direction the light hits subject)
Contrast (high/low)
Looking at Movies (ch 6, 10min)

8. Lighting: Quality
Hard: small light source positioned close to the subject
Unflattering (deep shadows, shows imperfections)
Soft: large light source that is diffused/scattered over a bigger area or reflected off a surface before it gets to the subject
Minimizes details, actors look more attractive

9. … Lighting: Quality Available light (natural)
Can be hard or soft, depending on time of day/season/location

10. Lighting: Placement (direction of light)
Lighting in front of subject creates flat effect
washes out details, shadows only behind
Lighting from either side of subject creates a sculpted effect
3-dimentional with volume/texture
Lighting from behind separates subject from background

11. …Lighting: Placement Three-Point Lighting Diagram:
Video:

12. Lighting: Contrast one of most important factors in estb. mood
Depends on the relative intensity of key light to fill light (lighting ratio)
High-key lighting (fairly equal key light to fill light ratio)
Eliminates most shadows, most details washed out
Creates hopeful mood (comedies, musicals)

13. …Lighting: Contrast Natural-key lighting (‘normal’ light)
Key-light is more intense than the fill (cannot eliminate every shadow)

14. …Lighting: Contrast
Low-key lighting (high key light ratio to fill light)
Fill light cannot eliminate shadows – lots of shadows and high contrast
Somber and forbidding mood (crime drama, film noir, gothic horror)
Counter –intuitive: higher ratio of key to fill is a low-key light set up

15. High-Key Lighting
Brighter picture, fewer shadows = upbeat, hopeful mood
Key light with lots of fill light

16. Low-Key Lighting Lots of shadows, high contrast = somber, forbidding
Key light with very little fill light

17. Composition
visual arrangement of objects, actors, and space in the frame
Balance and symmetry:
Essentially a two-dimensional space
Horizontal (left to right) and vertical (top to bottom)
Rule of Thirds (video)
Balanced composition: equal dist. of bright/dark areas, colors, objects, figures (classical Hollywood)
Unbalanced – leads viewers to a particular direction
Lack of equilibrium

18. …Composition
Lines

19. … Composition Framing: Open/loose framing: open space around subject
freedom or isolation
Closed/tight framing - lack of space around subject
Sense of constriction or intimacy

20. … Composition Foreground/background focus Use of light and dark Color
Can highlight significance of object/subject
Use of light and dark
Chiaroscuro
Color
Color palette to go with movie – appropriate to mood
Cool, warm
Colors in sets, props, costumes
May function as motif

21. … Composition … Color Highly Saturated:
Saturation (strength of hue) and desaturation (colors are less pure, contain more white than saturated colors)
Highly Saturated:

22. Desaturated:

23. David Fincher

24. The Godfather