1. FORM IN FILM
TECHNICAL ASPECTS

2. TECHNICAL ASPECTS OVERVIEW
 A. Mise-en-scène: what is filmed; everything in front
of the cameras. (French theatre term, literally meaning “put into
the scene” referencing staging. Also spelled “mise en scène” without
hyphens; it can be italicized or not)
 B. Cinematography: how something is filmed
(photographic techniques)
 C. Editing: how what is filmed is put together
 D. Sound: voice, music, & sound effects; can be diegetic
(part of the story) or non-diegetic (e.g., a film score)

3. MISE EN SCENE
 Setting
 Costuming & Makeup
 Color
 Performance
 Composition
 Some disagreement as to what exactly constitutes mise en
scène vs. other techniques.
 Some include lighting & camera angles (composition)
(Both of which most filmmakers and all cinematographers would attribute to
cinematography, but for scholarly analysis, it’s usually lumped into mise
en scène)

4. MISE EN scène: Production Design
 Production Designers are usually in
charge of the look of a film (in collaboration with
the DP).
 They oversee the Art Director who oversees set
design and construction . . .
• Set Designer and construction
• Set Decorator
• Graphic artists and illustrators
 Prop Master
 Costume Designer, and
 Hair and Makeup Design
 Special Effects

5. SETTING
 Setting is where the action occurs
 Three basic shooting options:
 1. Soundstage – interiors & process
shots (e.g., rear-screen projection during driving
scene)
 2. Studio backlot – full size replicas
(towns, streets, houses, shops, etc.)
 3. On location . . .

6. Setting, con’t.
 3. On Location:
 a. May be one place, but pretend to be
another ("creative geography” in editing)
 b. May shoot only establishing & outside
shots “on location”
 c. May take whole cast & crew "on
location" to shoot exteriors & interiors

7. Setting, con’t.
 Function of sets:
 1. Provide information (e.g. time, place,
character’s status, etc.).
 2. Create mood & guide our attention.
 3. May play a significant part in the action.
 4. Communicate themes & comment on
action.
 5. Can create "special effects" (e.g. low tech
solutions to avoid process shots).

8. 8

9. 9

10. Psycho (1960, Alfred Hitchcock)
10

11. 11

12. Looking at Movies DVD Clip
 Here’s our friend Dave Monahan in a DVD
tutorial with a look at how setting can be an
essential part of the storytelling in films . . .
(5:00)

13. Costuming & Makeup
 A. Can enhance setting; must be
appropriate for the time, place, etc.
 B. Can be realistic vs. stylized (more in
fantasy)
 C. Can serve iconographic or symbolic
functions (i.e. white hat/dark hat dichotomy
for hero/villain)

14. 14

15. 15

16. 16

17. Clip from “Anatomy of a Scene” segment
 from Sundance Channel’s series “Anatomy
of a Scene” 11:00
 Acting 2:00

18. Use of color in mise en scene
 A. Color can refer to many things:
 1. Color film stock [see chapter 2]
 2. Use of color filters for light [see chapter 2]
 3. Use of color in sets, costumes, etc.
 B. Color shows different types of characters,
places, moods, etc.

19. Use of color, con’t.
 C. Types of color (in both mise en scene &
cinematography; see pp.66-70):
 1. Saturated—intense & vivid
 2. Desaturated—muted, dull, & pale
 3. Warm colors
 4. Cool colors

20. American Beauty
(1999, Sam Mendes)
20

21. American Beauty (1999, Sam Mendes)
21

22. Use of color, con’t.
 D. Expressive uses of color (varies from
culture to culture & context):
 1. Color motifs or patterns (a motif is a recurring
element in a film)
 2. Specific symbolic meanings of color—e.g.
Black, White, Red, Yellow, etc.
 (these vary dramatically in different cultures. For example, black is generally
associated with death and dying here in the US, other countries associate
white with death)
 3. Alternating or contrasting use of colors
 See color plates 1-32 [Chapter 2]

23. PERFORMANCE (acting)
 A. Usually human actors
 Required to make an effective drama
 Create identification with audience,
enhancing our suspension of disbelief
 Bad acting (or outdated acting) prevents
this identification.

24. PERFORMANCE, CON’T.
B. Various acting styles:
 1. Natural vs. Stylized (realistic vs. "playing a role")
 2 Method acting (immersing oneself in the role)
 3. Technical acting (using body movements & technique to
evoke a role)
 4. Type casting vs. casting against type [see p. 33,
Fig. 1.26]
 5. Styles change over time; earlier films may
seem overacted to modern audiences

25. PERFORMANCE, CON’T.
 C. Performance categories:
1.Leading actors/actresses
A.Often played by stars
2.Supporting actors
A.Character actors
3.Extras
4.Cameos (rarely credited, often famous people)

26. PERFORMANCE, CON’T.
 D. Performance challenges:
 Importance of casting & problem of miscasting
 Challenge of shooting out of sequence (movies
usually shot out of narrative order, for convenience or
cost)
 E. Film techniques can alter or "create" a
performance – skillful photography & editing can
mask a poor performance.

27. Film Clip
 Edward Scissorhands (1990, directed by Tim
Burton), starring Johnny Depp and Diane Wiest (and
Winona Ryder, not seen in clip).
 Cinematography by Stefan Czapsky
 Production Design by Bo Welch
 Clip is 5 minutes in when we first meet
Edward (trt=8:00)

28. Composition & Use of Space
A. Spatial aspects of setting:
1. Depth cues: illusion of 3-D space in 2-D
medium:
 a. Overlapping objects
 b. Obstruction shots
 c. Deep focus (see cinematography)
 d. Forced perspective (illusion of depth & distance with
smaller rear sets, etc.)
2. Use of foreground, middle ground and
background planes
3. Rack focus: between these planes
see pp. 46-48 [also see cinematography]

29. Space & Composition
 B. Composition: arrangement of subjects in
frame.
 1. Balance – taking sides; symmetrical to
asymmetrical (see pp. 43-52)
 2. Rule of thirds (horizontal & vertical)
 3. Diagonals, triangles, or other groupings
 4. Contrasts
 a. Can be of tone & color, light & dark, etc.
 b. Also of shape & size

32. Space & Composition
 5. Proxemics: close or far distances
between characters & objects –
 a. Tight – people & objects close
together
 b. Loose – people & objects far apart
 c. Objects used as barriers (e.g. screen
doors, bead curtains, etc.)

33. Space & Composition
 C. Other uses of space:
 Looking into windows, mirrors, etc.
 Use of empty space
 Use of offscreen space
 Discussions of composition leading directly into . . .
Cinematography and Lighting for next class!