This document discusses the key elements of mise-en-scene in filmmaking. Mise-en-scene includes all the visual elements within a scene that help tell the story, such as the setting, props, costumes, lighting, camerawork and actor performances. It discusses how directors use these elements like setting, props, costumes and body language to convey meaning and influence how audiences understand and experience the narrative. Mise-en-scene creates a sense of authenticity and engages dynamically with the story.
2. Mise-en-Scene
“Our most sharply
etched memories of
the cinema.”
“Overall design of
a setting can
significantly shape
how we understand
story action.”
- Bordwell and Thompson
Note the backdrop (setting) of “The Road
Home”; wooden fences, huts, small dusty
roads, the clothes they Di and Zhao wear.
4. Mise-en-Scene
perceived elements
that are recorded by
the camera: objects,
movements, lighting,
shadows, colors,
shots, movement of
the camera, sound,
editing
Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin in a scene
of “The Piano”; note the perceived
elements in the mise-en-scene
5. Mise-en-Scene
Setting: not merely a
backdrop against
which the story is told
Setting: engages
dynamically with the
narrative.Peter Jackson directing Watts in King
Kong; explaining the mise-en-scene
6. Director’s Style
Director’s control over
mise-en-scene
Capacity of the
director to control
what happen on the
set.
7. Elements of Mise-en-scene
Setting
Props
Costume
Performance and
Movement
Lighting
Camera and Camera
Movement
Editing
Sound
8. Setting
1920s-1940s: studio
Studio: elements
controlled and chosen
Signifier of
authenticity in 1920s
Wilderness
Small town
Large ranch
9. Setting
Functions to place the
character within a film
Functions to create a
space and meaning
10. Props
Device for conveying
meaning
Define the genre
Weapons: action genre
Garlic/ crosses: horror films
Unique signifiers of
meaning
Objects on C.U./ Dialogue
Significance of object in the
narrative
11. Props
Used to anchor
characters into
particular meaning
Hannibal Lecter: face
guard (Silence of
Lambs)
The Godfather: props
in relation to family’s
honor
12. Costume
Variant of prop,
tightly connected to
character
Minor characters: use
codes of everyday life
(uniforms)
Cinematic Codes:
white for good guys/
black for villainy
13. Costume
Subtle changes of
character’s costume:
changes in status, attitude
or passing of time
Signifies mismatches:
A costume calls for a series
of expectation
Police: in robbery scene
Cross-Dressing: a make in
female clothing
14. Performance and Movement
Richest source of
mise-en-scene: actor’s
performance
Performer: object of
the camera’s gaze
15. Performance and Movement
Body Language:
strong coded elements
in the facial
expressions and body
positions held by the
performers
16. Body Language
Part of everyday life
Universal
Cultural/ temporal
variations
Thumbs up
High Five