FILM: Chapter 5: Mise-en-Scène

blocking

The actual physical relationships among figures and settings. Also, the process during rehearsal of establishing those relationships.

kinesis

The aspect of composition that takes into account everything that moves on the screen.

costumes

The clothing worn by an actor in a movie; sometimes called wardrobe, a term that also designates the department in a studio in which clothing is made and stored.

decor

The color and textures of the interior decoration, furniture, draperies, and curtains of a set.

script supervisor

The member of the crew responsible for ensuring continuity throughout the filming. Although script supervisors once has to maintain detailed logs to accomplish this task, today they generally rely on the video assist camera for this purpose.

Composition

The organization, distribution, balance, and general relationship of stationary objects and figures-as well as of light, shade, line, and color-within the frame.

art director

The person responsible for transforming the production designer's vision into a reality on the screen, assessing the staging requirements for a production, and arranging for and supervising the work of members of the art department.

point of view (POV)

The position from which a film presents the actions of the story; not only the relation of the narrator(s) to the story, but also the camera's act of seeing and hearing. The two fundamental types of cinematic point of view are omniscient and restricted.

framing

The process by which the cinematographer determines what will appear within the borders of the moving image (the frame) during a shot.

Design

The process by which the look of the settings, props, lighting, and actors is determined. Set design, decor, props, lighting, and actors determined. Set design, decor, prop selection, lighting setup, costuming, makeup, and hairstyle design all play a role in shaping the overall design.

intertitles (insert titles)

Words (printed or handwritten) inserted into the body of a film, such as "The day after" or "Saturday morning"; in common usage today, but used extensively in silent movies.

open frame

A frame around a motion-picture image that, theoretically, characters and objects can enter and leave.

reframing

A movement of the camera that adjusts or alters the composition or point of view of a shot.

set decorator

A person in charge of the countless details that go into furnishings and decorating a set.

makeup artist

A person responsible for using makeup to enhance or alter (positively or negatively) an actor's appearance.

production designer

A person who works closely with the director , art director, and director of photography in visualizing the movie that will appear on the screen. The production designer is both an artist and a executive responsible for the overall design concept (the look of the movie) as well as individual sets, locations, furnishings, props, and costumes; and for supervising the heads of the many departments-art, costume design and construction, hairstyling, makeup, wardrobe, location, and so on-that create that look.

video assist camera

A tiny device, mounted in the viewing system of the film camera, that enables a script supervisor to view a scene on a video monitor-and this compare its details with those of surroundings scenes to ensure visual continuity-before the film is sent to the laboratory for processing.

sound-stage

A windowless, soundproofed, professional shooting environment that is usually several stories high and can cover an acre or more of floor space.

properties

Also known as props. Objects used to enhance a movie's mise-en-scène by providing physical tokens of narrative information.

mise-en-scène

Also known as staging. The overall look and feel of a movie-the sum of everthing the audience sees, hears, and experiences while viewing it.

closed frame

An approach to framing a shot that implies that neither characters nor objects may enter or leave the frame, rendering them hemmed in and constrained.

figures

Any significant thing-person, animal, or object-that moves on the screen.

on-screen space

Cinematic space that exists inside the frame.

offscreen space

Cinematic space that exists outside the frame.

viewfinder

On a camera, the little window that the cameraperson looks through when taking a picture, the viewfinder's frame indicates the boundaries of the camera's point of view.

on location

Shooting in an actual interior or exterior location away from the studio.

moving frame

The result of the dynamic functions of the frame around a motion-picture image, which can contain moving action but also can move and thus change its viewpoint.

setting

The time and space in which a story takes place.

chiaroscuro

The use of deep gradations and subtle variations of lights and darks within an image.