Mis en Scene

design team

A group of designers responsible for creating the look and feel of a production. The team generally includes set, lighting, sound, costume, properties, and makeup designers The overall look of a film is coordinated by its design team, which uses space and composition to create a scene for the film's action

hard lighting

A high-contrast lighting style that creates hard edges, distinctive shadows, and a harsh effect, especially when filming people.

Mise en scene acting/performance

A more intangible yet essential part of mise-en-scène, performance describes the actor's use of language, physical expression, and gesture to bring a character to life and to communicate important dimensions of that character to the audience. In a performance, we can distinguish two primary elements: voice, which includes the natural sound of an actor's voice along with the various intonations or accents he or she may create for a particular role; and bodily movement, which includes physical gestures and, especially important to the movies, eye movements and eye contact.

props in mise en scene

A prop (short for property) is an object that functions as a part of the set or as a tool used by the actors. Props acquire special significance when they are used to express characters' thoughts and feelings, their powers and abilities in the world, or the primary themes of the film. Instrumental props are those objects displayed and used according to their common function. Metaphorical props are those same objects reinvented or employed for an unexpected purpose Cultural props, such as a type of car or a piece of fur- niture, carry meanings associated with their place in a particular society. Contextualized props acquire meaning through their changing place in a narrative.

character types

Actors are frequently cast for parts precisely because of their association with certain character types that they seem especially suited to portray due to their physical features, acting style ,or previous roles.

character actor

An actor whose career rests on playing minor or secondary quirky characters rather than leading roles

back lighting

Backlighting (sometimes called edgelighting) is a highlighting technique that illuminates the person or object from behind; it tends to silhouette the subject

everyday mis en scene

Calling attention to the ordinary rather than the historical, an everyday mise- en-scène constructs commonplace backdrops for the characters and the action.

costumes

Costumes are the clothing and related accessories worn by a character that define the character and contribute to the visual impression and design of the film overall. These can range from common fashions, like a dark suit or dress, to historical or more fantastic costumes. Cosmetics, or make-up, applied to the actor's face or body, highlight or even disguise or distort certain aspects of the face or body. Costumes and make-up function in films in four different ways. First, when costumes and make-up support scenic realism, they reproduce, as accurately as possible, the clothing and facial features of people living in a specific time and place. Second, when make-up and costumes function as character highlights, they draw out or point to important parts of a character's personality. Often these highlights are subtle, such as the ascot a pretentious visitor wears; sometimes they are pronounced, as when villains in silent films wear black hats and twirl their moustaches Third, when costumes and make-up act as narrative markers, their change or lack of change becomes a crucial way to understand and follow a character and the development of the story Finally, make-up, prosthetics, and costuming can be used as a part of over- all production design to signify genre

directional lighting

Directional lighting is more dramatically apparent; it may create the impression of a natural light source but actually directs light in ways that define and shape the object or person being illuminated.

fill lighting

Fill lighting can be used to balance the key lighting or to emphasize other spaces and objects in the scene

extras

Finally, realism and spectacle are enhanced by the role of extras, those relatively large groups of "background artists" who provide character and sometimes personality to large crowd scenes.

Frontal lighting, sidelighting, underlighting, and top lighting

Frontal lighting, sidelighting, underlighting, and top lighting are used to illuminate the subject from different directions in order to draw out features or create specific atmospheres around the subject

Graphic Blocking

Graphic blocking arranges characters or groups according to visual pat- terns to portray spatial harmony, tension, or some other visual atmosphere. Fritz Lang, for instance, is renowned for his blocking of crowd scenes: in Metropolis (1927), the oppression of individuality is embodied in the mechanical movements of rectangles of marching workers

highlighting

Highlighting describes the use of the different lighting sources to emphasize certain characters or objects or to charge them with special significance

constructive mise-en-scene

In a constructive mise-en-scène, the world can be shaped and even altered through the work or desire of the characters Films about putting together a play or even a movie are examples of this tradition as characters fabricate a new or alternative world through their power as actors or directors. Other films, however, have employed constructive mise-en- scène to dramatize the wishes and dreams of their characters.

expressive mise en scene

In an expressive mise-en-scène, the settings, sets, props, and other dimensions of the mise-en-scène assert themselves independently of the characters and describe an emotional or spiritual life permeating the material world.

theatrical mis en scene

In contrast, theatrical mise-en-scène creates fantastical environments that display and even exult in their artificial and constructed nature. Films in this tradition define themselves in one or more of these terms: -Elements of the mise-en-scène tend to violate or bend the laws of nature or society. -Dramatic inconsistencies appear within one or between two or more settings. -The mise-en-scène takes on an independent life that requires confrontations or creative negotiations between the props and sets and the characters. Often violating the accepted laws of how the world functions, theatrical mise-en- scène can call attention to the arbitrary or constructed nature of that world.

chiaroscuro lighting

pictorial arrangement of light and dark that can create the uneasy atmospheres

Mise-en-Scène as a Measure of Character

Mise-en-scène as a measure of character dramatizes how an individual or a group establishes an identity through interaction with (or control of) the surrounding setting and sets.

mis en scene as an external condition

Mise-en-scène as an external condition indicates surfaces, objects, and exteriors that define the material possibilities in a place or space. The mise-en-scène maybe a magical space full of active objects, or it may be a barren landscape with no borders. An individual's movements are restricted as the world flies by outside. In each case, the mise-en-scène describes the material limits of a film's physical world; from those terms, the rest of the scene or even the entire film must develop.

movie spectaculars

Movie spectaculars are films in which the magnitude and intricacy of the mise-en-scène share equal emphasis with or even outshine the story, the actors, and other traditional focal points for a movie what distinguishes a movie spectacular is an equal or additional emphasis on the powers of the mise-en-scène to create the meaning of the film or even overwhelm the story.

natural lighting

Natural lighting usually assumes an incidental role in a scene; it derives from a natural source in a scene or setting, such as the illumination of the daylight sun or the lamps of a room.

naturalism

Naturalism is one of the most effective—and most misleading—ways to approach mise-en-scène. If mise-en-scène is about the arrangement of space and the objects in it, as we have suggested, then naturalism in the mise-en-scène means that how a place looks is the way it is supposed to look. We can, in fact, pinpoint several more precise characteristics of a naturalistic mise-en-scène: -The world and its objects follow assumed laws of nature and society. -The elements of the mise-en-scène have a consistently logical or homogeneous relation to each other. -The mise-en-scène and the characters mutually define each other, although the mise-en-scène may be unresponsive to the needs and desires of the characters. Naturalistic mise-en-scène is consistent with accepted scientific laws and cultural customs. Thus in a naturalistic setting, a person would be unable to hear whispers from far across a field, and a restaurant might have thirty tables and several waiters or waitresses.

lighting

One of the most subtle and important dimensions of mise-en-scène is lighting, which not only allows an audience to observe a film's action and understand the setting in which the action takes place but also draws attention to the props, costumes, and actors in the mise-en-scène. Our daily experiences outside the movies demonstrate how lighting can affect our perspective on a person or thing. Entering a dark, shadowed room may evoke feelings of fear, while the same room brightly lit may make us feel welcomed and comfortable.

set designers

Set designers supervise the construction of sets and the arrangement of props within settings to draw out important details or to create connections and contrasts across the different places in a film.

setting and sets in mise en scene

Settings and sets are the most fundamental features of mise-en-scène. The setting refers to a fictional or real place where the action and events of the film occur. The set is, strictly speaking, a constructed setting, often on a studio soundstage; but both the setting and the set can combine natural and constructed elements. Historically and culturally, sets and settings have changed regularly. The first films were made either on stage sets or in outdoor settings, using the natural light from the sun. Films gradually began to integrate both constructed sets and natural settings into the mise-en-scène.

scenic and atmopsheric realism

Settings and sets contribute to a film's mise-en-scène by establishing scenic real- ism and atmosphere. One of the most common, complicated, and elusive yardsticks for the cinema, realism is the term most viewers use to describe the extent to which a movie creates a truthful picture of a society, person, or some other dimension of life.

set lighting

Spread across a set before more specific lighting emphases are added, set lighting distributes an evenly diffused illumination through a scene as a kind of lighting base.

supporting character

Supporting actors play secondary characters in a film, serving as foils or companions to the central characters. Supporting actors and character actors often add to the complexity of a film's plotline or emotional impact. They may involve us more thoroughly in the action or serve to highlight a movie's themes.

blocking

The arrangement and movement of actors in relation to each other within the physical space of a mise-en-scène is called blocking

mis en scene

The mise-en-scène has always been the site where viewers measure human, aesthetic, and social values; recognize significant cinematic traditions; and, in those interactions, identify and assign meaning to the changing places of films. The most fundamental value of mise-en-scène is that it defines our location in the material world: the physical settings and objects that surround us indicate our place in the world. cinematic mise-en-scène helps to ■ describe the physical conditions and limits of our natural, social, or imaginary worlds ■ measure the ability of individuals and social groups to control and arrange their world in a meaningful way

three-point lighting

Three-point lighting is a common lighting style that uses three sources: a key light to illuminate the object, backlighting to pick out the object from the background, and fill lighting that minimizes shadows

stylized acting

an actor employs emphatic and highly self-conscious gestures or speaks in pronounced tones with elevated diction --the actor seems fully aware that he or she is acting and addressing an audience

realism

realism is the term most viewers use to describe the extent to which a movie creates a truthful pic- ture of a society, person, or some other dimension of life. Realism can refer to psychological or emotional accuracy (in characters), recognizable or logical actions and developments (in a story), or convincing views and perspectives of those characters or events The most prominent vehicle for cinematic realism, however, is the sce- nic realism of the mise-en-scène, which enables us to recognize sets and set-tings as accurate evocations of actual places

social blocking

describes the arrangement of characters to accentuate relations among them. Little Women (1994), family and friends gather around the wounded father who has just returned from the Civil War, underscoring the importance of the familial bonds at the center of this society yet reminding us of his absence through the rest of the film

soft lighting

diffused, low-contrast lighting that reduces or eliminates hard edges and shadows and can be more flattering when filming people

Star movie actors

he leading actors in many films are, of course, movie stars—those individuals who, because of their cultural celebrity, bring a powerful aura to their performance, making them the focal points in the mise-en-scène tar performers center and often dominate the action and space of the mise-en-scène, bring the accumulated history and significance of their past performances to each new film appearance, and acquire a status that transforms their individual physical presence into more abstract or mythical qualities.

key light

is the main source of lighting from a lamp; it may be balanced with little contrast (known as "high-key lighting") or the contrasts between light and dark may be stark (known as "low-key"). These terms indicate the ratio of key to fill lighting; high-key lighting is even (low ratio of key to fill) and used for melodramas and realist films; low-key lighting is (contrary to the colloquial use of "low-key") dramatic (high ratio of key to fill) and used in horror films and film noir

leading actor

main character, protagonist

mise-en-scene lighting

mis en scène lighting refers specifically to light sources located within the scene itself. This lighting may be used to shade and accentuate the figures, objects, and spaces of the mise-en-scène.

Mise-en-scene

mise-en-scène refers to those elements of a movie scene that are put in position before the filming actually begins and employed in certain ways once it does begin. Mise-en-scène (pronounced meez-on-sen) includes everything that is visible onscreen. The mise-en-scène contains the scenic elements of a movie, including actors, aspects of lighting, sets and settings, costumes, make- up, and other features of the image that exist independently of the camera and the processes of filming and editing.

naturalistic acting

naturalistic acting requires an actor to fully and naturally embody the role that he or she is playing in order to com- municate that character's essential self

scenic realism

scenic realism is most commonly associated with the physical, cultural, and historical accuracy of the backgrounds, objects, and other figures in a film. Indeed, our measure of a film's realism is often more a product of the authenticity of this scenic realism than of the other features, such as the psy-chology or actions of characters. Other movies, such as Michael Collins (1996), which depicts the Irish revolution at the turn of the twentieth century, establish a convincing realism through the physical, historical, and cultural verisimilitude of the sets and settings, regardless of how the characters or story may be exaggerated or romanticized In addition to scenic realism, the mise-en-scène of a film creates atmosphere and connotations, those feelings or meanings associated with particular sets or set- tings.

cinematic mise en scene

setting the artistic precedent for cine- matic mise-en-scène is the theatrical stage, where our sensual and tactile engagement is based on the presence of real actors per- forming in real time on a physical stage. Film engages us in a different way. A film's material world may be actual objects and people set in authentic locations Or it may include objects and settings constructed by set de- signers to appear realistic or fantastic In all its variation, mise- en-scène—a film's places and spaces, people and objects, lights and shadows—is a key dimension of our movie experience.