Mise-en-Scène I

Mise-en-Scène is a French term.

It literary means:

“Putting into the scene”

Filmmakers, but also Film scholars, use the term to signify the director’s control over what appears in front of the camera (whatever we see in the screen).

REALIST and STYLIZED MISE-EN-SCÈNE

Stylization is the degree to which the mise-en-scène deviates from reality.

The more stylized the mise-en-scene is, the less realistic the atmosphere of the movie will be.

Important is that the atmosphere of the film serves the general goals of the story.

Naturalism: Focus on the darkest and most degrading aspects of social reality.

Four areas of the Mise-en-Scène

Setting,
Costumes and make up,
Lighting,
Acting

Setting

We can define the setting, in a consciously simplified way, as the space where the action takes place.

The setting defines the whole atmosphere of the story.It can also be used to help the filmmaker define the characters.

Authenticity

When the main concern is that the story rings true …

All the President’s Men (Alan J. Pakula, 1976)

Settings as a Character

The location plays an active role in the plot.

In The Way Back (Peter Weir, 2010), the location of the story plays the role of the antagonist in the plot.

Emotional Impact

Space is used to create the an emotional effect that put the audience in the right frame of mind.

Frankenstein, James Whale, 1931.

Symbolism

Setting can also have a symbolic power.

In Parasites (Bong Joon-ho, 2019), space is a metaphor for the class struggle.

Characterization

The room is used to round off the description of the character.

Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock, 1960

Props

(Short for Property – or Properties)

Props simply are objects that have a narrative function.

Still, in other occasion they may play a fundamental role in the development of events.

Examples:

The ring in The Lord of the Rings (Peter Jackson, 2001, …)

The snowglobe in Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)

Knife and shower curtain in Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

Syringe in Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996)

Costume and Make-up

Costume

Otto e Mezzo (8 1/2 Federico Fellini, 1963)

Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990)

Customs in Genres

Make-Up

In the silent period, make-up became extremely important to develop the characters.

Lon Chaney, The Man of the Thousand Faces.

Iconic make-up: Frankenstein, Jame Whale, 1931

Make-up in contemporary film: Kingdom of Heaven (Ridley Scott, 19