When applied to the cinema, mise-en-scne refers to everything that appears before the camera and its arrangementcomposition, sets, props, actors, costumes, and lighting. The 15 points of mise en scene provides a checklist of sorts that we can use to break down and analyze a film (or, in this case, a specific scene or setting from a film). For this assignment, Id like you to use Chapter Five in your book, along with these 15 points (below) as a guide to analyze a scene or a specific location (e.g., a specific room that appears in multiple scenes) from a movie of your choosing. Id like you to include and incorporate at least ONE screen shot (you can use more!) in your paper.
The 15 points are listed below. You should address a MINIMUM of EIGHT of the points in your analysis. Ultimately, your analysis should aim to specify HOW mise-en-scene contributes to/creates meaning in your selected film (and this is most important criteria I will assess).
15 points of Mise en scene1.Dominant: The dominant contrast can be created by any number of techniques:
size
focus
lighting
color
2.Lighting Key:
High key lighting–features bright, even illumination and few conspicuous shadows. This lighting key is often used in musicals and comedies.
Low key lighting–features diffused shadows and atmospheric pools of light. This lighting key is often used in mysteries and thrillers.
High contrast lighting–features harsh shafts of lights and dramatic streaks of blackness. This type of lighting is often used in tragedies and melodramas.3.Shot and Camera Proxemics: What type of shot? How far away is the camera from the action?
Long shot–corresponds to the space between the audience and the stage in a live theater. The long shots show the characters and some of the locale.
Full shot–range with just enough space to contain the human body in full. The full shot shows the character and a minimal amount of the locale.
Medium shot–shows the human figure from the knees or waist up.
Close-up–concentrates on a relatively small object and show very little if any locale.
Extreme close-up–focuses on an unnaturally small portion of an object, giving that part great detail and symbolic significance.4.Camera Angle: There are five basic angles in film.Bird’s-eye view–the shot is photographed directly from above. This type of shot can be disorienting, and the people photographed seem insignificant.High angle–this angle reduces the size of the objects photographed. A person photographed from this angle seems harmless and insignificant, but to a lesser extent than with the bird’s-eye view.
Eye-level shot–the clearest view of an object, but seldom intrinsically dramatic, because it tends to be the norm.
Low angle–this angle increases high and a sense of verticality, heightening the importance of the object photographed. A person shot from this angle is given a sense of power and respect.
Oblique angle–for this angle, the camera is tilted laterally, giving the image a slanted appearance. Oblique angles suggest tension, transition, an impending movement. They are also called canted or dutch angles.5. Color Values: What is the dominant color? Are there contrasting foils? Is there color symbolism?6. Distortions: Lens/Filter/Stock
Telephoto lens–A lens that draws objects closer but also diminishes the illusion of depth.
Wide-angle lens–A lens that takes in a broad area and increases the illusion of depth but sometimes distorts the edges of the image.
Fast film stock–highly sensitive to light, it can register an image with little illumination. However, the final product tends to be grainy.
Slow film stock–relatively insensitive to light, it requires a great deal of illumination. The final product tends to look polished.7. Subsidiary Contrasts: After taking in the dominant (the main object in view/focus), where does the eye go next? What are the other main objects in the shot besides the dominant?.8. Density: How much visual information is packed into the image? Is the texture stark, moderate, or highly detailed?9. Composition: How is the two-dimensional space segmented and organized? What is the underlying design?
The objects in the frame can be placed to suggest underlying designs or shapes.
Horizontal–compositions based on horizontal lines seem visually at rest and suggest placidity or peacefulness.
Vertical–compositions based on vertical lines seem visually at rest and suggest strength.
Diagonal–compositions based on diagonal, or oblique, lines seem dynamic and suggest tension or anxiety.
Binary–binary structures emphasize parallelism.
Triangle–triadic compositions stress the dynamic interplay among three main elements.
Circle–circular compositions suggest security and enclosure.10. Form: the type of form is determined by how consciously structured the mise en scene is.
Open forms stress apparently simple techniques, because with these unself-conscious methods the filmmaker is able to emphasize the immediate, the familiar, the intimate aspects of reality. In open-form images, the frame tends to be deemphasized.
In closed form images, all the necessary information is carefully structured within the confines of the frame. Space seems enclosed and self-contained rather than continuous.11.Framing: is the framing tight or loose? Do the character have no room to move around, or can they move freely without impediments?
Tight: Shots where the characters are placed at the edges of the frame and have little room to move around within the frame are considered tight.
Loose: Longer shots, in which characters have room to move around within the frame, are considered loose and tend to suggest freedom.12. Depth of Field: On how many planes is the image composed (how many are in focus)? Does the background or foreground comment in any way on the mid-ground?
Deep-focus shots: allow all planes to be in focus at the same time.
Shallow-focus shots: more commonly, only one or two frames are in focus.13. Character Placement: the framed space the characters occupy
The area near the top of the frame can suggest ideas dealing with power, authority, and aspiration.
The areas near the bottom of the frame tend to suggest meanings opposite from the top: subservience, vulnerability, and powerlessness.
The left and right edges of the frame tend to suggest insignificance because these are the areas farthest removed from the center of the screen.14. Staging Positions: an actor can be photographed in any of five basic positions, each conveying different psychological overtones.
Full-front (facing the camera): the position with the most intimacy. The character is looking in our direction, inviting our complicity.
Quarter Turn: the favored position of most filmmakers. This position offers a high degree of intimacy but with less emotional involvement than the full-front position.
Profile (looking of the frame left or right): More remote than the quarter turn, the character in profile seems unaware of being observed, lost in his or her own thoughts.
Three-quarter Turn: More anonymous than the profile, this position is useful for conveying a character’s unfriendly or antisocial feelings, for in effect, the character is partially turning his or her back on us, rejecting our interest.
Back to Camera: The most anonymous of all positions, this position is often used to suggest a character’s alienation from the world. When a character has his or her back to the camera, we can only guess what’s taking place internally, conveying a sense of concealment, or mystery.15. Character Proxemics:The way people use space between the characters can be divided into four proxemic patterns.
Intimate distances: the intimate distance ranges from skin contact to about eighteen inches away. This is the distance of physical involvement–of love, comfort, and tenderness between individuals.
2. Personal distances: the personal distance ranges roughly from eighteen inches away to about four feet away. These distances tend to be reserved for friends and acquaintances. Personal distances preserve the privacy between individuals, yet these rages don’t necessarily suggest exclusion, as intimate distances often do.
3. Social distances: the social distance ranges from four feet to about twelve feet. These distances are usually reserved for impersonal business and casual social gatherings. It’s a friendly range in most cases, yet somewhat more formal than the personal distance.
4. Public distances: The public distance extends from twelve feet to twenty-five feet or more. This range tends to be formal and rather detached.
