Mise en Scène (Part 1) Lecture Notes

Definition and Background

• Mise en Scène: Arrangement of materials and subjects in front of the camera
  • Originated from theater; French for "placing on the stage"
  • Often called the opposite of editing
  • Created during the film's production
  • Controlled by the film's director
  • Shapes the narrative by showing what the audience needs to see or hear

Elements of Mise en Scène

• Set Design
• Costumes
• Blocking of Actors
• Actor's Performance
• Lighting
• Photographic Composition
  • Includes shot size, camera movement, and camera angle

Frame and Composition

• Film's Frame: Building block of mise en scène
  • Directors compose the image to fit the frame
  • Composition restricted by the aspect ratio of the film
• Aspect Ratio: Height and width of the image
  • Examples: IMAX, 35mm, 16mm, Super 8, digital formats

Depth of Field

• Definition: Distance from the near (foreground) to the farthest (background) that objects are in focus
• Deep Depth of Field: Objects in all three planes (foreground, middleground, background) are in focus
• Shallow Depth of Field: Only one plane (usually the foreground) is in focus
  • Examples:
    • Citizen Kane: Deep depth of field
    • Nightmare on Elm Street: Shallow depth of field

Exploiting the Frame

• Foreground: Important subjects/objects often placed here (e.g., The Color Purple)
• Middleground: Actors often placed here (e.g., The Town)
• Background: Establishes location, communicates character information (e.g., Lost in Translation)

Symbolic Use of Frame Areas

• Center of the Frame: Important visual elements (e.g., Godfather II)
• Top of the Frame: Sense of power, authority, control (e.g., IP Man)
• Bottom of the Frame: Sense of vulnerability, powerlessness (e.g., Reservoir Dogs)
• Edges of the Frame: Creates tension, fearfulness, unknown (e.g., noir compositions)

Composition and Design

• Guides the eye through the composition
  • Dominant: Area that immediately attracts attention
    • Criteria: Depth of field, focus, frame exploitation, lighting
  • Subsidiary Contrast: Where the eye moves after the dominant
    • Criteria: Depth of field, frame exploitation, lighting
  • Examples:
    • Double Indemnity: Dominant (man in foreground), First Subsidiary (woman in middleground), Second Subsidiary (background)

Design Lines

• Vertical Lines: Pulls eye up and into the frame (e.g., The Shining)
• Horizontal Lines: Creates effect of submersion (e.g., The Graduate)
• Diagonal Lines: Draws eye into the frame (e.g., The Big Combo)

Balance and Instability

• Even Numbers: Stable and balanced image (e.g., The Royal Tenenbaums)
• Odd Numbers: Creates instability, off balance (e.g., Rosemary's Baby)

Territorial Space

• Full Frontal: Most intimate, head-on (e.g., We Need to Talk About Kevin)
• Quarter-Turn: High intimacy, face visible (e.g., Volver)
• Profile: Faces away, sense of mystery (e.g., The Killer Inside Me)
• Three-Quarter Turn: More anonymous, anti-social (e.g., Black Swan)
• Back to Camera: Alienation, mystery (e.g., Madadayo)

Proxemic Patterns

• Intimate: Skin contact to 18 inches (e.g., City of God)
  • Camera proxemic: Close-up or extreme close-up (e.g., Breakfast at Tiffany's)
• Personal: 18 inches to 4 feet (e.g., The Duchess)
  • Camera proxemic: Medium shot or medium close-up
• Social: 4 to 12 feet (e.g., Rebecca)
  • Camera proxemic: Long shot
• Public: 12 to 25 feet
  • Camera proxemic: Extreme long shot

Assigned Film and Assignment

• Assigned Film: The Graduate (1967, dir. Mike Nichols)
  • Starring Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman
• Assignment: Analyze one scene from The Graduate, focusing on how mise en scène communicates an idea
  • Use the mise en scène grammar sheet for important terms

Films Featured in Lecture

• Students are encouraged to explore films featured in the lecture
• PDF version of the lecture available on D2L for further reference

Note: Be sure to review Chapter 2, Mise en Scène in "Understanding Movies" and the film grammar sheet in the week 4 module for additional context.