Mise+en+Scene

// Mise en Scene //

Everyone is trying to simplify the concept of mise-en-scène and it’s not a simple term. Yes, in the theater, it literally means “put in place” and usually refers to character blocking within a proscenium stage setting. But cinema is more complicated, in part because the camera can move, shift focus, and attract the eye in different ways than on stage (through shot scale, angle, lens choice, framing, and other devices).

Perhaps the best definition of the term as used in film study is in Louis Giannetti’s textbook Understanding Movies [on reserve for English 432 in the Gee Library], and it takes 5 pages, with an example of a shot from Fritz Lang’s M [different editions of Giannetti’s book use different examples]. That’s because he systematically breaks down mise-en-scene into fifteen (15) separate elements all rolled together in every single shot in a film. Those elements can be summarized as follows:

1. The dominant. Where is the eye attracted first? Why? 2. Lighting key. High key? Low key? High contrast? All of the above? 3. Shot & Camera Proxemics. What type of shot (LS. MS, CU)? How far away is the camera? 4. Angle. High, low, or eye-level? What effect does this have? 5. Color values. What is the dominant color? Are there contrasting foils? Color symbolism? 6. Lens/Filter/Film Stock. How do these distort or comment on the scene? 7. Subsidiary contrasts. What are the main eye-stops as taking in the dominant. 8. Density. How much visual information is packed into the image? Stark, moderate, or highly detailed? 9. Composition. How is 2-dimensional space segmented and organized? Is there an underlying design? 10. Form. Open or closed? Is the frame a window or a proscenium arch? 11. Framing. Tight or loose? 12. Depth. How many planes are in the image? Does the background or foreground comment on the mid-ground? 13. Character placement. Center? Top? Bottom? Edges? WHY? 14. Staging positions. Which way do the characters look vis-a-vis the camera? 15. Character proxemics. How much space is there between the characters? What does that mean?

The first assignment in my Intro classes is for students to pick any shot from any film and break it down according to these 15 elements, each time analyzing what effect the technique has on the meaning, mood, or characterization. This shows that Style is also Content.

Frank Tamasulo, Professor of Film Studies http://mubi.com/topics/5741?page=1