Mise-En-Scene Flashcards
shooting on location and on set
- on location: area/locale
- on set: less costly, everything can be manipulated/controlled
- props and actions can have precision
- inhibits camera movement (limited to set)
- idealogical agenda (creating a surreal world)
- digital effects can cut together parts of settings
hard and soft lighting
- relative intensiveness
- hard: produce high contrast, crisp textures, shadows, sharp edges
- soft: diffused, glamourized
directional lighting (frontal, back, side, top, under)
- path from source to object
- frontal: no shadows, flat
- side: sculpt features
- back: silhouette, rim of light, halo effect, seperate them from background
- under: menacing effect
- top: from above
key and fill light
- key: chief source of light, brightest
- fill: eliminate + soften shadow, less intense
- appear in 3D
- creates depth
three-point lighting
- classical film
- evenly, well lit image, slightly diffused effect
- key, fill, backlight
- back: behind + above
- key: diagonally from front
- fill: near camera
- set for each major character
high-key and low-key lighting
- high key: no harsh contrast, no strong shadow, well, evenly lit
- everything is visible, no obscurities
- uses fill + backlight to create low contrast
- can suggest lighting conditions/time of day
- low key: little fill light, high key light, more contrast, shadows
- somber, threatening, mysterious (horror, film noir)
stylization vs. naturalistic performance
-stylized: nonrealistic (comedies, fantasy)
balanced composition
- distribute various points of interest evenly
- balance left + right halves
- centre on single figure
unbalanced composition
- create expectation of change
- contrast + colours: catch attention
shallow-space composition
-M-E-S suggests little depth
deep-space composition
- significant distance, separate planes
- most in between
frontality
- look at person facing us
- can change overtime to guide attention
- denying: creates suspense
individualized characters vs. broad types
- individualized: highly unique characters
- ideosyncratic neurosis (Woody Allen)
- broadtypes: Eissenstien uses capitalist/proletarian type
- he was more interested in how they looked, rather than their acting-typecasting
mise-en-scene
- “put into place” or “staging an action,”
- involves everything placed before the camera
costume
- draw attention (forging relationship to set)
- construct character (class distinction)
- can recreate subject
- can play causal roles
- can become motifs, enhancing characterization + tracing changes in attitude
- can be used for graphic qualities
- colour design: used to contrast/match colour values of settings + costume
props
- objects with role in action
- may become motif
diegetic vs. nondiegetic
- nondiegetic: usually used to supplement
- diegetic: source part of the story world
naturalistic light
- imperfect
- appear to look natural, but enhanced
staging
-how things are placed in the frame
colour filters
- give hue
- diegetically motivated-there is a reason
- for expressive purpose: signal change in consciousness (
Understated Performance
-Buster Keaton
Exagerrated Performance
-comedic, over the top
makeup
- make actors look like historical ppl
- accentuates expressive qualities
- can sculpt face
- eye makeup: assist performance
- horror, sci-fi create character
- CGI can sculpt bodies
shadows
- allowing objects to have portions in darkness (shadowing) or cast shadow onto something
- create overall shape, control sense of space
highlight
- patch of relative brightness
- provide important cues to texture of surface
screen space
-offers cues for guiding attention + emphasizing elements
scene space
- depth cues: elements create impression of 3D space
- provided by lighting, setting, costumes, staging
- suggest space has volume + distinct planes
- planes: layers of space occupied (foreground, middle, background)
- movement most important cue
