Mise - en -SceneMise - en -Scenewhat is it?what is it?

• When applied to the cinema or TV, mise en scène refers to everything that appears before the camera and its arrangement – set, props, actors, costumes, and lighting.

• Overall, mise en scène is used when the director wishes to give an impression of the characters or situation without vocally articulating it through the framework of spoken dialogue.

• The common example is that of a cluttered, disorganized apartment being used to reflect the disorganization in a character's life in general, or a spartanly decorated apartment to convey a character with an "empty soul", in both cases specifically and intentionally ignoring any practicality in the setting.

So how do we decode what we see on screen?

• Everything we see on screen could be termed a sign. From a type of gun, car, wristwatch, jacket to a haircut, all these are signs.

• These signs signify something, the physical object creates a series of thoughts in our mind, which when combined with the context in which they are placed help the film maker tell the story with great efficiency.

• The meaning is determined through a set of conventions created and understood by the audience, according to its combined social and cultural background. Shared meaning is thus given to these signs.

Denotation & Connotation

• Denotation tends to be described as the definitional, 'literal', 'obvious' or 'commonsense' meaning of a sign.

• In this case a gun is simply a gun, a method of killing - intimidating.

• The term connotation is used to refer to the socio-cultural and 'personal' associations (ideological, emotional etc.) of the sign. These are typically related to the interpreter's class, age, gender, ethnicity and so on.

• In this case the type/style of gun tells us much about its user, James Bond’s Walther vs. Dirty Harry’s Magnum for example.

So….

Deconstruct this.....

Jungle = wildness / inhospitable

Anne’s clothing = lingerie = inappropriate/sexual/

vulnerable - also soiled suggesting signs of struggle

Hair, dirty, wet =

signifies struggle/wear

iness

Kong’s pose= masculine/powerful/savage/petulant

Anne = tiny, feminine/ vulnerable/weak out of her depth

OVER TO YOU…

OVER TO YOU…

OVER TO YOU…

LightingLighting

What lighting does

•Picks out relevant details and figures in a scene

•Prioritises story information for audience

•Establishes a set of values to what we are seeing, by throwing more and less light on the elements in a scene

•Enforces emotional pull in a scene, heightening mood and atmosphere

•Allows camera to see properly on a technical level

•Creates a look for the film

• The three light source set up, Key light, Fill and backlight

• Using a combination of these allows the creation of atmosphere/mood, and the display of sufficient detail to allow the story to be told effectively

LIGHTING TERMS

LIGHTING TERMS

• Key light Principal illumination source on a subject or scene. Normally positioned slightly off-center and angled to provide shadow detail.

• Back light Lamp providing illumination from behind. Creates sense of depth by separating foreground subject from background area. Applied erroneously, causes severe silhouette.

• Fill light Supplementary illumination, usually from a soft light positioned to the side of the subject, which lightens shadows created by the key light.

In a TV/variety/gameshow setup,elimination of shadow is important

But in film, shadow can be used as partof the storytelling technique

- connotation here?

Key Back

fill

OTHER LIGHTING TERMS

• Ambient Light A light that doesn't highlight any one subject for a natural room light effect. Usually a non-directional light.

• Artificial light Man-made illumination not limited to "indoor" variety: fluorescent bulbs, jack-o'-lanterns and a car's headlights all qualify.

• Directional light Light that illuminates a relatively small area with distinct light beam; usually created with spotlight, yields harsh, defined shadows.