CATA 171

Intro to Theatre and Cinema

Film, Chapter 4

Mise en Scene

I. Definition

A. Integrated design program

B. Originated in theatre

C. Means staging scene through artful arrangement of actors, scenery, lighting and props

D. Designed by a Production Designer in collaboration with Film Director

1. Designer and Director make decisions about how the story world will look well before photography

2. Art Director supervises construction of scale models and computer graphics to preview possibilities

3. Location scouts travel to find locations

4. Construction coordinator directs carpenters who build sets

5. Set dressers work during shooting arranging items on set

6. Casting directors audition actors and extras

7. Costume designers present sketches to director for approval

8. Wardrobe supervisors acquire and manage costumes

9. Makeup artists and hairdressers work with actors to achieve characters' appearance

10. Property Master finds and maintains props

11. Director runs rehearsals with actors before shooting begins to work on blocking and choreography

E. More often in narrative films. Documentaries don't usually control environment before shooting

F. Purpose of mise en scene

1. To influence viewer's experience of the story, characters, space and time

2. Use details in systematic integrated manner to

a. Create a world on screen

b. Indicate character development, present motifs, amplify themes and establish moods

E. Four major components

1. Setting

a. May be general or specific locations

b. May be real or imaginary places

i. On location

ii. Soundstage

iii. Combination using CGI (computer generated imagery) or dressing one location to be another

c. Attributes

i. Evoke responses from audience

I. Visual Characteristics

A. Indoors or Outdoors

B. Living Spaces or Working Spaces

C. Spacious or cramped

D. Sunny or Dark.

II. Spatial Characteristics

A. Normally open spaces suggest freedom and enclosed spaces suggest entrapment

B. Context can change this

1. Night of the Living Dead or Titanic

d. Functions of setting

i. Establish time and place

I. Historical setting can be important in establishing culture of the film's world

II. Some films rely on stereotypical setting such as westerns and gangster films

III. Sometimes directors work against expected settings such as setting musicals in gritty locations

ii. Introduce ideas and themes

I. Setting can be important in conveying themes

A. In Cinderella Man, Braddock's Depression world emphasized the theme of rising from rags to riches

B. Full Metal Jacket used order and precision in actors and architecture in first half and opposite in second half to

emphasize the difference between order and chaos. At end, silhouettes of men marching home shows a temporary

restoration of order and anonymity of first half.

iii. Create mood

I. Setting, including lighting, weather, geography can easily manipulate mood

A. 2001: A Space Odyssey used claustrophobic space and sterile environments to suggest the hostile machine world

2. Human Figure

a. Most narrative films are about human characters. The following attributes influence viewers' response

i. Casting

I. One of most important choices a director can make

A. Casting director organizes auditions

B. "A" list actors don't usually audition

C. Big stars can make more than $20 million but it is often worth it due to financing it attracts

D. Typecasting can benefit stars and studio

1. Harrison Ford

2. Hugh Grant

3. Arnold S chwarzenegger

4. Tom Cruise

E. Working against type can be risky

1. Meg Ryan had three box office failures after trying to get away from romantic characters

ii. Acting Style

I. Characters bring whatever style they were trained in

A. Most influential school is Method Acting (Stanislavski and Lee Strasberg)

1. Marlon Brando

2. James Dean

3. Robert DeNiro

B. Impersonation

1. Meryl Streep

2. Sean Penn

3. Julianne Moore

C. Personification (remain themselves)

1. Katharine Hepburn

2. John WAyne

3. Cary Grant

4. Tom Cruise

D. Technical Acting (mastery of external details such as accent or physical trait)

1. Peter Sellers

2. Jim Carrey

E. Character Actors

1. Slim Pickens

2. Steve Buscemi

3. Thelma Ritter

F. Extras

1. Unknown actors

G. Cameos (brief appearances by well known actors playing themselves)

1. Alfred Hitchcock (37 films)

2. Spike Lee

3. Adaptation cast from Being John Malkovich

. H. Ensemble (equitable distribution of parts and fame)

1. Woody Allen

2. Mike Leigh

3. Christopher Guest

iii. Placement and movement

A. Figure Placement

B. Costumes and Props

C Actors' Bodies: Makeup

3. Lighting

a. Essential element

i. Chemical Process wouldn't work

ii. Creates Moods and Effects

b. Three Attributes

i. Quality

I. Hard

A. Small Source; Close to Actor

II. Soft

B. Large Source; Diffused

III. Available Light

C. Usually Sun

1. Hard or Soft

ii. Placement

I. Direction

A. Front

1. Flat

2. 2-Dimensional

B. Side

1. Sculptural

C. Back

1. Separates from background

D. Below

1. Unnatural

2. Eerie

E. Three-Point System

1. Key

2. Fill

3. Back

F. Additional Lighting

1. Eye (Obie)

2. Side (Kicker)

iii. Contrast

I. One of most important factors in mood

II. Key to Fill Ratio

A. High-Key 2:1 Key to Fill or Lower

1. Nearly the same intensity

2. Eliminates shadows from Key

3. Even illumination

B. Natural-Key 4:1-8:1

1. Some shadows present

C. Low-Key 16:1-32:1

1. Intense Key Light and Many Shadows

2. Dark Dramas and Crime Stories

4. Composition

a. Balance and Symmetry

b. Lines and Diagonals

c. Framing

d. Foreground and Background

e. Light and Dark

f. Color