MISE-EN-SCENE“MEEZE – ON - SEN”

START BY WATCHING THIS FILM.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clBT7O3A3wI

• Don’t worry! This guy doesn’t talk as fast as the Crash Course narrator!

DIRECTIONS

• Get a copy of the handout Mise-en-Scene Notes Activities.

• Use this PowerPoint to collect information on Mise-en-scene.

• Write notes in the NOTES section of your notebook.

• Complete activities on the handout. Directions are in the PowerPoint.

• Turn in your handout when finished.

MISE-EN-SCENE

• French “placing on stage”

• ALL elements in to be filmed in front of the camera

• Includes the setting and props, lighting, costumes, makeup, and figure gesture

• Is not a technique but the meaning the audience brings together from watching the film

• Not simply the background, the clothes, or the movement – but the combined effect

MISE-EN-SCENE

Has the power to

• Establish a mood

• Provide insight into character intentions

• Define personality traits

• Foreshadow plot elements

• Also helps define genre

• Genre refers to the type or classification of films recognized by their familiar conventions.

(what would a western be without cowboy hats and horses?)

You str given a script that simply says, “A man

standing against a wall.”

As the director or filmmaker, what are your options?

Write your thoughts on your handout before

proceeding to the next slide.

ACTIVITY 1

How do your comments compare to

these images? Explain.

FOUR GENERAL ASPECTS OF MISE-EN-SCENE

• Setting

• Costume design and style

• Lighting

• Staging and figure gesture

SETTING

• Setting involves both where and when

• Creating a realistic time period is just as

important as a the physical setting

• Choosing where to shoot film – on a stage

or on location

• Many films use a combination to create

the milieu (setting where something

occurs)

• The right setting can convey a state of

mind, mood, feelings, etc.

• What might be a problem with this

setting if you consider it for a mystery

set in 1850s?

• On the following slides, consider the

SETTING of the scene. What types of

details might you need to consider?

On the following slides, consider the SETTING of

the scene. What types of details might you need to

consider?

Write your answers on the handout given to you.

ACTIVITY 2 - SETTING

COSTUME DESIGN AND STYLE

• Director’s choices involve concepts like color, shape, texture, fit, and flexibility

• Consider this: a character wearing dark sunglasses might elicit a deep meaning for the

viewer

• The right costume can provide details of a time period

• The right costume can reveal aspects of the character’s personality (bad guys wear black)

COSTUME DESIGN AND STYLE

• Includes make up!

• Make up covers skin imperfections

• Physical appearance adds to the overall

affect of the character

• Especially important in horror, fantasy

and science fiction

On the following slides, consider the Costume

Design and Style of the scene. What types of

details might you need to consider?

Write your answers on the handout given to you.

ACTIVITY 3 – COSTUME DESIGN AND STYLE

LIGHTING

• Probably the most overlooked aspect of mise-en-scene

• Lighting works to guide the audience’s attention to important details

• Lighting can also hide particular elements from the audience

• Lighting is defined by its strength (hard or soft), it source (when in the frame the light

comes from), and by shadows/color created

We will talk more about lighting later.

STAGING AND FIGURE GESTURE

• Staging refers to the placement of objects within a frame

• Figure gesture refers to the movement and performance of characters

• Figure gesture does not only cover human characters, but includes animals, robots, and

inanimate objects like a clock (as in does it change time, etc.)

• The director meticulously controls every aspect of staging and figure gesture

On the following slides, consider the Stage and

Figure Gesture of the scene. What types of

details might you need to consider?

Write your answers on the handout given to you.

ACTIVITY 4: STAGING AND FIGURE GESTURE

KEY CONCEPTS

• ALL aspects of mise-en-scene must be planned out and assembled before filming begins.

• The director not only controls what we see but when we see it and for how long

• Elements left on screen longer and generally more important

“It is said that Alfred Hitchcock had a whole film mapped out in his head (and on paper)

before filming began. In fact, when filming actually began, he was often already planning the

next project. To him, the film was already complete.” The Reel Classroom, page 2

Imagine his director’s notebooks!

ACTIVITY 5: POSITIONS AND JOBS

• The chart on your handout separates the four aspects of mise-en-scene.

• For each aspect, consider the positions and jobs in the filmmaking process that may focus

on that aspect. For example, a make-up artist will focus on the costume and design

aspect. So, you would list make-up artist in the section of the chart for costume design.

• Refer to the list on yellow paper that should be in the Notes section of your notebook.

• Keep in mind that the director is responsible for ALL aspects of mise-en-scene. It is the

director’s eye that creates the overall effect of mise-en-scene.

ACTIVITY 6: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

• So far, you have considered each aspect of mise-en-scene separately. For this activity, you

will be the director and consider ALL aspects.

• For this activity, you will need a printed photo. See the teacher for a copy.

• After studying the image, make notes about what you must consider in each aspect.

Write your ideas on your handout.