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AS Media Studies

Unit MS1

Introduction to

Mise En Scene

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Session Aims

By the end of the session you will be able to:

Understand the concept of mise en scene

Apply the concept to a film extract

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Definition: Mise En Scene

A French term meaning what is put into a scene orframe

Visual information infrontof the camera

Communicates essential information to the audience

Made up of 5 elements: Can you guess what they are?

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The 5 Elements of Mise en Scene

Settings & Props

Costume, Hair & Make Up

Facial Expressions & Body Language

Lighting & Colour

Positioning of characters/objects within the frame

Each aspect of mise-en-scene has hidden meanings

within a film and sendssignals to the audience

about how we are supposedto feel at a certain point

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1. Settings & Props

Settings & Locations play an important part in film-makingand are not just backgrounds

Sets are either built from scratch or a great deal of time isspent to find a setting which already exists

Settings can manipulate an audience by building certainexpectations and then taking a different turn (CLIP: Kill Bill)

TASK: What settings and props you would find in:

1. A Science Fiction Film

2. A Romantic Comedy

3. A Horror Film

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2. Costume, Hair & Make Up

Costume, Hair & Make Up act as an instantindicator to us of a characters personality, status &

job

It tells us immediately whether the film is set in thepresent and what society/or culture it will centrearound

Certain costumes can signify certain individuals (i.e.black cloak of a vampire, Spideys Spiderman suit)

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3. Facial Expressions & Body Language

Facial Expressions provide a clear indicator of how someoneis feeling

If someone is smiling broadly, we assume they are happy but

we may get a different feeling if this is accompanied by scarymusic

Body Language may also indicate how a character feelstowards another character or may reflect the state of their

relationship

TASK: What meanings/emotions do the following imagesconvey:

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IMAGE 1

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IMAGE 2

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4. Positioning of Characters & Objects

within a frame

Positioning within a frame can draw ourattention to an important character/object

A film-maker can use positioning to indicaterelationships between people

TASK: What does the positioning in thefollowing images reveal about thecharacters/film:

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IMAGE 1

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IMAGE 2

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IMAGE 3

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Colour

Colour carries certainconnotations which mayadd meaning to a scene (i.e.Red = Danger/Passion)

Can give a scene a particularlook, feel or mood

Can be used for dramaticeffect

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Analysing Mise en Scenehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED7_y4jETo0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED7_y4jETo0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED7_y4jETo0

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5. Lighting & Colour

Lighting & Colour can be used to achieve a variety of effects:

To highlight important characters or objects

within the frame

To make characters look mysterious by

shading sections of the face & body

To reflect a characters mental state/hidden

emotions (i.e. bright = happy, dark = disturbed,

strobe effect = confused

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Types of Lighting

LOW KEY LIGHTING:

Created by using only the key &back lights

Produces sharp contrasts oflight and dark areas

Deep, distinctshadows/silhouettes are formed

Example: Horror Films

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Types of Lighting

HIGH KEY LIGHTING:

More filler lights are used.Lighting is natural andrealistic to our eyes

Produces brightly lit sets or asunny day (right)

Example: Rom-Coms

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What types of lighting are used in the

following images:

A

FD

C

E

B

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TASK: For each image, answer the

following questions:

1. What type of lighting is used in each image (High or

Low Key)?

2. Where are the KEY LIGHTS, FILLER LIGHTS & BACK

LIGHTS in each image?

3. What effects/meanings does the lighting suggest?

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KEY LIGHT

FILLER

LIGHTS

BACK

LIGHT

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