Auteur is a term used to describe an artist, usually a film director, who applies a highly centralized and subjective control to many aspects of a collaborative creative work; in other words, a person equivalent to an author of a novel or a play
Metteur en scène (literally “scene-setter”) is a phrase that refers to the mise en scène of a particular film director. It suggests that the director has technical competence when it comes to film directing, but does not add personal style to the aesthetic of the film.
Choose a film director who you think matches up the “auteur” criteria set out by Astruc and Bazin in Cahiers Du Cinema (see Powerpoint for more details) and justify your choice using illustrated examples.
My most memorable scene and the scene I believe is the most powerful is the final scene where Kane’s childhood sled gets burnt. This scene is shocking to the audience because it represents Kane’s childhood burning along with the sled and the way the text “Rosebud” appears on the sleigh as it’s being burnt adds more shock to the viewer. This is a good climax to the film because Charles Kane’s childhood is visited a number of times throughout the film and we know how much Kane values his childhood days and that he’s desperate to hold on to them and not lose them. We also feel that Kane is now vulnerable and helpless because he now has no control over his life since he’s dead which is a big contrast because throughout the whole film Charles Kane has a control freak personality and gets angry if things aren’t the way he like.
Another reason why this ending scene is so powerful is because Kane’s childhood sled is revealed after the long overhead pan shot of all of Kane’s priceless statues he has in his mansion where the word rosebud has been teased at the viewer throughout the film. The contrast of the countless expensive objects which don’t really mean anything to Kane and this reveal of the sled being burnt which he does care about dearly makes the viewer feel sorry for Kane after disliking him throughout the film because of his destructive personality. This leaves the viewer with mixed feelings towards Kane at the end of the film.
Mise En Scene – The arrangement of the scenery, props, etc on the stage of a theatrical production or a film.
An example of a film series that uses mise en scene effectively is the Star Wars film’s. This is because they utilize prop, set and costume design to fully immerse the viewer into the universe that has been created and has become the staple in film and pop culture it is today. The Star Wars series uses incredible Mise en Scene to create a completely original universe and style that most people can recognize just from a glance. The Mise en Scene used in the Star Wars series is used to create a futuristic environment mainly with the costumes and the architecture design. It also utilizes CGI which although was still a relatively primitive technology at the time the early star wars series was made it still adds depth to the films and is part of what makes the series recognizable throughout the world.
Soviet Constructivism, in stark construct to the neighbouring German Expressionism across Europe, revels in the state of being art. There is no attempt made by Soviet art to convince the observer that it is a real landscape, or a real feeling embodied – rather, it tells you upon your first glance that what you are viewing is artwork or photography.
This painting, Space-Force Construction, 1921 by Lyubov Popova is an excellent example of the SOVIET CONSTRUCTIVISM movement Te themes of geometry and shape comming together to create a piece emblematic of the workers of Russia coming together to create one cohesive society.
Poster for the Russian state airline Dobrolet, Alexander Rodchenko, 1923.
This Soviet constructivist poster from 1923 by Dobrolet, Alexander Rodchenko is a great example of Soviet constructivist art as it uses a lot of the colour red which is a common theme as it is representative of the red party in Russian politics, the poster also has large bold words and phrases which typically where propaganda. It also uses photo montage of the plane incorporated as the poster was made to promote air travel
