In film production, mise en scene refers to all of the elements that make up a single shot/frame. This can include the actors, setting, props, costumes, and lighting. It directly translates ‘to put on the stage’.
Chaotic vs Anally tidy mise en scene examples
The formula for a box office hit consists of a popular/large production company that release the film. Most people tend to watch Disney films, for example, for the sake of being a Disney film.
Another popular trend within hit films are them being part of a franchise, being a re-make, or being a sequel. If you look at the top grossing films of 2022, 2021 and 2019 you can see that there are very few “original” films released.
| Art Film | Mainstream Film | Historically Significant Film |
| The Breakfast Club Drama/Teen John Hughes 1985 | A Bugs Life Comedy/Family John Lasseter 1998 | Battleship Potemkin Drama/Silent Sergei Eisenstein 1925 |
| Once Upon a Time-in the West Western/Drama Sergio Leone 1968 | The Shape of Water Romance/Fantasy Guillermo del Toro 2017 | Seven Samurai Action/Drama Akira Kurosawa 1954 |
| Alphaville Sc-ifi/Noir Jean-Luc Godard 1965 | Love, Simon Romance/Drama Greg Berlanti 2018 | The Wizard of Oz Fantasy/Musical Victor Fleming 1939 |
You need to have a good understanding and be eager to become knowledgeable about film during the course.
You need to be able to take risks regarding the making process of certain projects during the film course.
In group projects its important to make sure the workload and skill set is all balanced fairly between everyone.
As we will be exploring films from all types of genres and from across the world, you need to keep an open mind, even if it’s not the type of film you typically enjoy.
When critically analysing films we have watched and discussed you must be able to reflect in order to comment accurately and help your understanding of the film.
Linking to when we will be producing our own film you must take care of your work as you will be in groups and so you will be affecting others too. As with the blogs and the work produced in class you need to take care of your notes and stay up to date to help your own revision.
As you are responsible for submitting your work on the blog you must be principled to ensure the blog is frequently updated with your work up to the best standard.
Working in groups requires a lot of communication especially when producing a short film together. You need to communicate to your group, so everything is clear for everyone, and it runs smoothly.
You must have a passion and interest for film and be eager to learn and so actively inquiring will help you gain more of that understanding.
Working in groups and individually means you must contribute something and so thinking about what you’re writing or creating is important in this course.
Asking a person ‘what makes a film “good”?’ will give you an array of answers depending on the person you ask. These could range from good cinematography, editing, acting, sound or even the message and values within the film.
Other people will base their opinions, not by any of these elements, but the feelings they experience when or after watching the film. For example, did the film make them feel tense? Bored? Excited? However, the underlying reason for these feelings occurring is when all the elements, both micro and macro, come together to tell an entertaining and impactful story that resonates with the viewer in one way or another.
For me, if a film is too confusing and not easy to keep track of then I quickly determine I don’t like it. This is down to the editing, if the sequence isn’t smooth and the pace is too quick, it can become too hard to follow. I love a film that makes me feel immersed into its world. This effect heavily relies on the sounds used in the film as it captures all the viewers senses.
One of my favourite films is The Silence of the Lambs. This film has a perfect mix of micro elements along with macro elements like the genre, theme, and style. The Silence of the Lambs is a horror film fixating on dark topics such as murder. So, for some, these themes wouldn’t interest them, whereas for me, I love the tension that can be created. The Silence of the Lambs was the first “scary movie” to win an Academy Award and swept the 5 major categories: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Every scene in the film means something, every piece of dialogue is building to something, and every character has its purpose. The director, Jonathan Demme, perfectly orchestrated the film to constantly be building the tension till the very end with no dips.
Another film I really enjoy is Fantastic Mr Fox, which goes in a completely different direction to The Silence of the Lambs. Wes Anderson cleverly constructed a beautiful film regarding cinematography and the message of the film. Taking a simple children’s story and portraying it in a way that can reach all types of audiences. The film uses unique sound effects and music and the use of comedy throughout works very well as its kept simple. The warm colour tones and symmetry used within every scene, along with the editing keeping a perfect pace throughout, allows an extremely heart-warming feeling to be portrayed.
In conclusion, there is no simple answer to “What makes a film ‘good’?” and its predominantly based on the viewers opinions and how deeply they think about the individual elements used. However, the micro and macro elements contribute massively to how people feel whether they realise it or not.
In ‘The Godfather’, mise-en-scene is sometimes used to express the impact of a certain scene on the overall narrative of the movie. For example, in this scene, the godfather is shot by a rival gang member. The birds eye view shot highlights the movie’s setting in New York (classic New York sidewalk and drain), this reinforces the affect in which the Godfather getting shot will have on the streets of New York. The visceral imagery of the fresh oranges spilt over the street floor may reflect the disruption in order/ formality that the shooting may cause for the Corleone family.
In this scene, Coppola uses mise-en-scene to develop the characterisation of all the characters involved, however, most importantly the Godfather. The lighting within this scene is quite dim, casting shadows over much of the room. This causes the characters to come across as sombre and serious, as the lighting also offers an almost judging and suspicious undertone. The furniture used within this scene demonstrates the opulent lifestyle in which the Godfather lives. In addition, the placement of the characters within this scene insights into the workings of the Corleone family; the Godfather is placed in the centre of the screen, highlighting his importance above the others. He is also the only character facing the camera, furthering the idea that he has the most power over that scene. Lastly, the costumes used within this scene (extremely smart suits) adds to the sombre tone, with an almost complete lack of colour except for the Godfather’s rose attached to the lapel of his suit. This rose may connotate love and passion for his family, above his dark personality (or black suit).
Mise en Scene is presented in The Matrix through the pale-green lighting through out the whole movie, triggering an uncomfortable mood in the audience and eerie atmosphere. In the slow-motion bullet fight scene, mise en scene is used with how Neo’s costume is presented. The black suit and glasses give a sense of control and confidence in the character’s way of handling the situation while the camera’s focus on the bullets highlights the danger while his posture implies how much security he has over the situation. The background being almost empty makes the audience focus on Neo and the bullets and makes them stand out instead of focusing on other objects around the room. Neo’s presence in this scene also gives a sense of power due to his calm personality and approach while handling this situation.
One film that I believe features excellent techniques and Mise-en-scene is Joker.
One method the director used throughout the film was low-key and Chiaroscuro lighting in scenes. Doing this creates a dark environment and adds to the character’s personality. The film also uses dark blues and reds to convey the emotion of sadness and anger, which the character significantly represents.
This film also uses long shots throughout the whole film. However, they were used at the beginning to show the audience how lonely and isolated The Joker is. While at the end of the film, they had long shots to show the audience the number of people supporting him and the crimes that he has committed.
Another way that the director used Mise-en-scene to convey emotion is through costume and makeup. The use of the Joker’s costume (a suit) gave a sense of false hope that he is sane and well put together. However, his clown makeup gives a sense of lost childhood and immature nature.
Another forte that the director did well was the use of props. One of the most wildly used props was the help of a mask. This was to show the audience how The Joker was hiding behind a mask for most of his life and that now the mask has become who he is.
The last thing that the director did was help the actor portray emotion through facial expressions. Using his fingers to create a fake smile effectively shows the audience how he does not know how to feel emotions and makes the audience feel very uncomfortable.
Using all of these micro and macro elements, the director was able to successfully create a memorable character and a beautiful aesthetic movie.