Mise -en Scene

1. Mise-en Scene

2. Origins • Comes from the French term meaning “placed in a scene” or “onstage” • Refers to those elements of a movie that are put in position before the filming actually begins and are employed in certain ways once it does • Includes a films places and spaces, people and objects, lights and shadows

3. Theatrical Mise-en-Scene/Early Cinema • Western theatrical tradition that began with early Greek theatre around 500 BC • Continued to evolve through European medieval theatre, renaissance theatre, and nineteenth century theatre • 1900-1912 Early cinema was dependent of natural light which limited scene selection • Used five tableaux—brief scenes presented by set and actors as pictures of key dramatic moments

4. 1900-1912: Early Cinema • Theatrical directions was impacted by new developments such as mercury-vapor lamps and indoor lighting systems around 1906 that enabled studio shooting • Painted sets and props started to become prominent • 1930s-1960s Studio-era production introduced more modernized cinema • Studio system—company controlling film production and distribution • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KSiyaqnZYs

5. 1930s-1960s Studio-Era Production • Introduced advances such as Art directors and production designers—influenced staging, props, and costume design • 1940-1970 moved away from the studio to location shooting • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHGLBy2CdjI • 1975-Present saw technology and computers creating special effects creating a new form of mise-en scene • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3ODe9mqoDE

6. Key Terms • Setting—refers to a fictional or real place where the action and events of the film occur • Realism—is the term most viewers use to describe the extent to which a movie creates a truthful picture of a society, person, or some other dimension • Prop (short for property)—an object that functions as a part of the set or as a tool used by the actors

7. Key Terms: • Performance—describes the actors use of language, physical expression, and gesture to bring a character to life and to communicate the important dimensions of that character to the audience • Leading actors—2 or 3 actors who appear most often in a film—play central characters • Character actors—recognizable actors associated with particular character types or minor parts

8. Key Terms: • Supporting actors—play secondary characters in a film, serving as foils or companions to the central characters • The importance of lighting • Performative development—changes in a character described through an actors performance • Blocking—arrangement and movement of actors in relation to each other within the single physical space of mise-en-scene