There is no universally accepted definition of mise-en-scene. People engaged in film production do not agree on different concepts the term might hold. In the most general sense, it denotes the design aspects of film production. The term was first used by Les Cahiers du Cinéma, an influential French film journal, in the 1950s with reference to pro-filmic event at which film’s director decides on important aspects of film production. The latter can include setting, lighting, costume and figure expression and movement (David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson’s view), choice of filmstock, aspect ratio, framing, camera placement and movement, and sound environment (Bruce Kawin’s definition) and other elements depending on the existing views on the problem (Lacey).
In the current paper, we will consider three of them: camera, lighting and sound, the important constituents of film as a complex system.
It is obvious that filmmaking is impossible without camera. It is central to the process. Filmmakers sometimes give the camera almost human qualities. It is not merely a piece of machinery, but an active participant in film production. David Cronenberg, for example, claimed that the camera is like another actor in that it occupies space and has a point of view. It thus becomes an observer and to some extent interpreter of a scene. It allows the director to leave a scene open for the viewer to savor or to create a more closed scene to focus the minds of the audience on significant details (Taylor 338).
Camera space is one of the most effective ways of establishing control and manipulation of screen space. It is composed of two elements: horizontal field of view and “camera proximity”. Horizontal field of view is the type of shot: close-up, head and shoulders; medium lose-up taken at the bustline; medium shot taken at the waist; wide shot which encompasses the entire body or set, etc. (Barker 172) Horizontal field of view is very important as much of the perceived effectiveness of the film depends on the way the director chooses the shots the viewer is to see. “Camera proximity” is the location of the camera in the relation to the performer: in front of them, behind them, and so forth.
Directors have different views concerning the number of camera to use while constructing a scene. Oliver Stone, for example, likes to work with multiple cameras. When shooting JFK (1991), he used seven cameras, all with different angles, and spent two weeks recreating the Kennedy killing scene to have as much material as possible to edit it later. Other directors prefer to use a single camera. Woody Allen confesses that when he arrives on set he has no idea what he is going to shoot.
Before actors arrive, he walks around the set with his cameraman and decides on how the scene should look. When the actors arrive, they have the stage at their disposal to adapt to it. Allen shoots a scene in a single shot, without using multiple cameras and without a need to film a scene from a variety of angles. By the time the actors arrive on set, Allen clearly realizes what he wants to do (Taylor 337).
Lighting is also crucial for filmmaking. There are two basic lighting techniques used: chiaroscuro and Natan. The first is used for light-dark contrast. Zettle writes: “The basic aim is to articulate space, that is, to clarify and intensify the three-dimensional properties of things and the space that surround them, to give the scene an expressive quality.” (Barker 177) The second type of lighting is “lighting for simple visibility. Flat lighting has no particular aesthetic function; its basic function is that of illumination. Flat lighting is emotionally flat, too. It lacks drama.” (Barker 177)
Lighting is an important factor of film production as film lighting techniques and styles tell the viewer about the time the film is set, stress on the important places where one should focus his/her attention, and prompt the adequate response throughout the movie. For example, to admit the actresses’ beauty the director of photography uses spotlights focused on her face; to create anxiety, mystery and/or suspense the filmmaker uses minimal lighting like in the Seven (1995) (Lighting in Filmmaking).
Another important factor in film production is sounding. “Sound” refers to everything the audience can hear in the film – words, sound effects, and music. The functions of sound use vary from creating a mood and providing the information about the scene’s location to advancing the plot. There are two main categories of sound in film: first, diegetic that refers to audio elements that come from sources inside the world presented on the screen (dialogue, door slamming, footsteps), and, second, non-diegetic that come from the outside world the viewer sees on scene (screeches) (Sound in Filmmaking).
Sounding help filmmakers shape the movie. For example, by means of Singin’ in the Rain as the backdrop to a horrible rape scene in A Clockwork Orange (1971) Stanley Kubrick shocks his audiences. Voice-overs in Blade Runner (1982) provide background to a story.
As it is seen from the mentioned above the three factors of mise-en-scene are equally important in filmmaking. The director’s ability to see them in complex and handle each of them in particular is influential for the film’s success. Therefore, the importance of mise-en-scene cannot be overestimated. As well as the editing process during which editors combine and move between different shots and thus create emotional response with the viewer, this stage is a framing and success determining one.
Works Cited
Barker, David. “Television Production Techniques as Communication.” Television, The Critical View. Ed. Horace Newcomb. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. 169-182.
Lacey, Nick. “Teaching Mise en Scene.” Web.
“Lighting in Filmmaking.” InPoint. Web.
“Sound in Filmmaking.” InPoint. Web.
Taylor, Gary. “International Perspectives on the Art of Film Making.” Contemporary Review. 2003: 337.