Summary FAM1000S Exam Notes : Mise-en-scéne; Cinematography; Sound; and Editing

4 Technical
Components of Film
Language

, 1. Mise-En-Scène
General
Literal translation
 Literal translation= “putting into the scene”

What it is
 The things put in the shot
 Things in the frame
o Can be something outside that is affecting the scene
o What thing out of the frame an actor is looking at

How it is done
 Purposefully
o Someone has taken the time to create this perfect setting/mise en
scene
o Director stages the event for the camera
 Uses our associations of things to communicate
o What we associate with certain props, colours…

Uses
Generally
 Makes a reality more real
 First way a director can communicate
Specifically
 Create a specific atmosphere
o Romantic
o Erie
 Create a period setting
o Tells what time in history and day it is taking place
 Create effects
o An impression of realism
o Comic exaggeration
o Supernatural terror
o Understated beauty

,4 main components
1. Setting
What it is
 The set or location
 Includes Props
o Usually moveable
o Every day thing often given additional meaning
o Often seem insignificant, but in fact key components of a scene
How it is done
 Two ways
o Constructed/Planned
 Most extreme example=studio
o Already in existence/Accidental
 Doesn’t make it more realistic either way
What it shows
 Broad context of the space
o Where the film is taking place
 Recognizable landmark
 Table mountain
o When the film is taking place
 What historical period
 What time of day
 Alludes to nationality and ethnicity
o Samurai movie
o Bollywood
 Constructed vs. imaginary world
 Genre
o Can also alert audience to hybridizing of genres
Colour
 Produces powerful symbolic meanings
 Great to create an atmosphere
 Setting, costume and lighting work together to make the colour

2. Behaviour of figures
 How the actor moves in the space
o Also called blocking
 Usually applies to the actors
o But can also apply to
 Animals
 Robots
 Inanimate objects

,3. Costume
Focus
 Costume & makeup
 How they relate to the setting
 Contrast
o Colours
o Textures
Costume
Functions
 Enhance reality
o Especially of historical representation
 Creates proper mood
o Helps actors to get into character
o Can even be unseen costumes like underwear
 Graphic quality
o Colour
o Texture
o Movements
 Motivic role
o Dark sunglasses to shield a character from the world
 Causal role
o One characters costume reveals something about him/her to
another character
o Gives away their intention and allows him/her to be outwitted
o Example
 One character spots a hidden camera on another’s costume
 Emphasize human figures
o Not allow background to dominate the shot
o Focuses attention on the characters
 Acts as a prop
o Example= Charlie chapman’s cane
Developing costume
 Change slowly throughout a film
 Show the progression of a character
o Starts progressively wearing darker colours as he/she deteriorates
o Wears more formal clothing as he/she matures
Makeup
On next page

,Makeup
Functions
 Enhance appearance of actors on screen
o Make more pretty
 Reinforce the real
o Making characters look like historical figures
 Emphasize the fantastical
o A wart on a witch’s face
 Accentuate expressive qualities of an actors face
o Eyes
 Eyeliner and mascara draw attention to eyes
 Emphasize a glance in a certain direction
o Eyebrows
 Usually shaped
 Lengthened eyebrows= enlarged face
 Shorter brows= more compact face
 Rising curve= adds gaiety to the face
 Sloping= sadness
Total avoidance of makeup
 Allows tiny facial expression to be seen
 Helps with close up shots

,4. Lighting
Functions
 Simply illuminate the action, allowing us to see it
 Guide attention to certain parts of the shot
o Emphasize a spot by making it relatively better lit
o Shadow can conceal detail
 Build suspense
o Conceal certain detail with shadows
 Articulate textures
o Curve of a face
o Grain of a piece of wood
Highlight
 Patch of relative brightness on a surface
 Gives idea of texture
o Highlight will gleam or sparkle off a smooth surface
o Rough surfaces diffuse highlights
 Opposite of a shadow

Shadow
Attached shadows/shading
 Shadow is cast by one aspect of an object
o Onto another aspect
o Of the same object
 Happens when light fails to illuminate part of an object
o Because of the object’s shape
 Example
o A person’s nose shading one of his/her cheeks
Cast shadows
 Object casts a shadow onto another surface or object
 When a body blocks out the light of something behind it
o Body=any physical object
 Examples
o Prison bars making lined shadows
o The human form is seen against a wall

,4 features of lighting
 1. Quality
o The relative intensity of the illumination
o Hard lighting
 What it creates
 Clearly defined shadows
 Crisp textures
 Soft edges
 Where it occurs
 Noon day sun
o Soft lighting
 What it creates
 A diffused illumination
 Where it occurs
 Overcast day
 2. Direction
o Frontal lighting
 Eliminates shadows
o Sidelighting/crosslighting
 Sculpts characters features with shadows
o Backlighting
 From behind the subject
 Can be from many angles
 High above, below, from the side
 Creates a silhouette if used alone
 Can also create contour
 When combined with frontal light
o Underlighting
 Distorts figures
 Used to create dramatic horror effects
 Can also just show natural light from a low source
 Fireplace
o Top lighting
 A spotlight shining down
 Brings out line of cheekbones
o 3 point lighting
 Has 3 lights shining from different directions
 Key light
o Main light
o Usually
 Brightest light
 Frontal light
 Fill light
o Usually side light
o Eliminates shadows created by key light
 Backlight
o Gives depth/dimensionality

,  3. Source
o Not usually apparent source of light in the scene
 Bedside light
o Natural light
 4. Colour
o Warm light
o Cool light


High-key light VS. Low-key light
High-key light
 Bright, even illumination
 Graduated shadows
o Shadow areas transparent
o Lack of shadows
 Suppressed by the lighting
 Gentle/soft light
 Low contrast
o Bright tone is almost even across the image
 Reveals expression and detail within shadows
 Considered happy
o Like a toothpaste commercial
 Used in
o Drama
o Comedy
o Action films
o Films where a realistic representation of daily life is desired
Low-key light
 Darker
o Controlling colour usually black
o Lots of dark areas
 Deep, stark shadows
 Hard light
 Sharp contrast
o Between light and dark areas
 Considered serious
o Conveys dramatic tense atmosphere
 Used in
o Horror films
o Film noir
o Thrillers
 Emphasize contour lines with highlights
 Relies on shadows and atmospheric pools of light
 Only one major light source is used
o Used with a little fill
 Chiaroscuro effect
o Extreme patterns of light and shade