2. What is mise-en-scene?
When applied to the cinema, mise-en-scène refers to everything
that appears before the camera and its arrangement composition, sets, props, actors,
costumes, and lighting. The “mise-en-scène”, along with the cinematography and
editing of a film, influence the verisimilitude or believability of a film in the eyes of its
viewers.
The various elements of design help express a film’s vision by generating a sense of time
and space, as well as setting a mood, and sometimes suggesting a character’s state of
mind.
“Mise-en-scène” also includes the composition, which consists of the positioning and
movement of actors, as well as objects, in the shot. These are all the areas overseen by
the director. One of the most important people that collaborates with the director is
the production designer.
These two work closely to perfect all of the aspects of the “mise-en-scène” a considerable
amount of time before the actual photography even begins. The production designer is
generally responsible for the general look of the movie, leading various departments
that are in charge of individual sets, locations, props, and costumes, among other
things. Andre Bazin, a well-known French film critic and film theorist, describes the
mise-en-scene aesthetic as emphasizing choreographed movement within the scene
rather than through editing.
3. Mise-en-scene In My Movie
Location and Props:
My movie is based on romantic genre.
Romantic movies can be located at many places but mainly they are located
on locations such as beaches, restaurants, movie theatres, resorts, malls
and houses.
My movie has two locations, a house and an office as my movie shows a man
who is married and betrays his wife with his office assistant.
In genre such as a horror, close up of props such as knives and needles etc are
shown to the audience to help establish the mood and atmosphere.
However, in romance there are various types of props that can be used.
Props used by me in the first few seconds of my opening sequence of the
movie are a breakfast tray with a coffee mug, a plate, some bread, a knife
and butter that the husband, jack brings for his wife, Rachel showing the
aspect of love between the couple and jack being portrayed as a romantic
husband.
After that, in the next few scenes there are props such as a wrist watch, a
book and a cell phone used by Rachel while she waits for her husband to
come back. The book and the wrist watch were very necessary to be used
to create a dramatic and realistic effect.
4. Costumes and Actors:
To match my story line, I needed two girls and a guy. Jack,
who is the husband, wears a night suit and has messed up hair as he
wakes up and brings breakfast for his wife to give an effect that it
is morning and he just woke up.
Then as he leaves for work, he wears a coat suit and a tie to show
that he is a young, 24 year old, handsome, middle class working
guy.
Rachel, Jacks wife wears a lovely white shirt and a grey colored jeans
with her hair open and a light lip gloss with a thin liner to
show that she is an innocent house wife who is very faithful
towards her husband.
Lilly, the assistant, on the other hand
wears a black hot shirt with a sky blue jeans and her hair tied
back with a red hot lipstick and a dark liner to give an effect that she
is a very cunning assistant.
