PowerPoint presentation for SB American Film

1. Understanding Mise-en-scene &
Mise-en-shot

2. Difference between mise-en-scene
and mise-en-shot
• Mise-en-scene is ‘what’ we see
• Mise-en-shot is ‘how’ we see it
• Many critics and academics now use mise-en-scene
as the standard when referring to both
concepts and subsequently are dropping the term
mise-en-shot.
• Understanding these two concepts profoundly
improves the film watching experience. (fast
food vs. five star restaurant)
– What we are experiencing?
– Why are we experiencing it?

3. Mise-en-scene components
• Set design, costumes and props
– What does it tell us about a character? When does
it need to shown? When does it not need to be
shown?

4. Back to the Future (Zemmicks, 1985)

5. 1985 Hill Valley (Back to the Future
Zemmicks, 1985)

6. 1955 Hill Valley (Back to the Future
Zemmicks, 1985)

7. Mise-en-scene components
• Set design and props
• Lighting

8. Back to the Future (Zemmicks, 1985)

9. Mise-en-scene components
• Set design and props
• Lighting
• Character movement (blocking)

10. Mise-en-shot components
• Camera position/angle and camera movement

11. Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994)

12. Mise-en-shot components
• Camera position/angle and camera movement
• Shot scale

13. Shot Scale Example

14. Mise-en-shot components
• Camera position and camera movement
• Shot scale
• The duration of a single shot
• The pace of editing

15. Dance Scene from Pulp Fiction
(Tarantino, 1994)

16. Goodfellas (Scorsese, 1990)
• Rise and fall of mid 20th century American mafia
figures
• Widely regarded as one Scorsese’s best films and
one of the best movies of the last thirty years
• Scorses, a true auteur, relies heavily on mise-en-shot
techniques to tell his story
• Pay close attention to camera work (mise-en-shot
and its effects) as well as the costumes, set
design and soundtracks (mise-en-shot and its
effects)

17. Assigments
• Provide one example mise-en-shot and one
example of mise-en-shot from Goodfellas.
Make that each example contains an analysis
on the effect of Scorsese’s use of mise-en-shot
and mise-en-scene.
• This is a two paragraph assignment.
Remember to write concisely. (Three to five
sentences per paragraph)