September
1, 2013
Mise-en-scène: A Critical Component of the Art of
Filmmaking
An aspiring filmmaker must develop an understanding
of the language of film by studying the literature and deconstructing films.
The language of film comprises many concepts, terms, and theories: point of
view, semiotics, diegesis and montage, to name a few. One of the most important
aspects of narrative filmmaking is mise-en-scène, which means to “put in scene”
(Gerst 32). This paper will define
the concept of mise-en-scène and its elements, examine the interplay of
elements, and give examples in the context of narrative filmmaking. Furthermore, it will discuss the
practice of mise-en-scène and filmmaking as an art form that should be included
in the discourse of art critics and historians.
Mise-en-scène, “to put in scene,” has its origins in
the theatre and was first used in directing plays to shape the design of a
production. In film it has come to mean the director’s control over what
appears in the film frame (Bordwell 169); or put differently, “the contents of
the frame and the way they are organized” (Edgar-Hunt 128; Gibbs 5). Andre
Bazin, the French film theorist, compares the importance of the setting in
mise-en-scène in film to mise-en-scène in the theatre:
The
human being is all-important in the theatre. The drama on the screen can exist
without actors. A banging door, a leaf in the wind, waves beating on the shore
can heighten the dramatic effect (Bordwell 172).
One
might infer from Bazin’s comment that the film director has even more
dimensions to work with in creating her scene than does the theatre director.
Thus more dimensions of the “art” of mise-en-scène must be considered in film
directing.
The director organizes many aspects of the frame to
shape the style of the film and the audiences’ reactions to it: the setting,
lighting, costumes, and acting. Through these elements, mise-en-scène leads the
eyes of the audience around the frame (Gerst 33).
The filmmaker chooses the setting either by shooting
on location or filming in a studio, where she has greater control over the
elements. Georges Meliès, the first expressionist filmmaker of the late 19th
- early 20th Century controlled every aspect of his film’s mise-en-scène
by sketching shots, designing sets, and creating magical effects in his
studio. For example, for his
setting for “The Mermaid,” he created an undersea world with an actress in a
mermaid costume standing behind a large fish tank placed in front of the
camera.
Some filmmakers creating period films strive for
historical accuracy by replicating a location down to the last detail. In Alan J. Pakula’s 1976, “All the
Presidents’ Men,” he duplicated The
Washington Post office on a sound
stage down to every detail of the original newsroom (Bordwell 173).
Alfred Hitchcock said, “When I go for a locale, it
must be used dramatically.” (Moral 61). He would make the maximum use of a
setting by using elements connected with a location. In North by Northwest, he has his characters hanging from the rock face of
Mount Rushmore in the dramatic ending.
He would also avoid cliché on his sets; for example, in North by
Northwest, the threat to character
Roger Thornhill doesn’t come from the menacing black car driving down the road,
rather it comes from the crop duster over the cornfield in the distance. In
Hitchcock’s Psycho, the white
shower curtain becomes an important prop when Norman Bates uses it to wrap up
his victim’s body (Bordwell 175). Hitchcock used the term “MacGuffin” to refer
to the object around which the plot revolved (Moral 18). In Psycho, the stolen $40,000 was the MacGuffin.
Costume and make up are also part of
mise-en-scène. Costumes can be
authentic or stylized; they can become a prop like Dorothy’s shoes in The
Wizard of Oz; and they can help
drive the narrative, like Dracula’s cape that envelops his victims. Hitchcock
makes interesting use of make up and costume in Vertigo, to give Judy and Madeleine distinct looks even
though they are the same person. Make-up can be used to create a realistic look
as in a historic figure or a non-realistic look as in horror films (Bordwell 177).
The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting
affect the audience’s perceptions and can focus attention on certain aspects of
the frame (Prunes 2). The director manipulates lighting to achieve his
objective for the frame. According
to Joseph Von Sternberg, a film director master of lighting, “The proper use of light can embellish
and dramatize every object”(Bordwell 178-9). It can be used to create the mood
(Moral150). Three-point lighting, with a backlight, a key light and a fill
light are often used in classical narrative Hollywood films that strive for
high-key lighting to suggest different lighting conditions and match time of
day. In Vertigo, Hitchcock uses a
range of filters to make Madeleine look mysterious in the churchyard (Moral
151). Robert Gerst’s analysis of
the lighting in a film still from Prix de Beauté (1930, Dir. Augusto Genina) demonstrates that low-key
lighting suggests mystery or uncertainty where high key lighting suggests joy
and energy (36). Directors of
horror films have used low-key lighting by creating sharper contrasts and
darker shadows. The film Russian
Ark (Sokurov 2002) posed a lighting
challenge for the filmmaker because it was shot in a single 91-minute take
using a steadicam. Given the
constant movement of the camera and cameraman, the chandelier light sources
visible within the frame were extremely helpful (Mercado 177). Usually
filmmakers will not rely on light sources that are part of the set to light a
scene or a frame (Bordwell 180)
The actors are another important aspect of
mise-en-scène. Their roles consist of visual elements such as appearance,
gestures, facial expressions, and sound elements such as voice and effects (Bordwell 184). In the analysis of acting as part of
the mise-en-scène, it is important to look at acting style (Bordwell 185) and the style of the film (Bordwell 186). Analyzing acting in terms of what
seems realistic should only be taken so far because conceptions of realism
change over time (Bordwell 184). Performances
can be individualized to create a unique character and stylized to avoid
exaggerating or underplaying the role (Bordwell 186).
Typecasting has been a popular practice in selecting actors for Hollywood
narratives. Hitchcock was against falling into stereotyped acting in his films
(Moral 91-92). For example, he made dumb blondes smart blondes and criminals
attractive. The blocking of the actors is also part of mise-en-scène.
In the analysis of the mise-en-scène of a particular
frame, it is important to first, look at the way the different elements
interact (Gibbs 41) and second, its context within the entire film (Gibbs 39).
Firstly, there are many variables available to the director for a particular
frame, but each of these depends on the combination of all the elements for its
effect (Gibbs 26). The director chooses and synthesizes the different
mise-en-scène variables that will best serve the story (Gibbs 41). Each of the
elements is selected to provide meaning for the viewer (Egar-Hunt 132).
Secondly, one can analyze the coherence of the mise-en-scène across the work
(Gibbs 40), as in Hitchock’s use of visual motifs throughout a film. Stylized expressionist
films reveal the elements to the audience whereas realist films hide the
elements (Rawle 132). Alfred Hitchcock said,
One
of the dramatic reasons for [realistic] photography is to get it looking so
natural that the audience gets involved and believes, for the time being,
what’s going on up there on the screen (Moral 150).
The
repetition, variation and development of the mise-en-scène motifs unify the
film (Bordwell 203). In North by Northwest, a movie about U.S. security and government, the use
of Mount Rushmore with its gigantic faces of the presidents is central to the
themes of the movie (Corrigan 51).
Bordwell
and Thompson discuss the importance of understanding the ways in which the
elements of mise-en-scène affect our attention and function together in space
and time (189). They argue that our visual system perceives change in time and
space, so changes in light, shape, and movement will draw our attention to
aspects of mise-en-scène (Bordwell 189). “The filmmaker uses mise-en-scène to
guide our attention across the screen, shaping our sense of the space that is
represented and emphasizing certain parts of it” (Bordwell190). Mise-en-scène
creates depth cues to help the viewers create a sense of three-dimensional
space by prompting their imagination (Bordwell 192).
Similarly, mise-en-scène controls when we look at something in the frame (Bordwell 197).
In
her analysis of Jean-Leon Gérôme’s, Snake Charmer, Linda Nochlin says,“What I am trying to get at, of
course, is the obvious truth that in this painting Gerome is not reflecting a
ready-made reality, but like all artists is producing meanings? (39)” Cannot
the same be said of a director of an historical film and the mise-en-scène he
creates? Art critics and historians who challenge the notion of filmmaking as
art should analyze the mise-en-scène of great films. In Psycho, Hitchcock’s gothic gingerbread house was inspired
by Edward Hopper’s paintings (Moral 75). Similarly, Surrealist painter Salvador
Dali designed the dream sequence in Spellbound. Given the creative process of mise-en-scène, a film
frame should be considered at par with a painting or sculpture. In her book, Creating
the Culture of Art, Mary Anne
Staniszewski asks the same question, “Can popular culture accommodate the radical
critique that has been the domain of modern art?” (284), and concludes with
“Isn’t it time to leave behind criteria that equate high with art and low with
popular culture . . .?” (285). Although filmmaking is not considered an art
form by some, the creative process of composing a mise-en-scène does seem to
merit evaluating filmmaking as art and the director artist.
Works Cited
Bordwell, David and Kristin
Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction. 5th Ed. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, 1997, Print.
Corrigan, Timothy. A
Short Guide to Writing About Film. 8th
Ed. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.
Edgar-Hunt, Robert, John
Marland and Steven Rawle. The Language of Film. Lausanne: Ava Publishing, 2010. Print.
Gerst, Robert, Make Film
History: Rewrite, Reshoot, and
Recut the World’s Greatest Films.
Studio City: Michael Wiese Productions. 2012. Print.
Gibbs, John, Mise-En-Scène:
Film Style and Interpretation. New
York: Wallflower Press, 2002. Print.
Mercado, Gustavo. The
Filmmaker’s Eye: Learning (and Breaking) the Rules of Cinematic Composition. Burlington: Focal Press, 2013. Print.
Moral, Tony Lee, Alfred
Hitchcock’s Moviemaking Master Class.
Studio City: Michael Wiese Productions, 2013. Print.
Nochlin, Linda, “The Imaginary Orient” The Politics of Vision: Essays on Nineteenth-Century Art and Society. New York: Harper and Row, 1989. Print.
North by Northwest. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Perf. Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Maison.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayor, 1959. DVD.
Prunes, Mariano, Michael
Raine and Mary Litch, “Mise-en-scène.” Film Analysis Guide. Yale University, 27 Aug. 2002. Web 28 Aug. 2013.
< http://classes.yale.edu/film-analysis/>
Psycho. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Perf. Anthony Perkins, Vera
Miles, John Gavin. Shamley Productions, 1960. DVD.
Russan Ark. Dir. Aleksandr Sokurov. Perf. Sergey Dreyden,
Mariya Kuznetsova, Leonid Mozgovoy. The State Hermitage Museum, 2002. DVD.
Staniszewski, Mary Anne, Believing
is Seeing: Creating the Culture of Art,
New York, Penguin Books, 1995. Print.
Vertigo. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Perf. James Stewart.
Paramount Studios, 1958. DVD.
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