Camera, editing, sound and Mise En Scene

Monday 20th September 2022

Mise en Scene

Mise en scene is a term that describes the lighting, set and costume in a play or a film. It is a key factor in any production as it helps it become naturalistic for the audience. Costume and props are very important as it can help the audience understand the time period and the genre of the film. For instance in a period drama the costumes and the setting makes it believable, if you had a modern day car it wouldn't be correct.

Mise en scene types:

- costume

- location

- props

- archetypes

- performance

- movement

- setting

Camera

Camera in media includes the angle of the shot, position of the camera, composition of the characters, depth of field and the types of shots. All of the types of shots add texture to the scene. An establishing shot for an example explains to the audience the location where the scene will take place. The camera shots help films be more interesting for the audience as you can see things from different perspectives. 

 Shot types:

- establishing shot: establishes location, set and environment

- master shot: breaks the action

- close up: focuses and increases the attention of the audience

- mid shot: closeness without intimacy

- wide shot: showing part of the set to emphasise size and scale

- low angle: lower status, look shorter

- high angle: high status, look taller

- POV shot: creates the impression that you are looking through viewers eyes

Camera movement:

- pan: shot that moves steady

- tilt: camera looks up/down

- track/dolly/steadicam: from a fixed camera, wheels or harness

- crane: camera mounted on a crane

- handheld: shaky movement, create realism

- zoom lens: creates illusion of movement by altering the lens

Sound

Sound is highly important in the making of a film. It helps create the mood, build tension and help the scenes be emotive. You can have synchronous music which matches the action on the screen. This builds emotion. If a contrapuntal sound is used, it doesn't match the action which makes the audience uneasy. This is used in American Psycho where he is murdering someone and listening to an upbeat soundtrack.

Sound types:

- diegetic: ambient background noise, dialogue, sound effects

- non-diegetic: soundtrack, VoiceOver

- pleonastic sound: exaggerated sound

- parallel sound: sound goes hand in hand with the image they are occompanying

- synchronous: matches the action

- asynchronous: separate from the visuals, such as a voice over or dialogue from another scene

Editing

Editing is also used to make a film more interesting. To edit a scene you can blur out the background to make a character or a prop stand out. You can also zoom into a character which creates focus and tension of a person. The composition of a character in the frame shows different things and different heiracy. 

Editing types:

- eyeliner match

- slow motion

- increased spead

- transitions

- cuts