Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene

Cahiers de Cinéma 1960 by critic Fereydoun Hoveyda: "What matters in a film is the desire for order, composition, harmony, the placing of actors and objects, the movements within the frame, the capturing of a moment or look... Mise en scene is nothing other than the technique invented by each director to express the idea and establish the specific quality of his work."



MISE-EN-SCENE Defined by Robert Kolker, Film Form and Culture

Mise-en-scène is a French term and originates in the theater. It means, literally, "put in the scene." For film, it has a broader meaning, and refers to almost everything that goes into the composition of the shot, including the composition itself: framing, movement of the camera and characters, lighting, set design and general visual environment, even sound as it helps elaborate the composition. Mise-en-scène can be defined as the articulation of cinematic space, and it is precisely space that it is about. Cutting is about time; the shot is about what occurs in a defined area of space, bordered by the frame of the movie screen and determined by what the camera has been made to record. That space, the mise-en-scène, can be unique, closed off by the frame, or open, providing the illusion of more space around it.


More at:
http://www.elementsofcinema.com/directing/mise-en-scene.html

http://www.slideshare.net/kjera/mise-en-scene-analysis-presentation

Examples with my notes:

Amelie

*Notes
seven edits/cuts
close focus on both faces
Lighting in room and candle light the soft deep reds
No music track
Sound of every movement and breath and the sound of the man's voice and the sound of her shoes on the floor and the sound of the tape machine rolling
The silence of Amelie and the wide eyed look on her face as she kneels, as at an alter, to gaze at the video
Black and white video and color in same scene
shadow of her hand
the sincere connecting of the man in the vid and Amelie
her fast exit

Tale of Summer

Notes:
no music
sound of wind and waves and conversation
The ocean vistas
the wind in their hair
the green and the walking path
no other people just the two of them
the natural elements are the third character in this scene, maybe the primary character
light is the natural light of a beautiful day
individual shots as they talk
The conversation itself as they try to understand themselves and each other
The way the boy and girl circle and move and walk together
they like each other
the theme song he whistles at the end of the scene
walking and talking

Alphaville

Notes:
scene quick edits between apartment and police car
close shot of faces
close shots of eyes
Lights flash on and off as she breaks into poetry
actors's voice coming from sound track
poetry used instead of dialogue
break down of what is normal dialogue
Classical music
Dancing as poetry is read
Both look directly at camera which changes the illusion


The Double Life of Veronique

Notes:
camera tracking
subdued colors
all sounds of the city in turmoil
police crowd control
circling movement of the camera

Les Diaboliques

Notes:
dramatic high contrast lighting
sound of breathing
sound of type writer
sudden loss of light
scream
no music
no dialogue
tension
fear

Interview with Francois Truffaut

Interview with Francois Truffaut on preparing to shoot a film