This week, we began to look at the techniques of continuity editing as developed by Edwin Porter and D.W. Griffith, including the match cut, cross cut and analytical editing. Along with continuity editing, aspects of mise-en-scene (the elements/figures placed before the camera to be photographed) play a significant role in the viewer's comprehension of the film story.
1) From your reading in Film Art (Chapter 4), identify and briefly describe the four aspects of mise-en-scene in the following clips:
The Baby's Meal (Lumiere Brothers, 1895)
The Cook in Trouble (George Melies, 1904)
2) Exercise: 180-degree rule (screen direction)
The 180-degree rule states that when filming, the camera must remain on one side of the 180-degree line (axis of action) in order to maintain consistent left-right relations from shot to shot.
In this brief clip from Frank Capra's Meet John Doe (1941), locate the axis of action and provide a brief explanation as to how you've determined its position.
1) From your reading in Film Art (Chapter 4), identify and briefly describe the four aspects of mise-en-scene in the following clips:
The Baby's Meal (Lumiere Brothers, 1895)
The Cook in Trouble (George Melies, 1904)
2) Exercise: 180-degree rule (screen direction)
The 180-degree rule states that when filming, the camera must remain on one side of the 180-degree line (axis of action) in order to maintain consistent left-right relations from shot to shot.
In this brief clip from Frank Capra's Meet John Doe (1941), locate the axis of action and provide a brief explanation as to how you've determined its position.
21 comments:
There are four basic areas of mise-en-scene that can be manipulated by the filmmaker. According to Bordwell and Thompson, they are setting, costumes and make-up, lighting, and staging. In The Baby’s Meal by the Lumière Brothers, the setting consists of a realistic background of what looks like a backyard. The costumes look like typical dress of the time and place, and it doesn’t look like much make-up was used, if any. Based on the shading on the faces, the sun was most likely the main light source. The staging is casual and natural—no extreme acting here.
The mise-en-scene of The Cook in Trouble by Méliès is almost the opposite. The setting is the painted background of a kitchen. The white costumes stand out against the dark background, with only two actors in chef costumes. It looks like the lighting is coming from the front so their shadows are directly behind them. The staging is theatrical and the expressions are way overdone.
In the clip of Meet John Doe, it looks like the axis of action is between the guy who was on the phone behind the desk and the people he is interacting with, who seem to always be in the same area between him and the door. I figured this out because the camera never was on the other side of him.
Andrew Megow
The four basic elements of Mise-en-scene is as follows: Setting, costumes/makeup,lighting, and acting/staging. The Lumiere Bros. "Baby's Meal" depicts it's setting in a back yard of what looks to be lunchtime judging by all the food on the table. I say it's lunchtime by the lighting. If it was dark it would be dinnertime but I feel there's enough lighting on the faces and table to say it's noontime. The costumes look authentically real, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't just the couples normal everyday clothes. And the staging seems normal and real.
Now we come to The Cook in Trouble. The setting is a stage made to look like a kitchen so it's a fake background. The lighting I'm assuming is from the front because their shadows a apparent in the background and the costumes are made to look like the actors are chefs in a kitchen. The expressions however in this one seem over the top and has a bit "Cheesyness" to it.
With the scene in Meet John Doe, The line of axis appears to use the man in the middle as the center. The camera then uses him as a basis to move along the 180 angle to show the other characters in the room. The camera never goes behind this man so the line must be in front of him, capturing the other character on the extremes of the angle.
Andrew Tolstedt
Bordwell and Thompson define the aspects of mise-en-scene as setting, costumes, lighting, and staging. In "The Baby's Meal" The setting is an outdoor picnic table complete with lots of food suggesting a meal. The costumes are natural french garb and there doesn't seem to be any artificial light. The scene is staged exactly how you would feed a baby normally.
The cook in trouble starts out with a noticeable painted backdrop and a fake oven. The costumes are vibrant and vivid. I'm having a very difficult time picking up the lighting, which leads me to believe that there is a single fill light placed behind the camera. The staging and acting is set up like a theater, complete with over-the-top acting.
In the "Meet John Doe" clip the axis of action shifts between the man on the right and the characters in the room. It starts with the man on the far left, and when the girl enters, moves to her. The camera stays on one side of this line and never moves to film the man from the opposite direction.
The four fundamental aspects of mise-en-scène described in Film Art are setting, costume and make-up, lighting, and staging.
The aspects manifested in The Baby’s Meal: the setting is a real exterior location, mostly a yard of a middle class family’s house. A narrow view of plants/trees in the background gives the foreground table space a sense of relaxing. The characters are clearly identified in their costume: the father with mustache and man suit, and the mother on the right side has classic feminine outfit. The lighting is smoothly applied on three figures and the illuminated scenes hints the time when this event happens. The staging contributed by the three characters and also by the objects put on the table convinces audiences that this is a peaceful family time.
In contrast, the setting in The Cook in Trouble is constructed, in a wholly artificial studio. If initially goes into audiences’ minds and make them realizes the film is aiming at telling stories. The chef’s costumes of characters then agree and support the film’s portrait. The lighting is a bit hard to realize from this still image of the scene, but the clear presence on both the left group characters and the chef on the right sides show that there is at least a key light and a fill light on each sides of the stage. The staging and acting go along with the film’s setting of a dramatic folk story.
I would locate the axis of action in this scene from where the man stands behind the table, across the right side to the door. The man on the phone is the axis of camera focus, and along with him camera pans from a long shot of three figures which the focal man on the right, to either the left that giving a medium close up to the main man talking on phone, or the right that showing the man with hat left and the lady comes in. The camera maintains the panning from the right side of the room and never presents the main man on the left side in a shot.
In Chapter 4 of Film Art, Bordwell and Thompson say there are 4 areas of mise-en-scene; setting, costumes & make up, lighting, and staging (movment). In the first clip by the Lumiere Brothers mise-en-scene seems much more realistic than that of Milies film, The Cook in Trouble. The Baby's Meal seems realistic because the 4 areas of mise-en-scene seem real. The setting looks like a back patio or some place outside of a home, not a painted set. The costumes look like real clothing for the time, and the lighting seems to be natural which probably means it wasn't because it takes lights to make light look 'natural' on film. and the movement does not seem acted or over done, like Melies film.
In Melies film the 4 aspects of mise-en-scene seem to really have a staged, theatrical affect. Everything about it, except maybe the lighting seems very staged. The setting is obviously a painted backdrop, the clothing and make up is obviously costumes and stage make up. Lastly the lighting seems a little more realistic than the rest of the mise-en-scene but not as realistic as Lumiere Brothers film.
The axis of action in the Frank Capra film is to the left of the man on the phone. (His left) because the camera is always showing stuff from that angle so that the camera would have to be placed there.
-Marco Cannestra
TA: Brent
In the first shot taken from The Baby’s Meal had several elements of Mise-en-scene. Such as the back round. Instead of having a painted backdrop, they have a real life back round. This adds to the realism. Another thing is the use of props. They have many different food items that are real instead of fake. The shot also adds to it because instead of a long shot it is a medium close up. This allows the audience to see the character’s faces which is needed so you can see the characters reaction.
The next shot from The Cook In Trouble has the opposite of the first shot. The mise-en-scene. In this scene the back round is painted as if it was a play and the scene is in a long shot and is close enough to where the audience can see the characters reaction but still far enough to where you feel that you are watching a play. Along with that all the props are fake. The stove in back is clearly not real along with the bucket everyone is sitting around.
The 180-degree axis is between the man at the desk and straigt in front of him. Even though he talks to different people the camera never goes in front of , or to the left of the man’s desk. The same goes for the people he is talking to. They never go across the line, they stay on one side and the camera stays on the other.
There are four different apsects of mis-en-scene. The four aspects are setting, costume and make up, lighting, and staging. All four of these aspects are used within both The Baby’s Meal by the Lumiere Brothers, and The Cook in Trouble by Melies. In The Baby’s Meal the setting is very true to life. Everything in this movie looks realistic and looks like it depicts real life. The costume and makeup in The Baby’s Meal are very subdued and average looking. The lighting of this film adds to the realism of this film by looking natural, as if this is just a shot of everyday life. The staging is presented in a way as to look like normal life. The family is seated in a normal way as if they really are just sitting and eating a meal. The Cook in Trouble has nearly the opposite mis-en-scene as The Baby’s Meal. The setting is very unrealistic in this film. The set is very theatrical and does not attempt to look very real. The costume and makeup are also theatrical. The costumes are exaggerated and not something people would really wear. The lighting is very similar to the theater, where lighting comes almost entirely from above. The staging is always facing the audience and the camera never goes for alternate angles on the set.
The axis of action is easy to determine within this clip. The camera consistently uses the 180 degree rule for the filming of this scene. The line in which the camera does not cross is along the man in the middle. The camera never goes behind this man and only shows angles in front of him or from his left and right sides. This technique allows the viewer to not become confused about where the camera is in this scene.
-Charlie Ripple
The four aspects (setting, costume/make up, lighting, and staging) can be compared and contrasted in the two photographs. In The Baby’s Meal, using the on site scenery, we can see that the shot was taken with a partial view of the house and the yard in the background. In the second photograph of The Cook in Trouble, George Melies uses a backdrop as his background setting. The background painting allows Melies to show a great deal of specific details and use physical props for a sense of realism. The second aspect of costume and make up is seen in the Baby’s Meal by telling about who the family is without knowing them such as the woman’s loud dress. The other photograph uses costume to establish a characters role. Clearly the most important costume feature is the chef’s hat and beard. Although the reading mentions make up, the black and white aspect makes make up less commonly noticed in this era. Lighting in both pictures is called frontal lighting, which Film Art describes as “recognizable by its tendency to eliminate shadows.” Both scenes are not attempting to show off anything special for the viewer to look at using a lighting technique. The final aspect of staging and movement isn’t easy to see in stills, but the placement of the child in the center, the father smiling, are all aspects of acting controlled by the director. The second still uses facial imagery to show the same type of staging.
In the clip of Meet John Doe, the imaginary line across the desk can be described as the axis of action. The use of people entering the room from the left and only the left gives the viewer a sense of balance and realism that the room is kept in the same. The axis is re-emphasized when characters exit the room by moving again off to the left.
Matt Prekop
In The Lumiere Brothers’ The Baby’s Meal, the four aspects of mise-en-scene are present. The costume is fairly exaggerated. There is natural lighting since the family is sitting outside. The people are catering to the child’s needs.
In George Melies’ The Cook in Trouble, mise-en-scene is also apparent. The setting is less realistic because it is partially painted on and the entire scene is more scripted. The costumes show that the family is less wealthy than the first. The shot is further away, and the surrounding is more apparent. The lighting isn’t natural, so it isn’t as high quality.
The axis of action in the clip from Frank Capra’s Meet John Doe, the axis of action is located in the corner of the room opposite of the windows. It keeps showing the same angles of the room. The shots show the door, the same side of the counter, and the same sides of the characters.
Heidi Sherwood
In the Lumiere brother's clip, the Baby's Meal, one of the basic area of Mise-en-scene that stands out to me immediately is the women on the rights costume. It is a very similar fabric as the piece of furniture that is resting behind her. That is another are of mise-en-scene that stands out to me. There are actual props in this scene as opposed to many earlier films that we have watched presently. Included in this type of setting is the second clip shows, "The Cook in Trouble." While to Baby's Meal has a much more realistic look to it, the Cook in Trouble looks very much like a play rather then a movie. The two cooks dressed in all white also catch the eye. Both contrast the rest of the scene and stand out alone.
In the clip of Meet John Doe, the line of action seems to be drawn d own the middle of the man with the hate, and the man on the phone who are facing each other at the beginning of the scene. Once the man with the hat leaves, the camera angle shift a few times, however it never goes past the man with the phones shoulder. You are never shown the back or the side of the third man in the room which would happen if the line of action was placed someplace else.
In, "The Baby's Meal", the mise-en-scene is very well depicted. The four items of mise-en-scene that Brodwill and Thompson mention are costume, make-up, lighting, and staging. The costume in this first image shows that is taking place in the late 1800's early
1900's in a wealthy family. They make-up that they are wearing is very little, almost unnoticeable. The breakfast was lit in a way that made me think that this image was taken using the sun as the main source or something very similar to the light that the sun gives off. Finally it is staged as a wealthy family sitting down to a Sunday breakfast.
The second image shows that the costumes are clearly trying to depict that most of the actors are chefs and the others are crew members. They appear to be in a kitchen on a ship based on the painted background. The make-up is done in theatrical style, so that you can see all of the facial features. Which leads me to believe that they are using stage lighting rather than a more natural form of light? It is staged very unrealistic and it looks as if they are putting on a play.
In the John Doe clip the 180 degree line was created with the man on the phone and the two people who were standing or sitting straight across from him. The camera stayed only on the side directly across from the door, and it kept referring to the man on the phone. witch led me to believe that the man on the phone fell on the line of action.
According to Bordell and Thompson, there are four aspects of mise-en-scene. They are setting, lighting, costume and make-up, and behavior/performance. In The Baby's Meal, the characters seem incredibly normal looking (they have normal costumes, normal actions, and they don't stand out). The background, and mostly everything is average, and its pretty casual.
However, in The Cook In Trouble, the mise-en-scene is completely different, if almost theatrical. The makeup is overdone (just like in a play, where the makeup is overdone so the faces stand out more), and also, the darker backdrop is offset to the characters white clothes. Also, their expressions are much more exaggerated, and as I said before, much more theatrical.
In the short clip, Meet John Doe, the 180-degree line stays in the same place. It is between the man with the hat, and the man who is first talking on the phone. The man with the hat is replaced by a pretty young lady, but the 180-degree line is the exact same. This is identified because the interrogator and either the man with the hat or the girl always have the same position in the camera. No matter where the camera angle shifts, the characters stay in the same area, and there is no confusion on where the characters stand: The interrogator is always on the right, and the lady/man with the hat is always on the left, because of the use of the 180-degree line allows there to be no disagreeing about where the characters are.
Setting, Lighting, Performance, Costume and Make-Up... Mise-en-scene. Bordwell and Thompson define it with just four aspects. These elements can be manipulated, exaggerated, or completely ignored by the filmmaker. In the still frame of the Baby's Meal by the Lumiere Brothers, the scene or setting is in the backyard maybe. The scene seems to be extremely exaggerated of the family wnatng to represent a perfect life style for a child.The parents seem to be dressed up and show an extravagant way of living. However the light seems very normal for the setting since it takes place outside and nothing too bizarre about it.
In the Cook in Trouble my Melies everything in the shot seems to be even more exaggerated than the last everything from setting being unrealistic to costumes being ridiculous such as the baby costume. The lighting is very similar throughout the frame and the white costumes they are wearing makes the characters truly POP into view. This shot is very theatrical.
In Meet John Doe, The axis of action is on the guy on the phone behind the desk. He is in every shot. He is the center of this scene and all the characters are always interacting with him.
The French term ‘mise en scene’ translates to “putting into the scene” and is defined by all the visual objects that the viewer sees in the film. The Baby’s Meal, seems to display mise en scene naturally. The table, covered in tea-related objects, is in the foreground, with the couple behind it, with their child in between them. All three are well dressed, indicating that they are wealthy. The setting seems to take place in the backyard of their house, a completely natural setting, with brush visible in the background. The entire shot is well lit, possibly from the sun. The Cook in Trouble, is quite different. The entire setting is an obvious stage set, the background is painted and the lighting is artificial. The actors appear to be wearing costumes that appropriately suit their setting—a kitchen. Physical objects such as the wash bucket and the chair, appear close to the foreground of the shot, adding a bit more realism.
The axis of action splits the room in half, down the middle of the bald man and to the door. The right side of his body is never shown and he constantly remains in the right half of the frame as he acknowledges people to the left.
Mise-en-scene is defined as any object the filmmaker can manipulate or place before the camera. Bordwell and Thompson divvy it up into four main categories: setting, costume/makeup, lighting, and staging. The Baby’s Meal by the Lumiere Brother’s contains incidental mise-en-scene. The setting is the natural place to eat a lunch; a table in a setting out of doors, the costumes are the typical clothes for a family of that time period, the lighting is natural, and the staging is almost nonexistent. All in all the film creates the feel of an average family eating a lunch outside, because that’s precisely what it is.
The mise-en-scene of The Cook in Trouble represents a total opposite in terms of intention. (I sense a pattern in these blog posts) Melies creates his set almost as a theater stage with the large painted backdrop and props that dominate the visual field. The costumes are reminiscent of overdone and exaggerated, including the man dressed as a baby(?). The lighting feels theatrical as well, and the gestures are wild and strained. All this composition creates the grand feel of a farce, a mockery of life both visually and narratively.
In the clip from Meet John Doe the axis of action changes several times. It begins between the man at the desk and the lively man across it. But when the man moves to the door to leave the axis follows him there and sits there for a moment, anticipating new action. The axis is shot head on when the woman enters the office. The camera then tracks with her as she moves to the front of the desk, swinging the action back to its original axis.
In the first photo, the setting is an exterior shot of a house, implying a sense of family. The characters are, well, a family, specifically a young American family. The lighting is slightly bright, implying that this is a happy scene. The costumes are contemporary for the time, nice if a little expensive.
The next shot is an exterior of an alley, a complete opposite of the first shot. The characters are all poor, as their costumes distinguish. The lighting is slightly dark, implying that this, obviously is not a pleasant scene.
The axis of action of the scene is determined by the people talking, in a line, in the office area. This is true because this is really the only action on screen.
In the Lumiere Clip, the mis-en-scene is very obvious; the setting of this clip appears to be the side of a pretty big, middle class house. The Father's in a suite which shows that he works, and he looks as if he’s is enjoying his family. There are a few items on the table. The Mother is wearing a dress and looks quite feminine. The baby is in dress also. The lighting of this clip favors the baby and dad, appearing to be highlighted due to their white costumes. The side of the house provides a backlighting effect . All of the characters in this photo are in motion which suggests continuity.
The setting of Melies’s clip includes a painted backdrop of some sort of kitchen. There are buckets, ovens, and food scraps on the floor. Although most of the background appears painted. there are a few 3-Dcrops, like the buckets, and stools.. There are three men in this photo but only two have full beards and chef hats, the younger man has no facial hair and doesn’t wear a uniform. The woman in this clip has on a hat and a dress. The man on the right and the women appears to be excited. In this clip all of the characters are highlighted but the two bearded men more so because of their all white costumes. The background has more of a low lighting which contrasts with the bright characters.
In frank Capra’s clip the 180 axis seems to be straight across the man with the bald head. His desk, the chair, and his door is where the axis line cuts every time there’s a new shot we see the man and whatever else that is directly in front of him. He is the center of the axis line.
Mise en scene consists of lighting, costumes/make up, set design, and character staging.
In the Lumeire Brother's The Baby's Meal the mise en scene is kept simple and natural. The consists on a man on the left, a woman on the right, and an infant in the center of the screen whom are probably wearing clothing they would any other day and no special make up for effect. Also apparently natural are the clothes the characters wear. As for the light it appears to be the natural light from the sun, however I would not be surprised if a simple reflecting device was used to fill in some light.
George Méliès take the opposite approach. In The Cook in Trouble we find characters in strange costumes running about on a constructed set - a fanciful appearing kitchen - that is certainly lit with stage lighting. Contrasting with the realism of the Lumiere Brothers, Méliès has the characters run about zanily in a fashion one might imagined would well enjoyed under the effect certain illegal controlled substances.
In a scene from Meet John Doe it is appears that the line of action pivots on the man on the left side of the screen and would move to the character who happens to be farthest at screen left. However, I did not notice the camera perform an over-the-shoulder shot of each left screen character, as it it with the man on the right, with the exception of of the woman.
Olivia Gomez-
In the two clips presented, the aspects of mise-en-scene seem to be highly oppositional. In "The Baby's Meal", the setting seems to be a yard or porch. The lighting is very natural and diffused. There is a minimal amount of makeup and costumes, if any, and all movements are natural. In "The Cook in Trouble", the setting seems to be constructed from two-dimensional set pieces. The lighting is very harsh and seems to come from directly above. Heavy makeup and exaggerated costumes are used and the movements of the actors are forced and obvious.
The axis-of-action in the clip from "Meet John Doe" seems to go from the editor to the doorway. Shots are never from the opposite side of the room and whenever a new actor enters the scene, they remain in that area.
Altering the perception of shapes onstage, particularly three-dimensional stage elements.
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