Stills From Pan’s Labyrinth

Film Techniques

Mise en scene• Mise en scene refers to the placement of visual elements

on the screen– Shot– Angle– Lighting– Color, filter– The dominant– Placement of characters within the frame– Framing – Proxemic patterns– Staging positions– Composition– Depth

Shots

• Shot – indicated by how much of an object or an actor’s body is visible within the camera frame– Extreme long shot, establishing shot – objects,

people seen at a great distance – setting, distance – Long shot – distance from viewer to stage in a

stage play– Full shot – the actor’s body fills the frame

• Medium shot – the actor can be seen from the knees or waist up – common shot, dialogue

• Close-up – the actor’s face or a small object fills the frame; nothing else can be seen – emotion, important detail

• Extreme close-up – only a small part of the actor’s face (e.g. eye, mouth) or an object can be seen – intense emotion, important detail

• Deep-focus shot – long shot showing objects at close, medium, and long range in focus simultaneously – viewer’s eye is drawn into the scene

Long Shot

Full Shot

Medium Shot

Close Up

Deep Focus Shot

Deep Focus

Angles

• Angles are determined by the position of the camera in relation to the object being photographed– Bird’s-eye view – Scene is photographed from

directly overhead, disorienting – may make people shown seem small, unimportant

– High angle – Makes the subject seem unimportant, small – may give a the viewer a sense of power

• Eye level – Most common angle, not very dramatic – seldom used to convey emotion or important information about a character

• Low angle – makes object, character seem more important and powerful – makes viewer feel fearful, insecure

• Extreme low angle – invokes fear, discomfort in viewer

• Oblique angle – disorienting -- may show character’s point of view, indicating disorientation or drunkenness

Bird’s Eye View

High Angle

Eye Level

Low Angle

Extreme Low Angle

Lighting, Color, Filters• Lighting key = lighting style

– High key – bright, even lighting – happiness, joy– Low key – dark, shadowy – mystery, suspense, drama, the

unknown – evokes fear– High contrast – combination of dark and bright light– Lighting keys can be combined in a single shot

• Colors– Warm (red, orange, yellow) – stimulation, action, excitement – Cool (blue, green) – calm, aloof, distant– Some colors have symbolic importance (e.g. red)

• Filters can be used to emphasize a particular color, may have emotional or symbolic impact

Low Key

High Contrast

The Dominant

• The object in the frame to which the viewer’s eye is first drawn– May be indicated by size or color– Often of great (sometimes symbolic) importance

Placement of Characters or Objects within a Frame

• Dominant characters, more important characters occupy more space• Top = powerful, dominant• Bottom = powerless, weak, less important• Left and right sides of = placing characters here

suggests their insignificance or may be used to suggest danger , the unknown (We do not know what is beyond the edge of the frame.)• Most important object may be placed beyond the

edges of the frame – especially if associated with mystery or death

• Framing – The amount of space of within the frame has symbolic meaning– Tight frame – close-up shots, crowded shots = lack

of freedom– Loose frame = freedom

Proxemic Patterns

• Proxemic patterns = the relationship of characters within a given space– The greater the distance between the camera and

the character, the greater the sense of emotional “distance.”

– The smaller the distance between the camera and the character, the greater the sense of emotional involvement.

– The distance between characters also implies their emotional relationship.

Staging Position

• Character’s position in relation to the camera– Full front (facing camera) – great emotional

involvement of viewer with actor– Quarter turn (slightly turned away from camera) –

most popular position – intimacy yet less emotional involvement

– Profile (looking off frame) – Character is unaware of being observed

– Three-quarter turn (only a small portion of the face is visible) – Character is unfriendly, antisocial

– Back to camera – lack of involvement, mystery

Composition

• Composition refers to the way in which the visual elements of a frame are arranged or put together. Frames in films are often arranged the way that paintings are arranged.

• Lines may be used to direct the viewer’s eye.– Diagonal lines convey a sense of movement, tension– Lines may point to most important element in the

scene

• Recurrent patterns, shapes

Depth

• Films are usually arranged on three planes:– Foreground – Objects in the foreground usually

provide important information about a scene or the film, foreshadowing

– Midground– Background

• Use of three planes give film a sense of depth.• Placement of objects, characters on different

planes changes the meaning of objects, characters

Foreground

Foreground

Background

All three planes are of importance