"Exploring a Matierial World"

Mise-en-scene: Mise-en-scene "comes from the French term meaning 'placed in scene' or 'onstage', mise-en-scene refers to those elements of a movie that are put in position before the film actually begins and are employed in certain ways once it does" (The Film Experience: An Introduction pp.62).

There are many things that go unnoticed to the average film viewer. These include how settings create environments with meaning for a film, how lighting is used to show different meanings, and how the set is set up and the props are used relate to the story of a film. In fact, mise-en-scene happens in everyday life and nobody really notices or takes the time to relate their surroundings to such a thing. There are two types of mise-en-scene in life, public and private.For example, "the architecture of a town may be described as a public mise-en-scene" (The Film Experience: An Introduction pp.62). This makes perfect sense since movies are all based off of real life in some way, shape, or form. Another example is how a person decorates a room. This can be described as private mise-en-scene. A police station or a court room can provide an authoritative vibe and can also be classified into the first of the previous two categories. This is just an example of how most of the things around us represent mise-en-scene in some way.

Examples of mise-en-scene are not only in the surroundings of the films environment, they also connect to the characters. We as people look at what they're wearing or what they look like. Those first impressions either make us fall in love with a character or hate them with a passion. The emotion that we feel also comes through mise-en-scene and the environment in which the film takes place, along with the characters that are placed in that environment.



Sometimes where the movie takes place is what motivates people to even consider watching it. Some people may be able to relate to the place, live there, had lived there, or have been there. Depending on the memory that the individual had when he or she was there may decide if the film is appealing in the least. Sometimes a historical landmark in a film can also attract a particular audience. Personally, a movie that is set in the dessert is less appealing to me, while a movie that is set in snow among other things is more appealing to me. The most obvious mise-en-scene that people take for granted is the setting. This is the real or fictional place where the events of a film take place.



In the film industry these days, computer generated imagery (CGI) is used often and creates images that are more realistic. "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006) does a good job using computer generated imagery to create many of the characters that were portrayed in the film. The film "portrays the internal world of its lonely child heroine in a rich mise-en-scene constructed from actual sets, costumes, prosthetics, and computer generated imagery" (The Film Experience: An Introduction pp.67).