Stills From Pans Labyrinth Film Techniques Mise en

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 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