Mise-en-scene, the French theatrical term for the organization of all the materials on the stage, is the unifying concept behind the style and critical reception of expressionist cinema. In terms of breaking down a film, or a sequence within a whole, then the following categories are what encompass mise-en-scene or staging in film and what you should look out for when studying an example of expressionist cinema.
Mise-en-Scene / STAGING
The filmmaker stages an event to be
filmed. What is put in front of the
camera? How does the staging comment on
the story? How does it visualise the
main conflicts of the story?
Setting:
On location or in the studio? “Realistic” or stylised? Historical or contemporary? Are there props which take on a symbolic
function? Are things like mirrors,
crosses, windows, books accentuated?
Why? How do sets and props
comment on the narrative?
Space:
Cluttered or empty? Does it express a certain atmosphere? Is the design symmetrical or
asymmetrical? Balanced or unbalanced? Stylised or natural? Open form: the frame is de-emphasised, has a
documentary “snapshot” quality. Closed
form: the frame is carefully composed, self-contained, and theatrical, the
frame acts as a boundary and a limit. Is
space used as an indirect comment on a character’s inner state of mind?
Lighting:
What is illuminated, what is in the
shadow? Lighting quality: hard lighting (bold shadows) or soft
(diffused illumination)? Direction:
frontal lighting (flat image), side-lighting (for dramatic effect),
backlighting (only the silhouette is visible), underlighting (from a fireplace,
for example)? Realistic or high contrast
/ symbolic lighting? High key or low
key? Special lighting effects (e.g.
shadows, spotlight)? Natural lighting or
studio? Hollywood has three light
sources: key light, fill light, and backlight.
How does the lighting enhance the expressive potential of the film?
Acting and Choreography
What do appearance, gestures, facial
expressions, voice signify? Professional
actors or non-actors? Why? Movement of characters: toward or away from
the camera, from left to right or vice versa?
Do characters interact with each other through their gaze? Who looks at whom? Grouping of characters before the camera;
view of characters (clear or obscured behind objects, isolated or integrated,
centre or off-centre, background or foreground?
How do acting and choreography attract and guide the viewer’s attention
(and manipulate his/her sympathies?)
Costume and Make-Up
Realistic or stylised/abstract? Social and cultural coding: what do the costumes signify (status, wealth,
attitude, foreignness, etc.)?
Suggested Further Viewing
