Media Concepts

Media Concepts



 The five different aspect of Mise-en-scene are:

Space- The representation of space affects the reading of a film. Depth, proximity, size and proportions of the places and objects in a film can be manipulated through camera placement and lenses, lighting, set design, effectively determining mood or relationships between elements in the story world.

Costume- Costume simply refers to the clothes that characters wear. Using certain colors or designs, costumes in narrative cinema are used to signify characters or to make clear distinctions between characters.

Acting- There is enormous historical and cultural variation in performance styles in the cinema. Early melodramatic styles, clearly indebted to the 19th century theater, gave way in Western cinema to a relatively naturalistic style.

Lighting- Lighting is very important in video shoots or photo shoots. Lighting is the intensity, direction and quality of lighting have a major effect on the way an image or video is perceived. The light and shade can emphasise texture, shape, distance, mood, time of day or night, season, glamour; it affects the way colors are rendered, both in terms of hue and depth, and can focus attention on particular elements of the composition.

Set Design- An important element of "putting in the scene" is set design—the setting of a scene and the objects (props) there in. Set design can be used to amplify character emotion or the dominant mood of a film, or to establish aspects of the character.

Mise-en-scene is an espression used to describe the design aspects of a theatre or film production, which essentially means visual ''theme''.

Different Shot Types

EWS (Extreme Wide Shot)
The view is so far from the subject that he isn't even visible. Often used as an establishing shot.

 

 

VWS (Very Wide Shot)The subject is visible (barely), but the emphasis is still on placing him in his environment.

 

 

 

 

 

WS (Wide Shot)The subject takes up the full frame, or at least as much as comfortably possible.
AKA: long shot, full shot.

 

MS (Mid Shot)Shows some part of the subject in more detail while still

giving an impression of the whole subject.

 

 

 

 

MCU (Medium Close Up)Half way between a MS and a CU.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CU (Close Up)A certain feature or part of the subject takes up the whole frame.



 

ECU (Extreme Close Up)The ECU gets right in and shows extreme detail.
Variation: Choker

 

 

 

 

 

Cut-InShows some (other) part of the subject in detail.

 

 

CA (Cutaway)

A shot of something other than the subject.

 

 

 

 

Two-ShotA shot of two people, framed similarly to a mid shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(OSS) Over-the-Shoulder ShotLooking from behind a person at the subject.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Point-of-View Shot (POV)Shows a view from the subject's perspective.

 

 

 

 

 

Camera Angles

The term camera angle means slightly different things to different people but it always refers to the way a shot is composed. Some people use it to include all camera shot types, others use it to specifically mean the angle between the camera and the subject. We will concentrate on the literal interpretation of camera angles, that is, the angle of the camera relative to the subject.

Eye-Level

This is the most common view, being the real-world angle that we are all used to. It shows subjects as we would expect to see them in real life. It is a fairly neutral shot.

High Angle

A high angle shows the subject from above, i.e. the camera is angled down towards the subject. This has the effect of diminishing the subject, making them appear less powerful, less significant or even submissive.

Low Angle

This shows the subject from below, giving them the impression of being more powerful or dominant.

Bird's Eye

The scene is shown from directly above. This is a completely different and somewhat unnatural point of view which can be used for dramatic effect or for showing a different spatial perspective.
In drama it can be used to show the positions and motions of different characters and objects, enabling the viewer to see things the characters can't.
The bird's-eye view is also very useful in sports, documentaries, etc.

Slanted

Also known as a dutch tilt, this is where the camera is purposely tilted to one side so the horizon is on an angle. This creates an interesting and dramatic effect. Famous examples include Carol Reed's The Third Man, Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and the Batman series.
Dutch tilts are also popular in MTV-style video production, where unusual angles and lots of camera movement play a big part.