What is mise-en scene?

 The arrangement of everything that appears in the framing – actors, lighting, décor, props, costume – is called mise-en-scène, a French term that means “placing on stage.” The frame and camerawork also constitute the mise-en-scène of a movie.

 

 

Don't be confused. Mise-en-scène isn't a production term. Directors don't walk around saying “Let's create an elaborate mise-en-scène.” Not at all.

 

From the craftsman that builds fake bookcases to the cinematographer that chooses where the lights will go, the mise-en-scène is the result of the collaboration of many professionals. Thus in the production environment, the director is more specific with his requests and orders. Is he trying to talk to the prop master, the set designer, the actors, the make-up artists? All of them are part of different departments. But all of them, in the end, have influence in the mise-en-scène.

 

In the academic realm, the term mise-en-scène is always invoked when the overall look and feel of a movie is under discussion. Students taking Film Analysis should be quite familiar with the term.

 

Even though many professionals are involved in its creation, the director is the one that oversees the entire mise-en-scène and all of its elements. Not just that, but during the early stages of pre-production, the director or his AD sits down with set designers, prop masters, location managers, costume designers, and scenic artists to determine the look and feel intended.

 

In some instances, the mise-en- scène is used to evoke lasting feelings throughout the movie and not just for selected scenes. In the German expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), distorted shapes and claustrophobic scenery is implemented to disturb the audience and enhance the horror.

 

Mike Nichols’ The Graduate (1967) has been praised by its amazing, exciting, and multi-layered  visual design. For this reason, the following segments will shed light on many scenes from The Graduate but also from other pictures.

 

Décor

 

Décor refers to the decoration or decorative styles, comprising mainly of the set and props used in a movie. Instead of just dressing the set, the director must be savvy to fathom how objects may bear significance in a deeper level, while also emphasizing themes, creating meanings, and provoking thoughts.

 

An early scene from The Graduate (1967) opens with a close-up of Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) alone on his bed. Behind him is a fish tank, which may symbolically represent Ben’s entrapment in a life that he doesn’t want. Later in the movie, Ben finds himself at the bottom of a swimming pool, thus further elaborating on that concept.

 

In Rear Window (1954), an enlarged photograph placed in the living room offers exposition on the accident that rendered L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart) handicap:

 

Lighting

 

Unarguably one of the film elements that has the greatest power to evoke emotions, lighting must be manipulated by the director to accommodate his or her desires for the movie. The two broad types of lighting approaches are: low-key lighting and high-key lighting.

 

High-key lighting is often seen in romantic comedies and musicals, encompassing an even lighting pattern and avoiding dark areas in the frame. Everything looks bright with little to no shadow at all. High-key lighting has little dramatic effect, and it is often used in a scene with no tension.

 

 

Low-key lighting is often seen in horror movies and thrillers, comprising of a lighting pattern that has both bright and dark areas in the frame. The chiaroscuro (Italian: bright-dark) technique, long used by painters, is characterized by strong contrast, often employed to unnerve the audience.

 

 

Note that this terminology is counterintuitive as low-key lighting is high contrast and high-key lighting is low contrast.

 

Costume

 

 The obvious purpose of costuming is to dress an actor according to his character. Lawyers wear suits, nurses wear scrubs, and a drifter could wear worn out shoes, ragged shirt, and baggy pants.

 

But, more than that, costuming can also be used to establish someone’s hierarchic level. Regimentals, for instance, bear the status of the person who wears it. And even the color may distinguish an enemy from a friend. In The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), a comic situation arises when Blondie (Clint Eastwood) heads toward the enemy cavalry that was covered in dust. When the enemy general slaps his gloves on his sleeve, his apparently gray uniform changes to blue.

 

 Costuming may also be used to emphasize a theme. In the first scene at the Taft Hotel in The Graduate, Mrs. Robinson wears a fur coat that makes her look like a predator hunting for her pray. Her coat bears a pattern that resembles the fur of a cheetah. Or could it be a cougar?

 

 

Location

 

In Witness (1985), on the day after declining Rachel’s (Kelly McGillis) seduction, John Book (Harrison Ford) explains to her why nothing could have happened between them the night before. Quiet conveniently, the confrontation takes place in a barn, while Rachel is collecting eggs. The location emphasizes Rachel’s responsibilities as a woman. If they had made love and Rachel gotten pregnant, she would have to carry the baby and eventually give birth. Also, during the conversation, John stands outside the barn, thus being separated from Rachel by the barn’s door. In this case, the door functions as a metaphor of the social and cultural barriers that keeps them a part.

 

The final confrontation in The Graduate takes place in a church. Ben tries to prevent Elaine (Katherine Ross) from getting married, but he arrives too late. Nonetheless, when Elaine sees him, she runs to him, and they run away. When the couple is cornered by infuriated parents and relatives, Ben starts swinging a cross to avoid them. Stepping out, Ben uses the cross to hold the church’s doors shut.

 

The prop (cross) and location (church) impose a comment on religious institutions, perhaps implying that Elaine’s parents are trapped by traditional believes and practices.

 

Shot, Scene, Sequence

SCENE, SHOT; SEQUENCE

 

The terms scene, shot and sequence are sometimes misunderstood.

 

Scene defines the place or setting where the action is laid . This expression is borrowed from stage productions, where an act may be divided into several scenes, each of which is set in  a different locale. A scene may consist of one shot or series of shots depicting a continuous event.

 

Shot defines a continuous view filmed by one camera without interruption. Each shot is a take.

When additional shots of the same action are filmed from the same set-up - because of technical or dramatic mistakes - the subsequent shots are called re-takes. If the set-up is changed in any way - camera moved, lens changed, or different action filmed - it is a new shot, not are-take.

 

A sequence is a series of scenes, or shots , complete in itself. A sequence may occur in a single setting, or in several settings. Action should match in a sequence whenever it continues across several consecutive shots with straight cuts - so that it depicts the event in a continuous manner, as in real life. A sequence may begin as an exterior scene, and continue inside a building, as the players enter and settle down to talk or perform.  A sequence may begin or en d with a fade or dissolve; or it may be straight-cut with bracketing sequences.

 

Confusion arises when the terms scene and shot are used interchangeably. Individual shots in a script are referred to as scenes. But , a master scene script would require a number of shots to film the entire event. In such cases, a single scene number may be used and the shots designated by letters a, b, c, etc . While production personnel may consider a single take as a shot, they refer to the shot by scene number. For practical purposes,  therefore, scene and shot arc generally interchangeable.

 

A shot - or a portion of a shot - is also referred to as a cut. This term is derived from a portion of a shot which is cut out and used separately such as a cut of a player's silent reaction removed from a dialogue sequence.

 

A short note on Raj Kapoor

Ranbir Raj Kapoor (14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988), also known as "The Show Man", was a noted Indian film actor, producer and director of Hindi cinema. He was called the ‘Clark Gable’ of the Indian film industry.  He was the winner of 2 National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards in India, and a two-time nominee for the Palme d'Or grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his films Awaara (1951) and Boot Polish (1954). His performance in Awaara was ranked as one of the top ten greatest performances of all time by Time magazine. His films attracted worldwide audiences, particularly in Asia and Europe. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1971 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1987 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.

 

Raj Kapoor was born in Dhakki Munawwar Shah near Qissa Khwani in Peshawar, (then) India (modern day North Pakistan). His Parents were to Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsarni Devi Kapoor. He was the eldest of six children in the family. His brothers are actors Shashi Kapoor and the late Shammi Kapoor. He also had a sister named Urmila Sial. Two other siblings died in infancy. They later on moved from Peshawar into Punjab for residence and for education.

 

At the age of ten, he appeared in films for the first time, in 1935's Inquilab. After acting in several films over the next 12 years, Raj Kapoor's big break came with the lead role in Neel Kamal (1947) opposite Madhubala in her first role as a leading lady. In 1948, at the age of twenty-four, he established his own studio, R. K. Films, and became the youngest film director of his time making his directorial debut with Aag starring himself, Nargis, Kamini Kaushal and Premnath. In 1949 he co-starred alongside Dilip Kumar and Nargis in Mehboob Khan's hit film Andaz which was his first major success as an actor. He had his first success as producer, director and star of Barsaat released later that year.

 

He went on to produce and star in several hit films made under his R.K. Banner including Awaara (1951), Shree 420 (1955), Chori Chori (1956), Jagte Raho (1956) and Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (1960), the last was directed by Radhu Karmakar, his longtime cinematographer, and which won Filmfare Award for Best Film. These films established his screen image modeled on Charlie Chaplin's most famous screen persona of The Tramp.

 

 Outside of his home productions, his other notable films as a leading actor included Anhonee (1952), Aah (1953), Anari (1959), Chhalia (1960) and Dil Hi To Hai (1963). He also produced the hit social films Boot Polish (1954) and Ab Dilli Door Nahin (1957).

 

In 1964, he produced, directed and starred in the romantic musical Sangam alongside Rajendra Kumar and Vyjayantimala which was his first film in colour. This was his last major success as a leading actor as his later films like Around the World (1966) and Sapnon Ka Saudagar (1968) with younger starlets Rajshree and Hema Malini which failed at the box-office. In 1965 he was a member of the jury at the 4th Moscow International Film Festival.

 

In 1970 he produced, directed and starred in his ambitious film Mera Naam Joker which took more than six years to complete. His son Rishi Kapoor made his debut in this film playing the younger version of his character. When released in 1970, at the time, it was a box office disaster and put Kapoor and his family into a financial crisis. It was a movie before its time. Today, it  acknowledged as a cult classic.

In 1971, he launched his eldest son Randhir Kapoor in the family drama Kal Aaj Aur Kal starring himself, his son Randhir, his father Prithviraj Kapoor as well as Randhir's would-be-wife Babita. He launched his second son Rishi Kapoor's career in 1973 when he produced and directed Bobby which was a huge box office success and introduced actress Dimple Kapadia, later a very popular actress; it was the first of a new generation of teen romances. Dimple wore bikinis which was quite unique for Indian films then. In 1975 he acted alongside his son Randhir again in Dharam Karam, which Randhir also directed.

 

In the latter half of the 1970s and early 1980s he produced and directed films that focused on the female protagonists: Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) with Zeenat Aman, Prem Rog (1982) with Padmini Kolhapure and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985) which introduced Mandakini.

 

He acted in fewer films by the late 1970s and early 1980s but played a notable supporting role alongside Rajesh Khanna in Naukri (1978) and as the titular character alongside Sanjay Khan in Abdullah (1980). He played a detective in two comedy films directed by Naresh Kumar Do Jasoos (1975) and Gopichand Jasoos (1982). In 1979 he was a member of the jury at the 11th Moscow International Film Festival.

 

 Raj Kapoor's last major film appearance was in Vakil Babu (1982) where he appeared with his younger brother Shashi. His last acting role was a cameo appearance in a 1984 released British made-for-television film titled Kim.

 

He was set to direct Henna starring his son Rishi and Pakistani actress Zeba Bakhtiar before his death in 1988. His son Randhir directed the film and it released in 1991.

 

 

Raj Kapoor suffered from asthma in his later years; he died of complications related to asthma in 1988 at the age of 63. He collapsed at the event where he was to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, and was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for treatment. He was hospitalised for about a month before he succumbed to complications arising from his asthma. At the time of his death, he was working on the movie Henna (an Indo-Pakistan based love story). The film was later completed by his sons Randhir and Rishi Kapoor and was released in 1991.

 

 

Raj Kapoor is appreciated both by film critics and movie fans. Film historians and movie buffs speak of him as the "Charlie Chaplin of Indian cinema," since he often portrayed a tramp-like figure, who, despite adversity, was still cheerful and honest. His fame spread worldwide.

 

He was adored by audiences in large parts of Africa, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union, China, and Southeast Asia; his movies were global commercial successes. Raj had the knack of getting the best out of any one, since he had mastered all departments of film making and even marketing them.

When Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru died in 1964 coinciding with release of Sangam, he took the opportunity to create a scene when Gopal’s ashes were immersed in Ganges, like Pandit Nehru described in his poetic will. His films reflected the Era in which it was made.

 

He had a great understanding of the public taste and a great sense of Box-Office. He was one of the pioneers of the Indian cinema, who talked about the potential of Hindi cinema emerging as a great revenue earner from the world market in fifties, which has become a reality today.

 

Many of Raj Kapoor's movies had a patriotic theme. His films Aag, Shree 420 and Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (In the country where the Ganges flows) celebrated the newly independent India, and encouraged film-goers to be patriots.

Raj Kapoor commissioned these famous lyrics for Mera Joota Hai Japani, a song from the movie Shree 420:

 

Mera joota hai Japani (My shoes are Japanese)

Ye patloon Inglistani (These trousers are English)

Sar pe lal topi Roosi (The red cap on my head is Russian)

Phir bhi dil hai Hindustani (But still, however, my heart is Indian)

 

The song is still extremely popular and has been featured in a number of movies since Shree 420 was released. Indian author Mahasweta Devi stopped the show with her inaugural speech at the 2006 Frankfurt Book Fair when she used these lyrics to express her own heartfelt patriotism and debt to her country.

 

Raj Kapoor was an astute judge of film music and lyrics. Many of the songs he commissioned are evergreen hits. He introduced the music directors Shankar-Jaikishan and the lyricists Hasrat Jaipuri and Shailendra. He is also remembered for his strong sense of visual style. He used striking visual compositions, elaborate sets, and dramatic lighting to complete the mood set by the music. He introduced the actresses Nimmi, Dimple Kapadia, and Mandakini, as well as launching and reviving the careers of his sons Rishi, Randhir and Rajiv. He was also famous for making his actresses wear revealing clothing which was not very common in Indian cinema.

 

A postage stamp, bearing his face, was released by India Post to honour him on 14 December 2001. To honour him, a brass statue of him was unveiled at Walk of the Stars at Bandra Bandstand in Mumbai in March 2012.

 

 

What is a vox-pop? Write a note on the vox-pop.

‘Vox populi’ is the voice of the people, or ‘man in the street ‘ interview. The useof the opinions of the ‘ordinary’ members of the public adds a useful dimension to news coverage, to magazine shows, and to radio documentaries.

 

the principle is for the broadcaster using a portable recorder to put one or possibly two specific questions on a matter of public interest to people selected by chance, and to edit together their replies to form a distillation of the overall response.

 

The vox pop aims to present only a sample of public opinion. The broadcaster cannot claim that it is statically valid. This is because gathering material out in the streets for, say, an afternoon magazine programme will almost certainly over- represent shoppers, tourists, and the unemployed; and be low on businessmen, motorists, night-shift workers or farmers!

 

It is easier to select a specific grouping appropriate to a particular topic - for example if the question is to do with healthcare, then the broadcaster standing near the gates of a hospital will get his relevant responses, because he is apt to meet patients, nurses, and other people who may have a valid opinion on the questions he poses. It is ethical to mention the location of the vox pop on your programme, so the listener knows where and when it was gathered.

 

Phrasing the question

 

The question is the most important part of the vox-pop. It is important that the question be phrased so that it contains the point to which reaction is required. The more complex and varied the questioning, the more difficult will be the subsequent editing.

 

The vox-pop producer must remember that he is not conducting an opinion poll, or assembling data. The objective of vox-pop is to make interesting radio which has to make sense in a limited context.

 

The characteristic of the vox -pop is that in the final result, the interviewer’s voice does not appear. The replies must be such that they can be joined together without further explanation to the listener, and hence the technique is distinguished from simply a succession of interviews. the conversations should not be so complex that the interviewee’s contribution cannot stand on its own.

 

Choosing the site

 

If the questioning is to be crried out among a specific group, this may itself dictate the choice of location.

 

If the material is to be collected generally, then the site or sits chosen will be limited by technical factors, so as to permit easy editing at a later stage. the background noise should be low but essentially constant. the listener expects to hear some background actuality, so it cannot be excluded altogether.

 

The recorder

 the machine and its microphone should be tested before leaving for the vox-pop.on site a further check must be made to ensure that there is an adequate speech level against the background audio or noise. In order to maintain the same background level, it is preferable to use a machine with manual rather than automatic recording controls.

 

Different speech volumes can be compensated for by the positioning of the microphone relative to the speaker. To simplify the editing, only the actual replies may be recorded. this can be done by using the pause button effectively.

 

The editing

 

the editor should remember that spontaneity, variety, insight and humour are the hallmarks of the good ‘vox-pop’. The first step would be to remove anything that is not totally intelligible. This must be done before the editor’s ear gets attuned to the sound. The rejection of material which is not of first class audio quality is the first prerequisite. the finished product should not be a confusing jumble.

The editor should not keep in too many similar answers, otherwise the vx pop will be repetitive and boring.

In case one of the answers are good but lengthy, the editor may cut the audio into sections, and place them in different places within the vox-pop.

 The editor must look for a good comment to end the vox-pop on.

Used properly, the vox-pop is another colour in the broadcaster’s palette.  It provides contrast with studio material. It reflects accurately what people are saying. It helps the listener to identify wit the radio station and enhances its credibility.

Write a note about DW Griffith

David Wark Griffith   (born January 22, 1875, in  Floydsfork, Kentucky, U.S.—died July 23, 1948, Hollywood, California), was a  pioneer American motion-picture director. He is sometimes called ‘The man who made Hollywood’. D.W. Griffith was one of cinema's earliest directors and producers, known for his innovations and for directing the 1915 film ‘Birth of a Nation’.

 

He  developed many of the basic techniques of filmmaking, in such films as The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916), Broken Blossoms (1919), Way Down East (1920), Orphans of the Storm (1921), and The Struggle (1931).

 

Films

 

By 1908, Griffith had entered the new world of moviemaking. He did acting work for the New York City film companies Edison and Biograph and went on to become a director of hundreds of shorts for the latter company, working with actors like Lionel Barrymore, Mary Pickford and the Gish sisters. He started to develop two-reel works and eventually made the four-reel film Judith of Bethulia.

 

Griffith appeared as an actor in one film for the Edison Company, Rescued from an Eagle’s Nest, under Porter’s direction, and in several films for the Biograph Company. When an opening for a director developed at Biograph, Griffith was hired. From 1908 to 1913, Griffith made more than 400 films for Biograph, the majority in the one-reel format, lasting approximately 12 minutes.

 

 His first film as director was The Adventures of Dollie (1908), about a baby stolen by and recovered from Gypsies. During the latter part of his employment, he experimented with longer films; his last Biograph film, Judith of Bethulia (1913), a biblical story of Judith and Holofernes, based loosely on a play of the same title by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, comprised four reels.

 

 'Birth of a Nation': First US Blockbuster

 

He independently directed Birth of a Nation, released in 1915 and telling the story of the Civil War and Reconstruction era. Adapted from the book The Clansmen, the work was seen as the first U.S. blockbuster and has been praised for its pioneering storytelling forms, greatly influencing modern moviemaking and shaping ideas around audience cultivation.

 

Racist Themes

 

‘Birth of a Nation’, however, was blatantly racist and distorted history, with its demeaning depictions of African Americans and a storyline that positioned the creation of the Ku Klux Klan as a means of vengeance over a woman's death. The film earned much criticism, and riots broke out during showings. Over the decades, Nation has continued to spur outrage and dialogue.

 

Later Work

 

Griffith's next film, was  ‘Intolerance (1916)’. It was innovative in its narrative structure by juxtaposing four different locales and eras. Then in 1919, Griffith co-founded United Artists with Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Mary Pickford, with the production company serving as a distributor for his films. Griffith continued his output with works like 1919's Broken Blossoms (which was about an inter-ethnic romance), Way Down East (1920), Orphans of the Storm (1921) and America (1924).

 

He made two pictures with sound, Abraham Lincoln (1930) and The Struggle (1931). Yet Griffith's sensibilities were considered out of sync with the evolving tone of film and he was unable to find work, though he did donate prints of his movies to the Museum of Modern Art.

 

He lived in hotels during his later years and died in Hollywood, California, on July 23, 1948.

 

Contribution to Cinema

 

 Griffith was highly innovative with his filmmaking techniques, utilizing cross-cutting, close-ups and fade outs to distinctive effect, cultivating a deeper emotional milieu.

 

Griffith identified that the shot, not the scene was the basic unit of cinema.

 

He developed and used the basic shots: Long shot, close-up, mid shot, as well as the extreme close up and extreme long shot.

 

Griffith discovered that the emotional content of the scene, not the location of the scene, determined the correct placement of his camera and the correct moment to cut from one perspective to another. This is often called the grammar and rhetoric of film.

 

Griffith introduced frequent camera movement (pan and travelling shots), and cross-cutting technique .

 

He experimented with artificial lighting in films and  was the first to use lighting to indicate mood.

 

He was the pioneer director who demanded natural acting from his actors, and  began casting actors to fit their roles according to their physical type. He demanded rehearsals before shooting.

 

He made several types of films, and was an acclaimed director of the silent era. No wonder he was called  ‘The man who made Hollywood’.