HB

Film Studies Lecture Notes

Mise-en-Scène

Mise-en-scène encompasses all elements within a film frame: sets, props, lighting, costumes, and actors. It sets the visual tone and mood.

Setting

  • Set Design: Defines the physical environment where the story occurs.
  • Color Palette: Influences mood and atmosphere.
  • Props: Objects to convey themes or information.

Costume, Hair, and Make-up

These elements define characters’ personalities, periods, and statuses, indicating their psychological state.

Lighting Techniques

  • Hard Lighting: Creates harsh shadows, used for drama.
  • Soft Lighting: Produces flattering, gentle shadows.
  • 3-Point Lighting: Includes a key light, fill light, and back light for balance.
  • High-Key vs. Low-Key: High-key is bright and even; low-key features stark contrasts.

Color and Mood

Color temperature (warm vs. cool) impacts emotional tone.

Performance & Staging

  • Performance: Encompasses gestures, expressions, and voice; influenced by realism, individuality, or stylization.
  • Staging: Positioning and movement of actors.

Camera and Composition

  • Shot Types: CU (Close-Up) focuses on the subject; ELS (Extreme Long Shot) establishes setting.
  • Balanced Composition: Even visual weight; unbalanced creates tension.
  • Rule of Thirds: Placing elements along grid lines enhances interest.

Framing and Angles

  • Headroom: Space above actors' heads.
  • Hitchcock’s Rule: Importance indicated by shot size.
  • Camera Angles: Low angle suggests power; high angle implies vulnerability.
  • Movement: Techniques include tilt, pan, and dolly.

Editing Techniques

  • Long Take: Extended shot for dramatic effect.
  • High vs. Low Contrast: High creates drama; low appears softer.
  • Freeze Frame: Emphasizes a moment; utilizes telephoto lens for magnification.
  • Pacing: Quick cuts speed up rhythm; cross-cutting builds tension.

Sound in Film

  • Sound Characteristics: Pitch, fidelity; external vs. internal sounds.
  • Score: Enhances emotional tone; silence conveys tension.
  • Foley Effects: Artificial sounds created post-production.

Genre and Iconography

  • Functions of Sound: Enhance realism, evoke emotions, signal shifts.
  • Genre: Categories defining films by themes and stylistic traits, serving as a blueprint and marketing tool.
  • Iconography: Recurring elements like lighting in horror and technology in sci-fi.

Themes in Genre Theory

  • Rites of Order vs. Rites of Integration: Protagonists' journeys to restore order or reintegrate into society.
  • Empiricist’s Dilemma: Challenges objective study of genre and cultural phenomena.