Week 8: Tools of the Trade 1: Film Language, Part 3 COMPOSITION, MISE EN SCENE, LIGHTING, FILM NOIR

The simple dictionary definition of composition is this: "The action of putting together or combining." Obviously, for an artist, there is more to this idea, and the principles of composition are older than photography and cinema. Most of the concepts have been used for hundreds and hundreds of years in the world of painting. The painter always begins with a flat, two-dimensional canvas. But, by using line, shape, perspective, and light and dark values, magic happens. First photographers and later filmmakers took many techniques from painters and repurposed them in innovative ways.

Stanley Kubrick, while making his period film Barry Lyndon, studied the works of 18th-century painters Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable, specifically to recreate scene compositions for his film as if they were actual paintings.

Let's look at some of the rules of composition:

Rule of Thirds (we have already discussed)

If you divide up a frame with two horizontal lines and two vertical lines, you get what you see above. There are now nine frames, but more importantly, lines that intersect at points. The thing to understand first is that the center frame is really boring! Remember, never be boring, or the audience will lose interest. The points created by the intersection of the lines are called points of interest. From a composition standpoint, these points of interest allow an artist to navigate in space to place important objects as needed, avoiding the center. Visually, these points of interest are easy on the eye. Next time you watch a film, try to imagine this grid within a shot. You will be amazed at how consistently this principle of composition is followed!

Size Within the Frame

The size of an object in the frame should equal its importance in the story at that moment.

Alfred Hitchcock                                                                                                                                      

At the beginning of this scene, Charles Kane is in the background and is dwarfed by the two characters in front. It seems that he has lost his power and financial status, but as the lawyer in front is reading a legal document that outlines a reversal of financial fortune that rules in Kane's favor, he moves towards the front of the frame and gets larger and larger. As we have seen several times already, a filmmaker is always dealing with two dimensions and the limitations of this space. Because of this, a principle of composition was created. Deep space composition is a way to integrate a sense of depth into a frame by placing visual and story-based information on two or more of the three planes of depth: the foreground, the middle ground, and the background.

In the image above, Kane, now all-powerful, is ending a friendship by distancing himself from his longtime ally, as well as another associate, who is pathetically small in the doorway.

Here's Hitchcock's classic use of this technique:

In this shot from the film Notorious, the cup of coffee in the foreground is full of poison!

Symmetry

Humans love symmetry. Sometimes, an auteur would want to break convention and replace the rule of thirds with a clear focus on center framing, but doing this with an eye on creating symmetry to make a powerful image. In film history, some of the most vividly striking scenes are the result of a filmmaker breaking the rules—after careful planning.

In this scene from Stanley Kubrick's film Full Metal Jacket, notice the symmetrical line of soldiers, reinforced by the square columns and beams going into the background, coupled with the intimidating approach toward the front by the drill sergeant. Kubrick loved to play with symmetry.

Contrast

Contrast is one of the main components in successful design. When it comes to comparing a boring image or shot composition to a visually exciting one, contrastplays the key difference.

When considering contrast, you can include light and dark, large or small, or colors that have low or high contrast values. Contrast is a great way for a filmmaker to guide the eye around a frame's composition.

In this scene from The Third Man, the silhouette of this character running is the darkest part of the frame; this makes it the logical place for the viewer's eye to look.

Mise-en-Scène

Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out.

Martin Scorsese

Translated into English, the phrase mise-en-scene means "placing on stage" and is derived from live theater. The term refers to all the visual elements used on stage to create meaning for the story. Adapted for film, it is all about composing the frame. We say it is the arrangement of everything that appears in the frame, so we can take all what was discussed above and include in mise-en-scène the following:

costume,

hair and makeup,

and all the various props necessary to make a memorable scene. Remember, this also includes camera movement within a frame as well as shot sizes, angles, lighting, and color.

Because mise-en-scène includes costumes and hair and makeup, you can see how visual elements are key in introducing important characters in a film.

We can all agree that the first impression a character makes in a film will greatly affect how an audience will react to that character.

What Mise-En-Scene elements do you see in the opening shot, that tells us about Forrest Gump's Unique Personality?

Forrest takes a feather that floats down next to him as he sits at a bus stop, waiting for a bus to arrive. The camera reveals a small suitcase on his left, which he opens in order to put the feather in a book. With the suitcase open, we see several items that are very important mementos from his life. If you have seen the film, you will remember that he tells his life story at this bus stop. The Ping-Pong paddles, the campaign buttons next to them, and the Bubba Gump hat are all linked to key events in Forrest's life. They are also clues to Forrest's unique personality. The book that he puts the feather in is Curious George. In this visual introduction, we see that Forrest is a middle-aged man, but when we see that the only reading material he has amongst his possessions is a children's book, we start to think that although physically he is a grown man, mentally he is most likely still a child.

Besides playing the principal role in character identity and introductions, mise-en-scène also governs where and what a character is doing. When a character is looking at something, they are typically placed at one end of a frame. This is done to create a sense of balance, because the empty space gives the character's gaze room to see what they are looking at on the opposite side. This is known as eye room or looking room.

With the vast expanse of the desert environment playing a key role in the story, we can see the practical application of eye room in action.

Another aspect of "placing on the stage" involves frame size, technically known as aspect ratio. Ever wonder why you always saw this message at the beginning of every movie on a VHS cassette or DVD?

Early films (the first 40 years of them, in fact) were limited to a specific screen size or aspect ratio, which in simple terms is the ratio of the width of an image to its height. The early films, including Citizen Kane, were shot is an aspect ratio of 4:3, known as the Academy ratio.

Citizen Kane, Academy Ratio

As technology advanced, new and wider aspect ratios were created. In the 1950s, the 16:9 format became very popular. This wide-screen format was the result of Hollywood's desperate attempt to get people to leave their televisions at home and come see something unique and spectacular. Later versions of the wide-screen format include 2.35:1, also known as ultra-wide screen:

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Cinematic storytellers know that each aspect ratio inherently has some emotional effect for the viewer. Big idea films require big aspect ratios.