Key Media Concepts

      Mise-en-scène:

Mise-en-scène refers to everything that appears before the camera and its arrangement such as;

·         Composition

·         Production Design (sets, props and costumes)

·         Actors’ performance (including casting and make up) and movement (blocking)

·         Colour (present in both production design and lighting)

·         Costumes

·         Lighting

·         Framing including position; depth of field; aspect ratio; height and angle (but not movement)

·         Diagetic sound  (music that is not being played within the scene or a voice-over)

·          Location

It is also an expression which is generally used in theatre and film to describe the aspects of a production. This is generated through the construction of shots and the ways in which they lead to visual coherence flowing across the edits from shot to shot.

Location is an important aspect of mise-en-scène because it makes you contemplate: why was that particular location chosen, what atmosphere was it intending to create and what advantages/restrictions would you associate with filming there?  Henceforth, location is a key factor which contributes to the overall effect of a film/music video/theatre production which you need to consider before filming.

      Mise-en-shot:

Mise-en-shot refers to the process of converting mise-en-scène into moving pictures and shots which is usually done through the main factors below:

•     Camera position
•     Camera movement
•     Shot scale (LS/MS/CU etc)
•     Duration of the single shot
•     Depth of focus

Camera Shots:

•  Close-up (CU): This shot is generally used to show the reaction of a character.
• Medium Shot (MS): This shot is used to show the background and also the appearance of characters
• Long Shot (LS): A long shot is used to establish the setting/location of where the action will take place.
• High Angle Shot: This is usually used to create a feeling that a character is vulnerable.
• Low Angle Shot: Creates a feeling of power and superiority. It can also be considered as a point-of-view shot (P.O.V shot) on the part of the threatened character. The camera is tilted upwards on its axis.
• Extreme Close-up: This often creates a feeling of unease as we don't know what else is happening around it as the focus is on what's in the shot. It also shows us the emotion and reactions of characters.
• Point-of-View Shot (P.O.V): This helps the narrative and evokes sympathy in us as we feel involvement in the situation. It also shows the reactions of characters e.g. during an interview, or confrontation.
• Two Shot: A shot with two characters in the frame.

Camera Movement: 

• Tracking Shot: The camera follows the action and is often pulled backwards from a scene along tracks laid for that purpose.
• Panning Shot: The camera moves slowly across from side to side.
• Tilt Shot: The camera moves up and down.
• Rolling Shot: The camera moves diagonally making the image appear in a crooked position.
• Crane: The camera is positioned on a crane above ground level.

      Principles of Continuity:

     Continuity refers to the flow of shots used to convey realism. After all of the footage has been filmed and edited, the shots need to coincide with one another to ensure that the footage flows together in order to portray a sense of reality to the audience. This is vital to ensure that the audience are receiving the right atmosphere and sense of action. 

       Representation:

      Representation refers to the construction in any medium of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.

The term refers to the main four factors; Class, Age, Gender and Ethnicity. Representation not only concerns how identities are represented, but also how they are received by people whose identities are different e.g. the issue of 'the gaze'. How do men look at images of women, women at men, men at men and women at women?

Narrative:

A narrative is a made up story that is created in a constructive format (as a work of speech, literature, pictures, song,  motion pictures,  television, video games, theatre, musical theatre or dance) that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events.

In its simplest sense, narrative is the telling of the story. Narrative theory uses the term in a more complex manner: to point to such formal aspects as who tells the story, how much knowledge the teller has, the order in which the events are told etc.