An Introduction to Film

Questions for Review

1. What is the literal meaning of the phrase
   mise-en-scène? What do we mean by this
   phrase more generally when we discuss
   movies?


2. What are the two major visual components of
   mise-en-scène?


3. Does a movie’s mise-en-scène happen by acci-
   dent? If not, what or who determines it?


4. What are the principal responsibilities of the
   production designer?


5. Name and briefly discuss the major elements
   of cinematic design.


6. What is composition? What are the two major
   elements of composition?


7. What is the difference between the static
   frame and the moving frame?


8. Why do most shots in a film rely on both
   on-screen and offscreen spaces?


9. What are the essential differences between
   the open frame and the closed frame?


10. What are the two basic types of movement
    that we see on-screen?

Movies Described or Illustrated in This Chapter

Æon Flux(2005). Karyn Kusama, director.

The Age of Innocence(1993). Martin Scorsese, director.

Alice in Wonderland(2010). Tim Burton, director.

American Beauty(1999). Sam Mendes, director.

An American in Paris (1951). Vincente Minnelli,

director.

Avatar(2009). James Cameron, director.

The Bad Sleep Well(1960). Akira Kurosawa, director.

The Best Years of Our Lives(1946). William Wyler,

director.

Black Swan(2010). Darren Aronofsky, director.

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century(1979). Daniel Haller,

director.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari(1920). Robert Wiene,

director.

Cabiria(1914). Giovanni Pastrone, director.

Chinatown(1974). Roman Polanski, director.

Citizen Kane(1941). Orson Welles, director.

City of God(2002). Fernando Meirelles and Kátia

Lund, directors.

Color Me Kubrick(2005). Brian W. Cook, director.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(2000). Ang Lee,

director.

The Crowd(1928). King Vidor, director.

The Darjeeling Limited (2007). Wes Anderson,

director.

The Dark Knight(2008). Christopher Nolan, director.

The Decalogue(1989). Krzysztof Kieslowski, director.

Edward Scissorhands(1990). Tim Burtor, director.

222 CHAPTER 5 MISE-EN-SCÈNE

DVDThe tutorials for this chapter cover set-

ting, lighting, and composition within the frame. An

additional feature called Drawing the Cokelooks at

the Lumiere brothers’ short “actualite” to demon-

strate the importance of mise-en-sc`ene even at the

very beginning of film history.

StudyspaceGo to wwnorton.com/movies

to test and expand your knowledge of the key con-

cepts in this chapter.