Film Reels And Visions (Erin Mc Neice's Moving Image Arts Blog)

Mise-en-scene Mise-en-scene is the arrangement of scenery, props and other things on the set of a movie. It pertains to the visual style of the movie, and all the aspects that serve to establish and create that style. Production Design Production design is the process of creating a film's Mise-en-scene. The production designer usually works in collaboration with a film's director in order to determine the visual style the movie is going for, and then they work together in order to perfect it. Example: This still from Moulin Rogue shows how production design can determine the tone and aesthetic of a film. Location/Setting The location/setting of a movie is integral to its mise-en-scene; so much of a film's visual style can rely on where the movie is set. For example, a film set in a desert wasteland would have a vastly different mise-en-scene than a film set in modern-day New York City. It can also reflect a character's state of mind though how it p

Cinematography Cinematography is the art of photography and camerawork in cinema; the act of framing shots in an attempt to make a film more immersive or to add a unique visual and artistic style to a film. Chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro is a technique used to highlight a light subject in a dark setting to add additional dramatic tension to a scene. Example: The home office scenes in The Godfather. Contrast Contrast is the difference in colour or luminesce that makes an object distinguishable in a scene. Example: Sin City frequently uses this technique to enhance its comic book style. Low Contrast lighting/ High-Contrast lighting Low-contrast lighting is softer lighting, without any hard shadows, while High-Contrast lighting is lighting that used harder light to enhance shadows. Also known as High-key and Low-key lighting. High-key/High-contrast lighting can be used to create sharp shadows. Example: Two different shots from Rear Window.

Composition and focus Framing Framing is a technique used in both film and photography meant to give shots context, draw eyes towards the primary focal point and giving shots a sense of depth- which, of course, immerses an audience into the movie. Example: Rule of thirds The rule of thirds is the rule of aligning a subject with guidelines and their intersection points of a grid. Example(s): A variety of examples from movie trailers Depth of field  Depth of field is the distance between the nearest images and the furthest images that appear visably sharp in a shot or image. Example of shallow depth: Example of deep depth: Focus pulls/rack focus Racking focus is the act of switching the focal point from one subject to another by sharpening its image; for example, if the subject is in the background then the foreground image becomes sharper, and if the subject is in the foreground the opposite occurs. Example: Yo