To be honest, when I first entered the class I had taunted my friend with a “How hard can this be?” Little did I know it took lots of time and effort to create even a semi-decent film. The amount of patience and persistence needed to produce a film is immense. It is almost unbelievable. But it’s not… Now that I have gone behind the curtain and visualized what actually occurs, it is easy to believe that a good film can take years to perfect. As of current, it has felt as if we have covered several months’ worth of material, but in reality, we have just started. We have learned about many different aspects which affect a film’s tone, mood, and the film overall, other than the actual dialogue. These aspects include mise-en-scene, camera angles, and camera distances. I am aware that there are many more aspects, however, these are the ones we have learned so far. I won’t bore you with a bunch of specific details, but I will tell you how each aspect independently affects a specific scene.
Right now you may be asking yourself… “What in the world is Mise-en-scene?” Well, mise-en-scene is “the arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a play” or “the setting or surroundings of an event or action.” All in all, mise-en-scene is the “visual theme” of a specific scene.
Now you may be wondering, how does filming a scene from different angles create emotion or tone? This is when I jump in and say “because it does.” I’m just kidding… however, in order for me to explain you must first learn about the different camera angles themselves. Firstly, there is the eye level angle. This angle is practically someone staring at you right in the eye, And it is done by pointing the camera straight ahead. Secondly, we have a low angle. This angle is basically how short people normally look at tall people. Therefore, the camera is pointed up from a lower angle. Thirdly, there is the opposite of low angle… can you guess? The high angle is basically how tall people look at short people. Therefore the camera points down from a higher angle. Then there is the dutch angle or tilted angle. And then the over the shoulder which really isn’t a proper angle but was put into this category anyway. Alright now, that we got that stuff out of the way I will quickly explain the meanings they carry. The reason for using an eye-level angle is mainly to remain objective. The low angle creates a sense of domination. It causes the subject to seem dominant and superior to the others. The high angle creates a sense of inferiority. Forces the subject to seem small and inferior. The dutch angle or tilt creates a sense of unbalance. This angle can be used to show how the scene/ subject is uneasy or create tension in the scene. And the over the shoulder “angle” isn’t really used to show emotion. It is more so for following the subject or giving the audience the ability to feel as if we are actually in the scene looking at what the subject is looking.
Then there was one. Camera distance does not really give the scene emotion or tone. Rather, it helps us with understanding the subject’s feelings and the overall setting. For example, the close-up shows the audience the subjects facial expressions allowing us to determine what the subject is going through. Then there is the extreme close-up, which is usually used to highlight or emphasize the subject’s eyes or mouth. Zooming out a little father will lead you into a medium shot. This is used to show about half the person which allows the audience to see the subjects body language, whilst eliminating the distracting background. Zooming out further will get you into a long shot which adds location to the subject and scene. And the extreme long shot focuses more on the location rather than the actual subject.
Function Films 