User Blog:
What I'm Learning in Film Class

Movies enchant me with stories of adventure and heroics; to escape the everyday for a while, and go on an epic quest. Only recently have I actually been studying movies. I take a film class now, because I want to be a film director. Now I have unlocked a whole other realm within movies that I have never noticed before.

I’m learning many things in my film class, but one of the major concepts that is really standing out to me is that of Mise-en-scène. This is the French term means “put in the scene”, meaning everything that goes into a scene in a movie. This means that the actors, lighting, props and setting are all a part of the Mise-en-scène of a film. Without Mise-en-scène there isn’t much a movie to watch.

Many movie goers enjoy Mise-en-scène without really knowing what it is, or its significance. It can set the mood for a story, without using words. As an example, lets use Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber, of Fleet Street. This movie is thick with Mise-en-scène. Any casual viewer will notice that the whole movie is showed in a darkish tint. This suggests the overall somberness of the film, and even the main characters thoughts and feelings.

But what if a movie isn’t that obvious? Movies like Sweeny Todd and Avatar are thick with Mise-en-scène but movies that aren’t so up front still have plenty of it. A movie like Cop Out shows off Mise-en-scène by not altering light, and keeping everything as normal looking as possible. So a film doesn’t need to throw this in your face, so sometimes you just have to have a keen eye for it.

Another thing I noticed because of film class is the meaning of camera movement and placing. This is often looked over because one is so into the movie itself. Camera movement is another way to express emotions. If the camera goes in for a close up, this might signify a realization a sudden feeling. Wide open shots tend to give the viewer the sense of awe and freedom.

I expected to not learn much from my film class, because I only thought films should be taken at face value. But to be a director, I have to stop thinking that way. For years I have accepted movies as a means to have fun. But now I see that films can do so much more. Documentaries, for example, open our eyes to the truth about many things, from genocide to pet cruelty, it’s all there. Action movies can give us the same message. Avatar was about the destruction we are doing to our planet.