Chapter 4 The Shot Mise-En-Scene

CHAPTER 4 THE SHOT: MISE-EN-SCENE CHAPTER 4 THE SHOT: MISE-EN-SCENE Multiple-Choice Questions 1. Which of the following is NOT considered part of a shot’s mise-en-scene? a. the actors’ movements b. the camera’s angle on the action c. objects visible in the distance d. the shadows Answer: b Bloom’s level: Understand 2. A major example of a nonrealistic and expressionistic set design is a. Greed. b. Intolerance. c. The Spider’s Stratagem. d. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Answer: d Bloom’s level: Apply 3. The system of lighting widely used in classical Hollywood filmmaking is known as a. three-point lighting. b. five-point lighting. c. cast-shadow lighting. d. omnidirectional lighting. Answer: a Bloom’s level: Remember 4. Which of the following is NOT a term for a type of directional lighting? a. top lighting b. underlighting c. overlighting d. backlighting Answer: c Bloom’s level: Remember 5. Which of the following is NOT a type of lighting in the three-point lighting system? a. rack light b. backlight c. key light d. fill light Answer: a Bloom’s level: Remember CHAPTER 4 THE SHOT: MISE-EN-SCENE 6. According to Film Art, a film actor’s performance style is most affected by a. the microphone placement. b. the camera distance. c. the aspect ratio. d. the lighting. Answer: b Bloom’s level: Understand 7. “Frontality” of staging means that a. a character is placed in the extreme foreground of the shot. b. a character is facing toward the camera. c. one character blocks spectators’ views of another character. d. a character is moving toward the foreground. Answer: b Bloom’s level: Remember 8. Which of the following is NOT a motif in the mise-en-scene in Buster Keaton’s Our Hospitality? a. a sampler embroidered “Love Thy Neighbor” b. a fish-on-a-line motif c. a gun rack d. a dog-on-a-leash motif Answer: d Bloom’s level: Remember 9. Georges Méliès was a. an early director of fantasy films. b. an important French set designer of the 1930s. c. the director of Our Hospitality. d. the first historian to study mise-en-scene in the cinema. Answer: a Bloom’s level: Remember 10. Stop-action involves a. having actors stand in the same spot where they were at the end of one shot while the lighting is adjusted for the next shot. b. halting the filming in one set and moving on to another while shooting out of continuity. c. one actor in a scene refraining from any obvious movement after delivering a line so as not to call attention away from the actor who is responding. d. animating an object by changing its position between each frame shot. Answer: d Bloom’s level: Remember 11. Aerial perspective suggests depth by a. making more distant planes seem hazier than closer ones. CHAPTER 4 THE SHOT: MISE-EN-SCENE b. creating a high angle that makes parallel lines meet at the horizon. c. composing a shot that makes the sky dominate the image. d. filming from directly above a character or a setting. Answer: a Bloom’s level: Remember 12. Perspective diminution suggests depth by a. making parallel lines seem to intersect. b. creating false perspective by placing taller characters closer to the camera and shorter characters farther off. c. implying that the elements which are smaller in the shot tend to be farther away. d. reducing the cues for perspective so that the space appears relatively shallow. Answer: c Bloom’s level: Remember 13. Film scholars use the term mise-en-scene to describe the director’s control over a. where the film will be shot. b. what appears in the film frame. c. what actors will appear in the film. d. how long shooting will last. Answer: b Bloom’s level: Remember 14. In a film, a “highlight” refers to a. a significant scene that may become part of a movie trailer. b. acting that exceeds the director’s expectations. c. the climax of the story developed in the film. d. lighting that produces a patch of brightness on a surface. Answer: d Bloom’s level: Remember 15. A “prop” is an object in the setting that a. has a function in the action of the film. b. helps the actors remember their lines. c. supports large pieces of scenery. d. serves as a filler to make a set look complete. Answer: a Bloom’s level: Remember 16. Frontal lighting has a tendency to a. create shadows. b. distort images. c. eliminate shadows. d. sculpt a character’s features. Answer: c Bloom’s level: Understand CHAPTER 4 THE SHOT: MISE-EN-SCENE 17. The aspect of lighting that refers to the relative intensity of illumination is called a. density. b. quality. c. direction. d. color. Answer: b Bloom’s level: Remember 18. When filmmakers choose to control lighting, they typically use a. different colors of lighting. b. a soft, yellow, incandescent light. c. natural sources of lighting. d. a light that is as purely white as possible. Answer: d Bloom’s level: Remember 19. In a film, when actors engage in conversation, they usually a. look directly at each other and seldom blink. b. glance away often as they gather their thoughts. c. blink frequently to show that they are interested in the conversation. d. focus their gaze directly at the camera. Answer: a Bloom’s level: Remember 20. In classical Hollywood, an actor who was typecast a. typically played similar characters in different films. b. was directed to avoid portraying a specific stereotype. c. was directed to conform to audiences’ expectations. d. usually represented a social class or historical movement. Answer: c Bloom’s level: Remember 21. “Performance capture” focuses on filming a. the whole body. b. the face. c. background images. d. unexpected events. Answer: b Bloom’s level: Remember 22. The easiest way for a filmmaker to achieve compositional balance is to a. focus on figures on the right or the left. b. make the shot as wide as possible. c. center the frame on the human body. d. counterweight two or more elements. CHAPTER 4 THE SHOT: MISE-EN-SCENE Answer: c Bloom’s level: Remember 23. Which of the following is NOT a way in which a film suggests volume in a space? a. planes b. shape c. shading d. movement Answer: a Bloom’s level: Remember 24. Depth cues that create the illusion of depth requiring input from only one eye are a. monochromatic. b. monotone. c. monolithic. d. monocular. Answer: d Bloom’s level: Remember 25. In shallow-space composition, the closest and most distant planes appear a. blurred. b. only slightly separated. c. significantly separated. d. indistinguishable. Answer: b Bloom’s level: Remember 26. Which statement about film acting is TRUE? a. Unlike stage actors, film actors must usually overplay their roles. b. Film actors typically act in a more restrained manner than stage actors. c. Film actors must adjust their movements based on camera distance. d. Film actors are less concerned with facial expressions than stage actors. Answer: c Bloom’s level: Understand 27. Which of the following is NOT a term used to describe how far away from the camera a plane is? a. near ground b. foreground c. background d. middle ground Answer: a Bloom’s level: Remember 28. Movement is an important depth cue because it suggests a. size diminution. CHAPTER 4 THE SHOT: MISE-EN-SCENE b. balance of composition. c. aerial perspective. d. both volumes and planes. Answer: d Bloom’s level: Understand 29. When a filmmaker employs a limited palette, he or she uses a. a simple setting with few props. b. only a few colors in the same range. c. a small cast of actors. d. only one or two camera angles. Answer: b Bloom’s level: Remember 30. The term key light refers to a. subdued lighting. b. background lighting. c. the primary light source. d. a natural light source. Answer: c Bloom’s level: Remember True-False Questions 31. The two most basic types of light in a scene are the key and the rim. Answer: False Bloom’s level: Remember 32. Georges Méliès’s “Star-Film” studio was designed to give him control over every aspect of mise-en-scene. Answer: True Bloom’s level: Remember 33. Animated films, like live-action films, have mise-en-scene. Answer: True Bloom’s level: Understand 34. Unplanned events that are filmed by accident are not part of the mise-en-scene of a shot. Answer: False Bloom’s level: Understand 35. Marlon Brando’s performance in On the Waterfront was considered a major example of realistic acting in its day. Answer: True Bloom’s level: Remember CHAPTER 4 THE SHOT: MISE-EN-SCENE 36. Films shot in the studio have mise-en-scene, whereas films made entirely on location do not. Answer: False Bloom’s level: Understand 37. “Fill” light is used to create deep shadows. Answer: False Bloom’s level: Remember 38. “Edge” lighting is a type of backlighting used to make characters stand out against a background. Answer: True Bloom’s level: Remember 39. In Hollywood studio filmmaking, the lights are kept in the same position throughout a scene, no matter where the camera is placed. Answer: False Bloom’s level: Remember 40. “High-key” lighting is typical of Hollywood filmmaking. Answer: True Bloom’s level: Remember 41. Soft, high-key lighting is associated with mystery stories, crime films, and films noir. Answer: False Bloom’s level: Remember 42. According to Film Art, realism is the most useful standard for evaluating actors’ performances. Answer: False Bloom’s level: Understand 43. Since the advent of sound, it is less important for actors to use their eyes, brow, and mouth to express character emotions. Answer: False Bloom’s level: Understand 44. German Expressionist films, such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, are characterized by realistic mise-en-scene and subtle, psychologically based acting. Answer: False Bloom’s level: Understand 45. “Warm” colors tend to attract the spectator’s eye more than “cool” colors. Answer: True Bloom’s level: Remember CHAPTER 4 THE SHOT: MISE-EN-SCENE 46. When balancing the shot, filmmakers assume that the viewer will concentrate on the lower half of the projected frame. Answer: False Bloom’s level: Remember 47. Most of the gags in Our Hospitality depend on shallow-space compositions. Answer: False Bloom’s level: Remember 48. Setting plays a less significant role in the cinema than it does in the theater. Answer: False Bloom’s level: Remember 49. In modern cinema, makeup is usually applied in such a way that it will not be noticed. Answer: True Bloom’s level: Remember 50. “Hard” lighting reveals well-defined shadows and crisp textures. Answer: True Bloom’s level: Remember Essay Questions 51. Describe and discuss the functions of the mise-en-scene in the shot or shots. Mention at least one example of each of the four major categories of mise-en-scene. Answer: Answers will vary Bloom’s level: Apply Instructor info: Leave a slide on the screen from a film shown in class that exemplifies all four aspects of mise-en-scene for the duration of this question, or show a brief clip a few times. 52. Discuss the problems with using realism as a criterion for evaluating films, giving specific examples from any of the films shown for this class. Answer: Answers will vary Bloom’s level: Analyze 53. Discuss which compositional elements (moving objects versus static ones, color, balance, and size) guide your eye around the screen in the shots in the clip. Be as specific as possible in your descriptions. Answer: Answers will vary Bloom’s level: Evaluate Instructor info: Show a brief clip from a film, preferably one the students have seen before; if the film is in black and white, substitute “lighting” for “color” in the question. CHAPTER 4 THE SHOT: MISE-EN-SCENE 54. Discuss how Michelangelo Antonioni uses mise-en-scene through time and space to tell the story in his film L’Avventura. Answer: Answers will vary Bloom’s level: Analyze Instructor info: You may wish to show the clip several times before the students begin writing. 55. Select a moment from relatively recent film, such as Silence of the Lambs or Jerry Maguire, and discuss how meaning is conveyed purely through the actor’s physical self. Answer: Answers will vary Bloom’s level: Evaluate 56. Discuss which depth cues (overlap, aerial perspective, size diminution) are used to create an illusion of three-dimensional space in these shots. Answer: Answers will vary Bloom’s level: Analyze Instructor info: Show a slide or a brief clip from a film, preferably one the students have seen. To make this question more challenging, eliminate “(overlap, aerial perspective, size diminution).” Questions 55 and 56 below could be used together with the same clip; show the clip a second time halfway through the time allotted for the questions. For more challenging questions, ask the students to name the compositional and depth cues in each question. Note that since movement is an important cue both for compositional attention and depth, these two questions work best with a clip, though they could be used with a slide. To make the question still more challenging, ask the students to discuss how the compositional elements and depth cues guide the spectator’s perception and how they function in the scene.