Mise-en-Scene: Sneak Peek into Film Class
For this term, Lita is taking yet another film class, and as the first assignment of the term, each student needs to get to know an old film technique: Mise-en-Scene.
For this term, Lita is taking yet another film class, and as the first assignment of the term, each student needs to get to know an old film technique: Mise-en-Scene.
So…What are online classes like?
Even when moving the class online, professors and students alike strive to make the best of the class. That is what my film class did! Before classes started, I wondered what taking film without being able to borrow the professional filming equipment or doing the practical technical sessions would be like.
I was very surprised at the degree of adaptability by the production office and by my professors. The practical sessions were pre-recorded and posted online, ready for us to check them out. To replace the professional equipment, there are many cool apps that we can download and use on our phones to film, and the film department really put an effort into assisting us as we learned to use these apps.
Anyways, what is Mise-en-scene?
It is simply an old technique that is used to encompass film-making when cameras were too big to be mobile, and so a lot of the film-making was dependent on directing and staging.
For our first assignment, we were given the task of shooting with all the wide ranges of shots — extreme close-up, close-up, mid, far, and extreme far shots. The trick here is to make sure the narrative is clear through directing and staging because we were not allowed to move the camera.
How was the process of filming?
Although it was just a 1–2 minute assignment, I felt pressured to create something compelling. I think I want to practice putting intention into my film — that’s another important aspect of the cinema. Everything you decide to show the audience should be intentional in order to create the impact you want your film to have.
I finally decided on filming about a senior in college, and showing a sneak peak of what it’s like dealing with everything that is going on — the pandemic, being locked down, no commencement…etc.
So, here you go, the two films of different vibes that show that process — yes, two because I couldn’t decide on making one!
Graduation 2020 by Lita Theng
Graduation Be Like by Lita Theng
Lita hails all the way from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. When not riding horses, petting them, or sketching a picture of them, she blogs her philosophical brain dumps on Medium. Other than that, Lita is passionate about social impact startups and edu-tech. She plans on majoring in Computer Science, but who knows, she could simply switch to Studio Art and spend her days drawing horses. Hey, that’s why we’re at Carleton, am I right? Meet the other bloggers!