Chapter 5: Mise-en-Scène
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. In film analysis, the term “mise–en–scène” refers to
a. everything the audience sees in every shot.
b. the technique of editing from shot to shot.
c. a method of determining the length of each scene.
d. only those objects and people who appear in the foreground of a shot.
e. everything in the frame except lighting and composition.
2. One of the first and most important collaborators hired by a director is the ________, who helps
develop the overall look of a movie.
a. production designer d. engineer
b. editor e. camera operator
c. makeup artist
3. Which of the following falls under the supervision of a movie’s production designer?
a. the choice of lenses, cameras, and film stock
b. the casting of actors
c. the actors’ performances
d. the pacing, tempo, and rhythm of the final film
e. the costumes, set construction, and hairstyling
4. The spatial and temporal ________ of a film is the environment in which the narrative takes place.
a. framing d. scene
b. setting e. genre
c. boundaries
5. During the first twenty years of moviemaking, directors preferred to shoot in/on ________ locations.
a. interior d. remote
b. exterior e. exotic
c. soundstage
6. What did movie studios hope to gain by building soundstages after the first two decades of
filmmaking?
a. authenticity d. available light
b. natural depth e. unpredictability
c. cost savings
7. Sets are often built on a ________, which is a windowless, soundproofed, interior shooting
environment.
a. stadium d. theater
b. back lot e. soundstage
c. camera booth
8. Arrival’s alien egg-shaped craft, which seems to be made of stone and has interiors that are spare,
organic, and enormous, is an example of
a. the largest interior set in existence.
b. subverting established movie expectations.
c. German expressionism.
d. the rule of thirds.
e. high-key lighting.
9. The colors and textures of interiors, furniture, draperies, and curtains are aspects of
a. decor. d. exterior locations.
b. lighting. e. properties.
c. depth perception.
10. When a character in a movie handles an object such as a tennis racket, a glass of beer, or a shovel, it is
known as a
a. setting. d. dressing.
b. location. e. prop.
c. decoration.
11. How did Orson Welles create more immersive sets in Citizen Kane (1941) to lend their settings a more
expansive spatial quality?
a. He shot the interiors in black and white.
b. He built only the minimum parts of the rooms needed to accommodate the story action.
c. He built a complete set of four walls for shots captured from high angles.
d. He used actual locations that he had reconstructed on a soundstage.
e. He used a Steadicam to provide moving, close-to-the-floor point-of-view shots.
12. Studios of the classical Hollywood period had no qualms about ordering male actors with star potential
to undergo cosmetic surgery and change hair color in order to
a. maintain the studio’s ideal kind of masculinity.
b. disguise the actor’s true identity from the public.
c. conform to the look of their rival studios’ roster of stars.
d. subvert the control of the director on the set.
e. prevent them from being stereotyped.
13. What usually determines the selection and design of costumes used in a film?
a. the physical size of the cast
b. authenticity for a story’s time period and setting
c. the camera lens of a given shot
d. the native language of the location
e. the type of lighting
14. Although much attention was paid to the authenticity of historical costumes during the studio era,
hairstyles were often based on
a. the actor’s personal style. d. genre formulas.
b. advertiser demands. e. modified contemporary looks.
c. polyester wigs.
15. For the costuming in the 1963 historical epic Cleopatra, the Hollywood studio 20th Century Fox was
more concerned with ________ than historical accuracy.
a. glamour d. nuance
b. character progression e. generic conventions
c. expressionism
16. Until the 1960s, why were actors in almost every film, whether period or contemporary, required to
wear wigs?
a. Hair styling was too costly.
b. It was feared that the audience would not recognize the star.
c. Wigs reflected light better than real hair.
d. An actor’s real hair could be the source of a continuity error.
e. The star’s contract prevented it.
17. ________ is the process by which the look of settings, props, lighting, and actors is determined.
a. Casting d. Design
b. Costuming e. Editing
c. Budgeting
18. In Edward Scissorhands (1990), the unusual costume and makeup of the title character emphasizes his
a. sexual neediness. d. outsider status.
b. conformity. e. addictive personality.
c. brutality.
19. Although facial painting and prosthetics were used for the face of the Joker in The Dark Night (2008),
the transformation of Harvey Dent into Two-Face was created by
a. special facial makeup only. d. prosthetics only.
b. a process involving digital makeup. e. the actor.
c. chiaroscuro lighting.
20. Sketches that help guide the cinematographer in coordinating the camera and lighting for a film are
known as
a. graphics. d. storyboards.
b. commercial art. e. etchings.
c. doodles.
21. During the production of a movie, light is controlled and manipulated by the ________ to achieve
expressive effects.
a. editor d. production designer
b. script supervisor e. producer
c. cinematographer
22. ________ is a lighting technique that uses deep gradations and subtle variations of lights and darks.
a. High-key d. Chiaroscuro
b. Night-for-day e. Diffusion
c. Backlighting
23. Which of the following generally characterize the quality of hard light?
a. low contrast
b. bright illumination and dark shadows
c. diffusion
d. less distinct shadows
e. flattering illumination
24. Which three sources of light make up the three-point lighting system?
a. key light, fill light, and soft light d. hard light, soft light, and backlight
b. key light, backlight, and hard light e. key light, fill light, and backlight
c. fill light, soft light, and backlight
25. High-key lighting is used extensively in which of the following genres?
a. musicals d. horror films
b. film noirs e. crime films
c. mysteries
26. In The Scarlet Empress (1934), director Josef von Sternberg photographs Marlene Dietrich to
accentuate her
a. beauty. d. monstrousness.
b. strength. e. ethnicity.
c. plainness.
27. Which is the most conventional lighting system in Hollywood filmmaking?
a. Halloween lighting d. lighting from above
b. the three-point system e. natural lighting
c. colorized filtration
28. ________ is a lighting technique often associated with horror and film noir.
a. High-key d. Lighting ratio
b. Flat e. Low-key
c. Three-point
29. The effective use of ________ is often used to separate a subject from the background and add depth
to a shot.
a. natural light d. backlight
b. realistic light e. low contrast
c. colored shadows
30. The main source of illumination used in three-point lighting is the
a. key light. d. diffuse light.
b. backlight. e. spotlight.
c. fill light.
31. Diagrams of sets that include actor and camera positions are known as
a. storyboards. d. aerials.
b. overheads. e. kinetics.
c. compositions.
32. Previsualization can include all of the following planning tools except
a. storyboards. d. software.
b. overheads. e. editing.
c. color grading.
33. The term for the organization, distribution, balance, and general relationship of actors and objects
within the space of each shot is
a. staging. d. composition.
b. blocking. e. symmetry.
c. design.
34. The combination of lighting, color, the movement of actors, and other visual elements contained by the
________ contribute to the meaning of a shot.
a. plot d. frame
b. action e. context
c. screenplay
35. The contrast of light and dark was used in The Night of the Hunter (1955) to reinforce
a. Harry’s dual nature.
b. comedic elements of the plot.
c. the light sensitivity of the film stock.
d. the influence of German expressionism.
e. the difference between daytime and nighttime scenes.
36. The compositional principle that breaks the frame into three vertical sections and three horizontal
sections, resulting in a grid, is
a. three-point lighting. d. deep-focus composition.
b. cubic divisional placement. e. the rule of thirds.
c. framing theory.
37. Which of the following is not an aspect of shot composition?
a. the rule of thirds d. parallel editing
b. deep space e. negative space
c. headroom
38. Filmmakers create ________ by purposely breaking the rule of thirds and denying our expectation of
balance.
a. compositional stress d. eye room
b. headroom e. eyeline matches
c. lead room
39. To create a balanced composition, characters whose lateral screen movement is tracked by a moving
camera are almost invariably given
a. headroom. d. previsualization.
b. eye room. e. top lighting.
c. lead room.
40. Deep-space composition conveys information, mood, and meaning by placing significant visual and
narrative information
a. on a single plane of depth (foreground, middle ground, or background).
b. on two or more of the three planes of depth (foreground, middle ground, and background).
c. in only the foreground.
d. in only the background.
e. in the sky.
41. The kinesis of objects and figures within the frame and of the frame itself are both aspects of
a. focus. d. mise-en-scène.
b. decor. e. setting.
c. lighting.
42. Which of the following films is mostly devoid of kinesis?
a. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon d. Royal Wedding
b. Forrest Gump e. Gravity
c. Tokyo Story
43. The person responsible for finding and executing an approach to mise-en-scène that will best serve the
particular story the film is trying to tell is the
a. production designer. d. set decorator.
b. cinematographer. e. director.
c. producer.
44. In order to tightly control a film’s visual elements during production, directors rely on
a. extended depth of field.
b. the construction of studio sets.
c. natural daylight enhanced with reflectors.
d. large locations to accommodate moving camera shots.
e. actors to deliver realistic, nuanced performances.
45. In addition to the casting of nonprofessional actors, one of the signature practices of the Italian
neorealism movement was
a. shooting on location. d. color photography.
b. improvisation. e. the stationary camera.
c. artificial lighting.
46. The German Kammerspielfilm of the silent era, Italian neorealism in the aftermath of World War II,
and the Dogme 95 movement launched in 1995 inspired the use of what stylistic approach to
filmmaking?
a. expressionism d. abstraction
b. authenticity e. romanticism
c. minimalism
47. Which of the following works was not influenced by German expressionism?
a. The Third Man d. Twin Peaks: The Return
b. Edward Scissorhands e. Run Lola Run
c. The Bride of Frankenstein
48. The intersection (or, in some cases, collision) between fantasy and reality often occur in the work of
which director(s)?
a. Orson Welles d. William Wyler
b. Joel and Ethan Coen e. Tim Burton
c. Josef von Sternberg
49. When a film involves the future, as in science fiction, the costumes must reflect
a. the availability of raw materials.
b. the duration of the screenplay.
c. the deep-space compositions common for the genre.
d. the temperature of the soundstage during production.
e. the social structure and values of an imaginary society.
50. ________ was an art movement of the early twentieth century that sought to manifest subjective
human feelings and emotions through a combination of objective design elements.
a. Realism d. Expressionism
b. Dadaism e. Idealism
c. Cubism
51. The first great German expressionist film was
a. The Last Laugh. d. Nosferatu.
b. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. e. Siegfried.
c. Metropolis.
52. What genre of American film of the 1930s was most influenced by the highly stylized German cinema
of the early 1920s?
a. gangster d. melodramas
b. horror e. musicals
c. screwball comedy
53. Director Robert Wiene used diagonal lines and jagged pointed graphics in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
(1920) to
a. brighten the mise-en-scène.
b. mask the film’s low-budget settings.
c. dazzle the audience.
d. foreshadow the use of color film.
e. express the subjective state of mind.
54. The visual style of Sleepy Hollow (1999) features many characteristics of what two genres?
a. Westerns and science fiction d. science fiction and melodrama
b. comedy and horror e. gothic and comedy
c. horror and gothic
55. Of the many personnel on a film shoot, who is responsible for aspects of visual continuity during the
production process?
a. director d. assistant director
b. producer e. script supervisor
c. editor
56. The four basic properties of lighting are
a. intensity, direction, color, and depth.
b. color temperature, focus, source, and intensity.
c. source, quality, direction, and style.
d. bulb metrics, height, color temperature, and focus.
e. quality, quantity, style, and angle.
57. The two most basic kinds of artificial lights used for film production are
a. incandescent lights and floodlights.
b. focusable spotlights and floodlights.
c. focusable spotlights and reflectors.
d. floodlights and footlights.
e. backlights and reflectors.
ESSAY
1. How does director Ava DuVernay use mise-en-scène in a courthouse scene to achieve authenticity in
Selma (2014)?
2. Using examples from the text, compare the different directorial approaches to mise–en-scène by Wes
Anderson, Alfonso Cuarón, and Robert Wiene.
3. Describe the evolution of movie sets during the first two decades of moviemaking. How do
filmmakers utilize sets to create the illusion of a complete location when seen on-screen?
4. What are the advantages of shooting on soundstages and backlots for Hollywood studio production?
5. Although movies set during historical periods often strive for accuracy in many elements of mise-en–
scène, female costumes often reflect more contemporary fashions. Why is this the case?
6. Using examples from the text, explain how the use of costumes, hairstyles, and makeup can contribute
to an actor’s overall performance and to the audience’s perception of that character.
7. Why were actors in almost every film before 1960 required to wear wigs?
8. Citing examples from the text, explain how the use of different lighting styles on characters and
settings can create different meanings, emotions, and expectations.
9. How does the movie The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) illustrate the relationship between mise-en–
scène and composition?
10. What is the rule of thirds, and why is it often preferred to create the illusion of depth over a
combination of deep-space composition and deep-focus cinematography?
11. Why is it not useful to rate the cinematic quality of a movie based solely on its kinetic intensity?
12. How do filmmakers manipulate the proximity of characters to suggest different meanings?
13. How did films of the Italian neorealism movement of the 1940s differ from Hollywood films of the
same period?
14. What was the goal of expressionism, and how was it realized in German films in the years immediately
following World War I? Use specific examples.
15. How are costume and color used to differentiate the characters and settings in Tim Burton’s Sleepy
Hollow (1999)?