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Film And Theatre Directors : Mise En Scene

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Throughout the history of film and theatre directors have used mise-en-scene and location to control the scene. Whether this is in front of the camera or a live audience, the components of mise-en-scene allow the director to have full control of the action, enabling them to engage and captivate the audience. It supports and expands the narrative, as well as creating the classic conventions we see in different genres of film. Mise-en-scene simply means, ‘putting into the scene’ (Bordwell and Thompson, 2010), and was first used in theatre direction. This has now transpired into film, and “in controlling the mise-en-scene, the director stages the event for the camera”. (Bordwell and Thompson, 2010). It serves the purpose of creating a …show more content…

Citizen Kane, an American drama directed by Orson Welles in 1941, uses mise-en-scene and location to tell the story of the late Charles Foster Kane, a successful newspaper publisher. Welles effectively creates a narrative using a series of flashbacks, told from the point of view of Kane’s friends, lovers and associates during an interview with reporter Jerry Thompson. Thompson takes a particular interest in Kane’s life, and throughout the film we can see prime examples mise-en-scene and location working together to portray a realistic storyline to the audience. In one of the most significant scenes in Citizen Kane, the audience witnesses the decline of Kane’s marriage to Emily Monroe Norton. This is shown to the viewers via a montage of short scenes. Welles uses mise-en-scene to shape the scene; the montage depicts the deterioration of Kane and Emily’s marriage in a powerful and thought provoking way. As the scene progresses we move through five different scenarios, small changes from costume to posture enable the audience to follow the narrative and see the cracks forming within their relationship.

At the beginning of the montage Kane and Emily are sat at the table for breakfast, both characters seem to be relaxed and conversation flows effortlessly. The scene begins with the couple discussing Kane missing a morning of work so they can prolong their time together, the audience can see that both characters are comfortable in

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