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Creating the Director's Mise-en-scene and Sub World
Creating the Director's Mise-en-scene and Sub-World
By Peter D. Marshall
Mise-en-Scene
The French term mise-en-scène comes from the stage and literally means, "putting on stage."
When applied to the cinema, mise-en-scène refers to everything that appears before the camera (sets, props, actors, costumes and lighting.)
Mise-en-scene is the director’s plan or concept to give the audience an audio/visual experience through the use of a specialized film treatment (re: shots and cuts)
Mise-en-scene is the feeling (or sensation) in a film that is created by the director to invoke certain emotions the spectator feels.
Mise-en-scène also includes the positioning and movement of actors on the set, which is called blocking.
Subworld
The subworld of a film are all the feelings and sensations a director creates to arouse certain emotions from the audience.
To do this, the director directs the story “beneath” the main story by developing actions, events and incidents that portray the deeper meaning of the story and the subtext of characters.
Steps to Create Your Subworld
1. Research any source that will immerse yourself in this world.
2. What do you want the audience to know, to experience, to understand? .
3. Create conflicting worlds. (Which characters are in conflict?)
4. Find the quality sensation the audience can feel.
5. What generates the action for a character?
6. Everyone has secret lives and fantasies.
7. What would it take to motivate this character?
8. Understand behavior. Look in the real world for examples.
9. If this world existed, what are the rules? (What is the conceit?)
10. What is the story beneath the story?
11. What are the central motifs, images and symbols?
12. Create an image pattern that shows up throughout the film.
13. What generates (motivates, causes) the action before it happens?
14. Add Counterpoint/Opposites. (Bad guy pets a cat.) (Hit man loves his plants.)
15. Interpret the dialogue. (What is the character trying to say?)
16. What are the key story points, events, beats and moments?
Peter D. Marshall is a filmmaker from Vancouver, Canada. He has worked in the Film and Television Industry for over 35 years – as a Film Director, Television Producer, First Assistant Director and TV Series Creative Consultant.
Peter has directed over 30 episodes of Television Drama such as “John Woo’s Once a Thief”, “Wiseguy”, “21 Jumpstreet”, “Neon Rider”, “The Black Stallion”, “Scene of the Crime”, “Big Wolf on Campus” and “Largo Winch.”
He has written, directed or produced over 50 hours of documentary and educational programs and his documentaries and dramas have won, or been nominated for, 14 International film awards.
Peter has worked for directors such as John Woo, Phillip Noyce, Ed Zwick, John Badham, Roger Vadim, Dennis Dugan, Anne Wheeler and Zack Snyder.
He has also worked with actors such as Peter O’Toole, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, John Travolta, Kathy Bates, Michelle Pfiefer, Marcia Gaye Harden, Madeleine Stowe, Mel Gibson, Ashton Kutcher, Goldie Hawn, Judy Davis and Adam Sandler.
Peter has been a directing instructor at the Vancouver Film School, the Directors Guild of Canada, Victoria Motion Picture School and Capilano College.
Peter can be reached at [email protected]
