Looking at Camera
Angles in the Film
Mise-En-Scene
Mise-en-scene is a French term meaning ‘what is put into the
scene or frame.’
What is put in or left out can make a big difference to the
signals we, the audience, receive about what sort of film it is
and how we are supposed to feel at this point.
When looking at mise-en-scene there are five essential film
techniques to consider. These techniques are;
1. Settings and Props
2. Costume, hair and make-up
3. Facial expression and body language
4. Lighting and colour
5. Positioning of characters and objects within the frame.
Discuss: What do you think each of these elements might
reveal in a film?
Look at the picture below using the five elements of mise-en-scene
analyse this scene from the film.
Camera Angles
A visual explanation of how an actor/object is viewed
depending on the height and rotation of the camera.
Glossary of Angles
Angle
Explanation
XLS
LS
MLS
MS
MCU
CU
BCU
XCU
Extreme Long Shot
Long Shot
Medium Long Shot
Medium Shot
Medium Close Up
Close Up
Big Close Up
Extreme Close Up
Question time:
What do you think a XLS reveals to the viewer?
Consider what is revealed to the audience during a XCU.
Actual Footage from the Film
Look at the scenes below and consider what angles are being
used? Try to write a paragraph describing what it reveals to
the audience.
Exemplar 1
Exemplar 2
The “Grammar” of Film.
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Grammar provides us with the knowledge and understanding to
analyse and describe how both written and oral language work.
Similarly, by knowing the “grammar” of film, we can explore,
identify, learn about, describe, and use features of visual
language that create particular meanings and effects in moving
images in film.
Film is not a language in exactly the same way that
English is a language. In a movie, there is nothing that
communicates precisely to a word, for instance, or a
question. Nor is the order of events in a film the same,
or as strictly regulated, as the order of words in a
grammatical sentence. However, it is possible and
sometimes helpful to argue that written language and
film are similar in the following ways.
Breaking it down.
Text (Written language) Versus Film
Text
Film
 Letters are the
 A film’s smallest unit
smallest distinct
is a frame, which is
forms of written
like a still photograph.
language.
 Letters make up
 Several frames make
words in written
up shots in a film.
language.
 Words make up
 Shots make up
sentences in written
scenes.
language.
 Sentences make up
 Scenes make up
paragraphs in written
sequences.
language.
 Paragraphs make up
 Sequences make up a
stories.
film.
Writing is often made more interesting and suitable for its
purpose by using a variety of letterforms, words, sentence and
paragraph lengths, and structures. Similarly, variety in the use
of frames, shots, scenes, and sequences usually results in a
more interesting and appealing film. For example, the
flashbacks used when Bella is working out what Edward is.
Task time:
What visual images do the flashbacks focus on? What
does this information tell you about Edward?