Mise-en-scène (1):
Josef von Sternberg, The Scarlet Empress

Steven Shaviro
September 21, 2011

Josef von Sternberg, The Scarlet Empress (1934)

• Career of Josef von Sternberg
• Career of Marlene Dietrich, her seven films with von Sternberg
• von Sternberg: "a relentless excursion into style"
• von Sternberg's imaginary, artificial, fever-dream vision of Russia: "a recreation and not a replica"

The Scarlet Empress: Lighting

• Josef von Sternberg: "The history of light is the history of life, and the human eye was the first camera"
• Compositions of varying luminosity and saturation
• Continual modulations of light and shadow
• Royal Wedding sequence: points of light, intertwined glances

The Scarlet Empress: Sets, Props, etc.

• Baroque, excessive detail, visual overload
• Giant gargoyles; tall doors; long, sweeping corridors
• Dolls and toys, often doubling the human action
• Veils, lattices, etc., between us and the action
• Banquet scene
• Locket falling through branches

The Scarlet Empress: Screen Space

• The screen as canvas, rather than as window
• Show the film upside-down?
• Space is layered but relatively shallow (foreground & background)
• Flowing, horizontal movement within the frame
• No central, focal point -- except for Dietrich herself

The Scarlet Empress: Visual Symbols

• Crowds; Horses; Bells
• Visual puns
• Drilling eyehole
• Human bell clapper
• Ironic use of Freudian sexual symbols
• Swords
• Toy soldiers
• Veils and scarves
• Secret staircase

The Scarlet Empress: The Human Figure (Dietrich)

• The Star: obsessive, fetishistic focus on Marlene Dietrich
• Dietrich's costumes; the close-ups of her (always well-lit) face
• Scenes
• The straw
• Seducing the troops
• Acting as impersonation, taking on a series of roles
• Femininity as a construction

Mise-en-scène: Definition

• Literally, "placed in a scene" or "onstage" (from the French)
• Everything that is in front of the camera, and that is photographed by the camera
• Preparation of mise-en-scène before shooting begins
• Those aspects of film that overlap with theater
• Mise-en-scène is a construction
• Mise-en-scène can create a sense of "realism"...
• ...but it also establishes atmosphere, and suggests connotations

Elements of Mise-en-scène

• Settings and Sets
• Props
• Costumes & Make-up
• Staging
• Performance (acting)
• Blocking (movement)
• Lighting
• Establishing screen space and screen time

Dimensions of Mise-en-scène

• Screen space
• Movement within frame
• Color & composition
• Aspects of size & depth
• Screen time
• Rhythm & movement of shot
• Relations of distance change over time
• Varieties of mise-en-scène
• Naturalistic vs. Stylized/Theatrical
• Ordinary vs. Extraordinary
• Classical vs. Modern

Settings and Sets

• Location
• On-location shooting
• Soundstage (studio sets)
• Digital sets
• Degrees of Realism or Stylization
• Naturalistic
• Stylized
• Fantastic
• Significance of set within film (minimal, maximal)
• Role of set designers, location scouts, computer-graphics technicians

Props, Costumes, and Make-up

• Props: significant objects
• Props: indications of time and place (e.g., period cars)
• Costume & make-up: From naturalistic to stylized
• Contemporary
• High-fashion
• Period (historical)
• Expressive (exaggerated and fanciful)
• Inhuman (in science fiction and horror)

Acting, Performance, Staging

• How an actor uses language, physical expression, and gesture
• Voice, facial expression, and bodily movement
• From naturalistic acting to stylized acting
• Method acting
• Leading vs. supporting actors
• The star system: the "mythical power" of stars, extending from film to film
• Character types and character actors
• Blocking: the arrangement and movement of the actors

Lighting

• Source of light: mise-en-scène lighting vs. offscreen
• Natural lighting; set lighting; directional lighting
• Key lighting: the main light source
• High-key: bright with few contrasts
• Low-key: shadowy with sharp contrasts
• Fill lighting: balances or contrasts key lighting
• Highlighting: for dramatization or emphasis
• Backlighting: light from behind; creates silhouette effect
• Other kinds of directional lighting: frontal lighting, sidelighting, underlighting, top lighting
• The Three-Point lighting system

The Three-Point Lighting System