Key aspects of mise-en-scene: Lighting

I have already briefly touched upon what constitutes the mise-en-scene, but let's explore some of the key aspects in a little bit more depth.

A reminder of the elements of the mise-en-scene. Lighting, camera, props, costumes, space, and acting.

Lighting:


Of all the sub-categories, I think that this is the most apparent one. The way a scene is lit leaps right into the faces of the audience. It is possible to instantly recognise the mood of a scene by the way it is lit-up, even before characters have had the chance to influence the audience's perception with their own moods, and in their most simplest forms, lighting set-ups are effective in doing this. A dark scene would suggest foreboding, terror, and/or sadness. A bright scene would suggest life, endless possibilities, happiness.

Above is a scene from the movie "Apocalypse Now". A film with a sense of twisted foreboding and madness. Those themes are addressed through the film. But all of that can be embodied by this one shot of Marlon Brando. 

Only a face is visible. There must be objects behind him, but we don't see anything but black and dark, and part of this darkness obscures part of his face. How can we interpret this? One side of his face -- the light side -- is all that is left of the man who is slowly but surely becoming completely insane. The other side -- the dark side -- is trying to catch up the brightness that is left in this man and engulf him. To tip him over the edge of madness. It is a classic representation of darkness being bad, and light being bad.

That is the effect of light on a character itself, but how about on a wider scale, where lighting influences a lot more.

These are shots from The Godfather Part 1, before Michael kills Sollozzo. Before the scene occurs, we know what is supposed to transpire here, so the scene itself is set-up to fulfil the mood that we have come to expect. There is a lot happening here, but with regards to the lights, we can see that the source of lighting is on-screen, and create a dim atmosphere. There aren't many specular highlights, because highlights would suggest opportunity and ambition. Michael is in a position that he doesn't want to be in, but knows it's something he must do. In the third shot, Michael almost looks like a silhouette, and almost ghost-like, as if there is a puppet-master pulling strings over him. And this is all down to the lighting.

Above is Lucky Number Slevin. The film is of a comical nature, which is apparent from the very start. Here we have a scene between the two protagonists who are also love-interests to each other. There is no obscurity here. The scene is bright, and both characters are completely visible, alongside the room they are in. These demonstrates the capacity of love and a nice future that is set-aside for the two hopefuls. It is a fairly ordinary scene, and this type of thing (guy meets girl) is an ordinary part of life for many, as they can relate to being at home with their significant other during the day and chatting.