The Technique Tells The Story

The role of the director in a film is one that I knew was a key factor to the success and popularity of the film itself. A lot of times the director can be an even bigger name then the lead actor and draw the attention to the movie such as Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Speilberg. In Film, Space, & Mise-en Scene by Bernard Dick he goes through some of the forms of editing that directors use in order to bring these amazing pictures to life on the screen.

The most common form of editing that Dick says is used is continuity editing  “entails assembling shots so that they follow each other smoothly and without interruption.” (Pg. 79) Dick goes on to explain that this is vastly different then how the film is filmed which normally is done in a piece by piece manner. An important and somewhat comical remark made by Dick that is actually very truthful is that the audience doesn’t care the order it is filmed, just the order in which it is presented.

Continuity editing though is only one option a film editor or director has to present a film, another is Mise-en-Scene. Mise-en-Scene is a form of framing, and in film means staging, “Some film scholars have restricted the phrase to the arrangement of visual elements within a shot or a sequence.” (Pg. 86) One technique used often in Mise-en-Scene is the use of tight framing. Tight framing is often used to give the impression and feeling of oppression or a fatal atmosphere. In the picture to the right  from the Harry Potter series Harry is scared, as he has just tried out a new broom that is a lot faster then his old one. The tight framing of the picture allows for little space around the rest of his face, this picture shows how he is fearful and the use of tight framing helps interpret this feeling.


Another technique is the use of canted shots; canted shots can often show a confused or dazed state. It is also commonly used to show things in a world that is askew. According to Dick canted shots  (also known as a Dutch-angle shot) results in an oblique composition in which the frame looks lopsided.” (Pg. 88) In the picture again from the Harry Potter series, Harry is experiencing pain as a result of his scar. This pain causes him to become dazed and confused and the use of the canted shot helps the director and editor show this through to the audience through this technique.