The Origin of the Meaning in a Film

The Origin of the Meaning in a Film

It is my opinion that a director makes meaning in a film, although the

audience will apply their own reading of it. Film has its own

"language" and there are a wide range of techniques a director can use

to enable the audience to understand his meaning. The director uses

mise-en-scène to contribute hugely to how meaning is made in a film -

a large part of how the story is told comes from visual content. The

elements covered by mise-en-scène are setting, props, costume,

performance, lighting and colour. However, the director can be limited

by genre conventions established over time, i.e. Westerns or sci-fi.

The setting of a film will immediately give the audience meaning and

expectations for the film. For instance, the opening sequence of

Thelma and Louise (1992) lets the audience know this film takes place

in dry, barren wasteland of America. Props are inanimate objects used

to enhance the audience's belief in the setting. Sometimes props can

overlap into becoming part of a costume, for instance a cowboy's gun.

Costumes immediately tell the audience about the character - period,

social class, lifestyle etc. Costumes and props can both help to

define a films' genre. An actor's performance in a film is greatly

aided by costumes and props, but the audience generally has differing

opinions about characters. Using Thelma and Louise as a reference

point again, although some people may think the two lead characters

are heroines, others may disagree and think that they should have been

caught and punished for their crimes. Another thing a director can

have no control over is the audience's perception of an actor that

comes from outside the film. Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey and Steve Martin

are three examples of actors which the audience will have very

definite opinions of before the film and so they will assume things

about the character that maybe weren't intended by the director.

Lighting is not just something to illuminate the above elements; it

also adds something to a scene.