Film Studies

Film studies is the most obvious of the related disciplines for aesthetic subtitling — film is the source text. Indeed, many scholars have suggested that an understanding of film studies is important for subtitlers in general, before aesthetic subtitling became an object of study (see Chaume, 2004). Film studies actually encompasses a huge range of phenomena. Phillips lists four possible procedures in film studies: the origins of a film; the form and style of a film; the meaning of a film, internally and in context; and contemporary responses to a film (2012). That is to say nothing of history, technology, industry and so-called star studies. All of these topics may be useful to an aesthetic subtitler; they are certainly all interesting. But it is the second of these — the form and style of a film — that is the main focus for us. In film, it is often a case of not just analysing what is in the frame, but how it is presented. Metz specifies that it is elements like framing, composition, lighting and camera movement that create connotative meaning beyond the basic setting and objects on screen (2003)³. Elsewhere, Monaco describes how a “great variety of codes combine to form the medium in which film expresses meaning” (2009, p. 197), these codes being “systems of logical relationships”

and association that originate beyond the film in question (p. 197).

When it comes to style, the two most important factors are mise-en-scene and cinematography. The two concepts have been listed separately but, as Speidel points out, no-one has yet decided where the distinction between the two lies, if there is indeed one (2012). One possibility is describing mise-en-scene as being how physical space and the objects and figures within it (including actors) are presented and arranged, and cinematography as how the camera is ‘arranged’ to capture that mise-en-scene, as Bordwell and Thompson do (2013). The problem is that it can get confusing, especially when some elements of film style could arguably be placed in

3 C.f. Metz’s example of a dock in a noir film cited on p.17 of the present paper.

both categories. For example, a filmmaker could play with colour for effect through costumes, setting and lighting; or through saturation, contrast and colour grading. It is the same element being manipulated (colour), but assuming Bordwell and Thompson’s distinction, the former set of options (costumes, setting and lighting) would come under mise-en-scene and the latter set (saturation, contrast and colour grading) under cinematography (2013). For Speidel, however, it is all the same thing.

The physical space and objects within the frame, the way the camera is used and special effects added in post-production are all part of mise-en-scene (Speidel, 2012).

Indeed, it seems petty to categorise some elements as either cinematography or mise-en-scene as they can be very closely related. Perhaps a more useful definition, then, would be Gibbs’, for whom mise-en-scene is “the contents of the frame and the way they are organised” (2002, p. 5) or “what the audience can see, and the way in which we are invited to see it” (p. 5).

Filmmaking involves choice. Choices about mise-en-scene can help a filmmaker guide a viewer’s expectations, shape their emotional response, or direct their attention (Bordwell & Thompson, 2013). It can create additional metaphorical relationships through metonymy and repeating visual motifs (Speidel, 2012). But what are the actual elements that make up mise-en-scene and that are subject to the filmmakers’ decision-making? Table 1 provides a (by no means extensive, but sufficiently thorough for current purposes) list of some elements that make up mise-en-scene, mostly based on Bordwell and Thompson (2013), but also incorporating points from others (Gibbs, 2002; Monaco, 2009; Speidel, 2012).

Setting and Props Speidel states that setting is very important to give a narrative authenticity (2012), but it could just as equally be fantastical as realistic (Bordwell & Thompson, 2013). Setting can be real, filmed on location, or constructed, built in a studio or via computer graphics. Props, objects that have a distinctive purpose within the narrative, are also part of setting. They could even take on a particular symbolic meaning through metonymy.

Lighting Lighting is controlled in film to highlight, cast shadow, contrast, define, distort or even suggest a particular atmosphere or emotional state. It is more about simply making sure the subject and the action can be seen. The options filmmakers have to alter lighting include direction, quality, source and colour.

Framing There is definitely a technical aspect to framing. Camera position and movement, and aspect ratio are mentioned by both Bordwell and Thompson (2013) and Metz (2003) as important influencing factors. However, judging from Bordwell and Thompson’s comments earlier in their book, and from Monaco (2009), it also has an artistic side, for lack of a better word. It is how the space within the physical borders of the screen (or beyond them, for that matter) and the characters or objects within it are arranged and distributed. Even sections within the screen’s borders can become smaller frames for particular parts of action.⁴

Camera This category includes choices about both the camera’s position and the camera’s movement in relation to its subjects. Even when just using a static camera, the filmmaker must choose where and how to position it in terms of height, angle, distance and level (to the horizon or canted). But of course, the camera does not have to remain static, and can move, using tracking, panning and zooming, for example.

Focus While it still undoubtedly involves the camera, focus has not so much to do with the position and movement of the physical camera, but more to do with the sharpness of the

4 See Bordwell and Thompson’s example of a doorway framing an important character from Les Vampires (2013, p. 117, fig. 4.16 – 4.17).

image. Focus can be combined with depth of field, which is the range of distances within which the planes of composition will be in more or less sharp focus.

Performance Performance is not just limited to human actors — it can also include animals or objects. The figures seen on screen are a very big part of mise-en-scene and should not be overlooked.

For actors, performance involves decisions about how they are going to play a role — are they going to be cartoonish and over-the-top, or naturalistic and understated? Bordwell and Thompson note that acting style is dependent on other aspects such as genre and narrative (2013).

Costume and Make-up

Costume and make-up, whether real or digital, are incredibly important when it comes to characterisation. They can establish and represent a character, recreate a famous figure, evoke a time period or even represent narrative development. They can completely transform the appearance of an actor, who may become unrecognisable.

Colour It is Gibbs (2002) who actually treats colour as its own, individual element of mise-en-scene. It is a special case, however, as it cannot exist independent of any of the above.

Colour is present in lighting, costume, setting and can be altered through the camera or effects added in post-production. But it is a visually powerful part of mise-en-scene, no matter how it is present.

Table 1

Again, this is by no means an extensive list. The above techniques are simply the ones that will be particularly useful for the commentary on aesthetic subtitles to follow.

Speidel highlights the importance of “a thoughtful, perceptive analysis of a film” so we can see how it “enhances our understanding of it, and how cinema works to

engross, influence and communicate with us” (2012, p. 110). If an aesthetic subtitler is supposed to recognise all of the ways film communicates, so they can make appropriate creative decisions, they need to know as much as possible about the techniques a filmmaker has at their disposal and how to analyse them when they are used. It is comparable to analysing the poetic techniques a writer uses in a novel to add layers of metaphorical meaning or create a particular emotional effect.