Hotel Lobby, Reframes to the hotel doorman and niece helping him put on his raincoat.
Low angle
Long Shot
8 seconds
Zoom
2
Revolving Door, one character, hotel manager, looks at the old doorman, notes down something, doorman walks towards the door
Eye level
Long Shot
10 seconds
Dolly
An aspect of tension established with the hotel manager noting something on his notebook through the look he gives the hotel doorman
3
Hotel surrounding people coming in and out of the hotel
Eye level
Establishment shot
7 seconds
Zooming
4
The main character moving outside to confirm whether they are rain or not
Eye level angle
Sequence shot
9 seconds
tracking
5
The character turns after feeling the rain with his hand somebody else takes his raincoat off
Eye level
Long Shot
16 seconds
Zooms out to follow attitude to the road and zooms out as he comes back.
6
Takes a mirror to look at himself and his beards
Eye level
Medium Shot
23 seconds
The camera pans to the left as it follows characters walking past the hotel and follows the main character as he turns his body around
7
The busy road as doorman helps two women get a taxi even as it rains
Eye level
Longshot
9 seconds
The camera is still as the action takes place
Elements of mise-en-scene and cinematography
In film production, a scene comprises of parts of mise-en-scene such as casting, performance, production, design, costumes, make-up and hair, sound, music, time that through intensive editing create and ensure the sequence and continuity of a movie. It also constitutes elements of cinematography such as lighting, camera movements, and camera placement about the characters in a given frame. Although the viewer is barely aware of such factors, mise-en-scene is powerful and crucial to film production since it is what the film producer uses to direct the viewer’s attention to important aspects of the film. It indirectly addresses the viewer’s focus to an essential point of a movie to avoid losing the theme of the story. F.W. Murnau uses minimal setting, low-key lighting, character staging, camera distance, camera movement, character proxemics and costume in efficiently directing The Last Laugh
film precisely when bringing and introducing the doorman (the main character) on set.
Costume in a film refers to the clothes that character put on in a given scene. The old doorman uses a uniform constituting of gold braids, military lapels, brass buttons, and comic opera cuffs with broad shoulders. In this scene, the former doorman’s uniform depicts his noble character as he comports himself as a general in his great uniform. Murnau uses costume to communicate the unspoken part of nature to the viewer. He is proud of his job as a hotel doorman, an implicit character that contributes to the plot continuity of the film. Besides the main character, the antagonist in the movie, the hotel manager’s costume tells of his position and power within the hotel. He is seen dressed in a gentleman suit bringing him out as a compelling character in the film that viewers can easily describe. The supporting characters are also in uniforms creating reality.
In The Last Laugh the performance is personalized. Through character participation in their specific roles, the audience gains the ability to point out the characters’ roles. In the scene, that introduces us to the old doorman and the hotel manager, through how the manager behaves and carries himself around, the viewer can quickly judge him as proud. One character brings him a drink and even helps him put on his attire. His attire and actions can tell that he is a hotel doorman. The film’s good performance and quality lead performance make it realistic to the viewers. One can tell that the hotel manager is displeased with the door attendant’s behavior. He stands at the revolving door, gives the old man an angry look, notes something down and walks past with an annoyed look on his face. The viewer can tell that he is not friendly and neither is the doorman’s life going to be comfortable with such a manager.
Lighting is another mise-en-scene element utilized by the producer of the film. He uses the feature to emphasize the mood and time in a given scene. Murnau employs contrast lighting in different stages while creating his successful movie. The difference in illumination represents the various meanings of each step. In the opening scene, the crew uses crucial low lighting primarily in black and white. This lighting portrays the time in which the film’s plot is happening, probably in the early centuries. It is a rainy and probably morning hence the use of low essential lighting. The low-key light brings a sense of a mid-level working environment at that given time. The shot of the door attendant looking at himself through the mirror uses crucial high fire to build up his success story, self-confident hotel porter before his terrible downfall. To Murnau, lighting is paramount to adding the aesthetic value of the film.
Murnau also uses camera movement in coming up with the film’s scenes. Change helps in building the emotional depth of a documentary and enabling the audience to move with the plot in the movie. For the producer, he uses a moving and subjective camera. Through his moving camera, he could film from any angle without the restrictions of a camera mounted on a tripod. For instance, when the doorman stands from his chair going outside, the camera follows him out without having to zoom in or out from a one-point camera. Using his camera, he allows the viewer to see only what the character sees and what the plot requires the consumer to understand. Through handling of the camera eye, the director controls what the viewers have access to with their eyes and in the end ensure the sequence of the film. This happens through concentration of the camera’s viewpoint.
The creator of the film also uses camera distance to bring a desired effect in the whole movie. He uses long, medium and close –up shots to focus the viewer’s mind to an essential part of the film. Through a long shot, the film introduces critical elements of the story. For example, in the opening scene, the viewer can point out that it is a working environment. The shot also brings into view the hotel lobby and with the rain outside, one can say it is a rainy season. Another long shot is of the hotel porter helping two women from the hotel get a car. He goes to the street, stops a vehicle, and supports the women to board it. One can conclude that the character’s job is that of a hotel doorman helping guests in and out of the hotel. The film uses a close-up shot of the doorman using a mirror while at work while proudly shaping his beards to elucidate his pride. He zooms in to focus on a specific character or object within the scene and zooms out to create or establish the setting of a given shot or scene.
Character framing is another element of mise-en-scene utilized in the film. For the establishment shot of the Last Laugh film, the producer introduces most characters in longer shots with enough room for them to move around. For instance, the introduction of the doorman into the set uses a long shot of him sitting down with enough leading place to stand up and walk straight ahead while still within the frame. Such framing suggests character enjoys freedom according to the plot. However, the casting of the same nature happens in a tight frame with the close up of him using a mirror while at work. The idea suggests that he has little room for him to move around freely within the frame. He is at work but busy admiring himself in a mirror that could land him in problems with his employer. Character placement in the middle of the frame suggests the significance of the object.
Using camera angles proves essential for an actor of a film and Murnau uses one fixed camera angle, eye level angle, in the movie. In filming the hotel manager, the eye level angle, a neutral shot angle to prove the importance of the character under filming. He introduces his sense of verticality giving a feeling of power and respect for the character. With character staging, the doorman begins with a full-front adaptation by directly facing the camera, an invitation to the viewer’s participation in the film.
In film production, producers utilize various film techniques all together to achieve the desired effect. For Murnau, use of eye-level shot angle, multiple camera movements and camera distance in the film helps him achieve aspects of expressionism. Contrast lighting coupled with quality lead performance together with costumes that tell of a character’s traits and this type of occupation fosters the building of the film’s plot. The impact of such elements of mise-en-scene proves significant and in the end, alters the viewer’s understanding of the film by increasing its reality. In the end, the viewer’s imagination gets enhanced be it on film or in real life. Being that the film is a silent story; the cinematic techniques of mise-en-scene and cinematography become essential in telling the story visually.
References
The Last Laugh, film, F.W. Murnau, 1924.
