When set designers place photographs in films I'm always thrilled when it proves difficult to 'read' the photograph. I don't mean that it is glimpsed in such a way as to make it hard to see it properly, but to get a pretty good look and still not be able to make much sense of it. I like the fact some unknown person has deliberately chosen not to pick a 'straightforward' easy composition but have instead gone for something more complicated.
The best possible mise-en-scene has the said 'difficult' picture sneaked in two or three times during a scene, for a few seconds each time, perhaps behind a character speaking or listening, and yet despite having the opportunity for decent scrutiny it still remains problematic to be clear about what is going on in the photograph. That would be far more exciting than whatever is going on back in the world of the film narrative.
Anyway.
I am still a regular visitor to Flak, and clicking through to contributor Teri Fullerton's site today I came across a picture which I know if I saw on a wall during a film would probably have me buying the DVD just to look forward to stopping the film at the point it appeared in the background.
The best possible mise-en-scene has the said 'difficult' picture sneaked in two or three times during a scene, for a few seconds each time, perhaps behind a character speaking or listening, and yet despite having the opportunity for decent scrutiny it still remains problematic to be clear about what is going on in the photograph. That would be far more exciting than whatever is going on back in the world of the film narrative.
Anyway.
I am still a regular visitor to Flak, and clicking through to contributor Teri Fullerton's site today I came across a picture which I know if I saw on a wall during a film would probably have me buying the DVD just to look forward to stopping the film at the point it appeared in the background.