In this course we will think about how mise-en-scène—literally "putting onto the stage"—emphasizes the set/location, lighting, props, costumes, and actors in front of the camera. All of these components suggest a physical approach to filmmaking, where social and collaborative processes operate around many moving bodies and things in an imaginary world framed by the camera. Additionally, in considering film as an expanded genre that reflects contemporary culture, we will consider how digital technologies (like chromakeying, AR, CGI, and video games) blur the location and physicality of the camera, subject, and viewers. As we explore how the set operates in physical and digital filmmaking and narrative worlds, we will experiment with ways that physical and imaginary realities can be embraced and ruptured.

We will begin with a series of short exercises and experiments to think through the position of the camera (real and virtual/digital), how props and costume operate in relation to the camera, the set/scene/soundstage as a fictional/narrative world, and the viewers immersion in/rupture with the cinematic/digital frame. The second half of the course will be dedicated to producing a more developed collaborative project.