Mise En Scene Analysis Essay

ET’s big reveal to Elliot relies heavily on cinematography and lighting in order to highlight the new aura that appears in the movie. The scene’s unique setup creates a different ambiance about who ET is, but also reveals new information to the audience. Through framing, tonality, and speed, the scene has the ability to reach a certain depth because of the different tactics used in cinematography. The cinematography helps bring out the true feelings of the scene by getting audiences to pay attention to certain parts of the scene. Shots and framing help the filmmakers guide audience's attention and it helps bring the story to life. Backlighting and source lighting create an uncanny atmosphere by giving the audience access to only select parts …show more content…
There are only two visible sources of lighting through the scene other than the typical three point lighting, and those come from the flashlight and the shed. The flashlight at the first shot of the scene is easy to recognize and a light through the middle of the frame, and it is a unique aspect of the scene. This source of light is especially important at the end of the scene when Elliot uses the flashlight to see what mysterious object ET dropped in front of him, and it helps the audience see the texture and nature of ET’s strange hand. This lighting source creates the most childish glow to the scene for Elliot since this is all he brought to protect him from what he believed was a goblin. The shed remains a big source of lighting, as well, and helps illuminate a different part of the scene. The shed is also the source of the backlight for ET in the scene. As ET approaches Elliot, there is an inability to see his face because of the backlighting, however, the audience is able to see his abnormal form. The mystery and creepiness of this allow for the audience to speculate how Elliot feels about the strange form approaching him. This also reveals to the audience that this alien is the character that the beginning of the film was about. The backlighting creates a different dimension to the scene as ET still is a mystery, allowing for an ethereal and mystical