Aviator - Mise en Scene

The Aviator, a movie written by John Logan and directed by Martin Scorsese stars Leonardo DiCaprio in a biographical drama film which centers on the pilot Howard Hughes. Throughout this short excerpt of the Air Speed Record scene, it is clear that the factors of the setting, lighting, actors and props or commonly known as Mise en Scene plays a large part in the overall film. This film is a good example of the genre of biographical drama because you get a sense of importance from DiCaprio who is portraying Hughes. It is also very intense in wanting to know more about the film which adds to the drama aspect.

Without Mise en Scene, there would be no movie. In every way possible, Mise en Scene is represented in some form, one way or another. In The Aviator, the biggest aspect of Mise en Scene that the director focused on was the Setting. The setting of the except that was watched needed to be set back a few decades ago and have a large, vast, dry landscape to work with for the runway of the aviator. This was all achieved by the addition of high contrast, simple colours, a spacious setting, having an in-between state of both neat and messy stage, and having the right atmosphere. The high contrast of the mid-day hot sun and simple colours of the earthy raw and stark colours adds to the setting of not being set in the 21^st century. By the use of both the high contrast and colours, they were able to achieve an old looking set. The physical state of the actual plane it self was quite messy, and leaves the audience thinking that they did not have enough room in the plane for everything, and had to cramp everything, which ended up ending in some glitches in the aircraft. The right atmosphere is also needed in portraying the scene how the director wants it to be seen. The atmosphere in this scene is very tense as you are waiting for something to happen, for example wondering if the plane is going to fall apart. But it’s not only the setting that plays a large part of Mise en Scene, but also props and acting. Even though there were not many props seen from this excerpt, the use of the stopwatch with the addition of the flying hats create the thought and image of the fast plane and how much time is passed. The hats of the onlookers of the plane fly away quickly enough for the men to even know the plane had come across them. Further more, the acting by Leonardo DiCaprio showed that he was in control of what was happening to him and the plane. He had faith in what the plane will do and won’t do, and believes that next time; the plane will go even faster. This is once again seen when the character of Howard Hughes nearly crashes, but when you go to the next shot, you see him calm and relaxed leaning against the hood of the beat up and destroyed aircraft saying that he was even more confidence for his next test fly.

Every little detail that has gone into making this film involved Mise en Scene in the thought. Whether it was imaging what kind of lighting would be involved, where the setting should be and how it should be seen, how the director wanted the actors to act, how to make the props more affective, or even just wondering what props to use. All of these things help to tie the whole film and to make The Aviator together.