Running head: A STAR IS BORN 1

The Use of Mise-En-Scene and Cinematography in the Movie “A Star Is Born”

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The Use of Mise-En-Scene and Cinematography in the Movie “A Star Is Born”

In the movie “A Star Is Born,” the use of mise-en-scene and the level of precision of the

camera are truly impressive. The artistic choices director Bradley Cooper and cinematographer

Matthew Libatique made, were unique and exceptional. For a movie to stand out, there must be

brilliant choices director, editor, and cinematographer has to make to clue one into the emotional

response and messaging of the scene. In the movie “A Star Is Born,” there are four different

stories that surround an alcoholic mega-star and his greatest musical discovery. The

cinematography in the movie is empathetic as the visceral camera adjusts to the film’s emotional

rhythms. Using personal camera moves and specific lighting motifs and up close,

cinematographer Libatique exceptionally created ‘A Star Is Born’ experience for both Ally and

Jackson.

Matthew Libatique, a cinematographer knew which camera and lighting were needed in

designing a shooting plan that would allow Jackson and Ally to explore. Director Bradley

Cooper and cinematographer Matthew Libatique captured the concert footage as if one was

present during the performance and looking out over the audience. This twist enables audiences

to connect with Ally as she was taking on the overwhelming task of performing before a live

audience. Each of the live scene performance was thrilling, however, Ally’s performance of

shallow was an iconic scene by itself. Each stage scene was a narrative scene. The way cameras

were set up and photographed was less about the music and more about what was occurring

narratively.

The visual representation in the movie was on another level, it was impressive. In filming

the movie’s visual language, the cinematographer designed a shooting plan that allowed Jackson
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and Ally to explore. The visual language of “A Star Is Born,” focused on Jackson making him

real as if he lived in our time, then the palette was born out of his character. The film used cyan

and red to his world. As Ally enters Jackson's world, she enters his light. As time passed, Ally

becomes better each day and she reaches climax in the scene when she performs “Shallow” on

stage. Each of the live scene performance was thrilling, however, Ally’s performance of shallow

was an iconic scene by itself. During the performance, Libatique gives her own light. This

represents that a star has been born, and is introduced to the world. Ally steps into her own

spotlight which shows that she has achieved the dreams she always hoped. The cinematographer

shifts the color story when Ally becomes a star of her own, and the two begin to drift apart. And

for the first time, Ally becomes independent and had to do her own thing. The color in the last

scene represents a manic rock-and-roll lifestyle and white light represents a kind of sobriety.

In addition, the level of precision of the camera and movements were truly impressive.

In each scene, emotional beat is perfectly in sync with Libatique’s often swirling camera, which

consistently finds the right frame. Cameras are moved accordingly with the right composition

that matches the rhythm and emotion of the scene. During concert performance scenes, Libatique

was able to replicate those kinds of moves with total precision, the experience was incredible.

Through his lens selection and use of personal camera moves, Labatique conveyed a sense of

characters’ progression. He used Steadicam, hand-held, and Alexa mins- long tracking cameras

to capture a close proximity perspective during the live performances and private moment

between Jack and Ally which gave the movie a naturalistic look. He kept the camera on the stage

with Jackson and Ally, which had a subjectivity expressing Ally’s experiences of going from

performing in a small club to sharing a stage with famous musicians. He wasn’t just interested in

concert coverage, but positioning the camera in the right place to capture the absolute experience
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was important. This placed the audience inside the characters’ experience without heavily

relying on close-ups. This made them feel more rooted in reality and naturalism.

Lastly, the lighting changing in the movie was fantastic. The use of lighting changing was

great that allowed fast changes of intensity and color, thus establishing a visual language. The

lights were organized in groups- upstage, downstage, stage right and stage left which faded up or

down based on the position of the camera. This kept the performers in contrast simultaneously

with color change and effect and avoided camera shadow. The cinematographer had incredible

technical skills, had understood scripts and could figure out the best way to capture the scene

which made one experience all of the ups and downs such as heart-wrenching scenes and raw

emotion of the film subsequent. He systematically moved the camera to the scene performance,

matching it with the rhythm, emotion and changing the lighting. The lights pointed at and aimed

at the camera/ performers and pulled it together with a complex and satisfying color story.
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Reference

Cooper, B. (2018). A Star Is Born [Film]. Ireland.