Mise En Scene

Mise en scene: everything on scene.
It is everything that appears before the camera. This includes; the setting, the costume and make-up, the use of figure, expression and movement, and the lighting.
Mise en scene is used for a large number of reasons. The main, being, to make the footage more realistic and to set a mood. We want to make the footage appear as real as possible in order to make the audience forget that it is a representation. This is the dominant style of most films, and is sometimes referred to as ‘the style of no style’.

The setting gives the audience a sense of place and time. It is good to analyse the set as it provides clues as to the nature of the film, such as:
• the mood
• the genre of the film
• the characters
• where
• when

The costume and make-up are often thought of as part of the set because they can present to the audience:
• the period
• the state of society
• social class
• cultural backgrounds
• character traits
Differences in costume indicate differences in characters. For example, rich and poor.
The type of clothing a character wears is important in showing the audience who they are. For example, Goths and depressed people would wear dark colours and often more layers; they would cover more of their skin.

The characters figure, expression and movement include things such as:
• body language
• appearance
• facial expression (very significant in close-ups)
• sound elements
The way a character stands and moves is very important as it shows how they are feeling – sometimes to who they are feeling it toward.
It is also importance as it shows their importance or how relevant they are to that shot.
• if they are in the foreground they may be considered more important
• if they move against a stationary background attention is drawn to them
• distribution of characters makes for balanced shot, whereas uneven distribution is unsettling to the eye.
• Positioning of characters within the frame may even indicate emotional distance.