Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene is basically everything that can be seen through the camera, this includes the setting; costume and make-up; figure, expression and movement by actors; lighting and positioning withing the frame.

Setting

• can establish time and place; when and where; links to costume and props - effects understanding
• can establish the sense of genre
• can show the mood of the film

Costume and Make-up

-Could be considered part of the set and they indicate:

• the period
• the state of society
• social class
• cultural backgrounds
• character traits

When characters change costumes it can signify important events such as the character going from rich to poor, or maybe even the removal of clothes linking to the lowering of their defenses.

Figure, expressions and movement

The positioning of characters within a frame and their figure and expressions are extremely important to showing the film and giving insight into who the character is and what they are feeling, as this is more what the audience focuses on.

• Body language
• Appearance
• Facial expressions
• sound elements
• the way the character stands and moves
• moving against stationary background- draws attention to them

Lighting and Colour

Lighting

Lighting is very important in showing the mood or atmosphere of a scene. Three point lighting is the most common way to light a set and it can create either high key or low key lighting.

-The Key light is usually the brightest and most influential light.

-The Back light helps to counteract the effect of the key light and makes the object in shot appear more rounded.

-The Filler light(s) helps to soften any harsh shadows created by the key and back lights.

Low key lighting is created by only using the key and back lights, therefore creating sharp contrasts between the areas of light and the darkness of the large shadows which will be formed; this is thought to be more expressive.

High key lighting is created by using more filler lights which makes the scene appear more realistic, but can also be manipulated to create a more glamorous feel or add a catchlight (twinkle in the characters eyes).

Colour

The colours in a film can help to signify certain things:

• black and white - could show time and place (or maybe suggest a flashback)
• warmer colours - could link to genre (usually in romantic films)
• Colder colours - could link to genre (usually in horror films)

Also colour can act as signifiers:

• Red - danger, aggression, violence
• Pink - femininity, romance, calm
• Blue - peace, cold, cleanliness
• Black - power, death, mystery

Positioning within the frame

The positioning within the frame is incredibly important and can hint to much deeper meaning, for example, if a character is placed in the foreground they might be considered more important than a character in the background. Also the distance between characters may indicate the characters feelings toward each other, like a sort of emotional distance, e.g. if characters are close together it could show that the characters a quite friendly; whereas, for example, in the very famous standoff in the film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly the characters could not get much further apart, showing their resentment for each other.