Mise En Scene

Mise En Scene

- a french term meaning what is put into scene or frame. It communicates essential information to the audience such as time and place. Mise en scene includes everything you see on screen, in front of the camera. 

Costume - Tells us the time period/society/culture.

Lighting - Highlights characters/objects, can portray the mood of the scene.

Actors - Shows emotion,/ relationship towards other characters.

Makeup - Acts as an indicator to the characters personality/status/job

Props - They can highlight the genre or reveal a key part of the story line.

Setting - Can manipulate an audience by building expectations and taking a different turn.

Lighting :

Low key/ uses only back lights, produces sharp contrast of light and dark as well as shadows and silhouettes.
High key/ more filler lights are used, lighting is natural and realistic to our eyes, produces bright sets and a sunny day.
Natural/ uses natural lighting from the surroundings.

Positioning within a Frame:

- Directors will position actors at a key focal point for example, placing an actor in the centre of a frame with other actors either side of them, could signify that this man holds a great deal of power over the others. It also adds symmetry to the frame in order to make the middle actor the centre of attention.

Also, in a frame the director can use positioning to indicate a specific relationships between the characters for example, in one image we have two actors, they have a close proximity. This reflects their close relationship most likely a romantic one as suggested by their body language. In the other image the actors are far apart suggesting they do not get along with one another.