Mise-en-scène, pronounced meez-ahn-sen, is a term used to describe the setting of a scene in a play or a film. It refers to everything placed on the stage or in front of the camera—including people. In other words, mise-en-scène is a catch-all for everything that contributes to the visual presentation and overall “look” of a production. When translated from French, it means “placing on stage.”
Mise-en-scène creates a sense of place for the audience whether they realize it or not. It does so by using:
Actors: Actors, their performances, and their performance styles are crucial parts of mise-en-scène. When an actor is on screen, they’re typically the focal point, so their presence carries a lot of weight for the overall look of the story.
Location: The location of the scene sets the mood and supports the action. For example, in a scene in which a man proposes to his girlfriend, a domestic setting sets a completely different tone than a public one. Set design:
Set design refers to everything the audience sees within a particular scene. These details help build out the world of the location and add even more context to the story. If it’s a dorm room, are there books and notebooks on the desk to indicate studying? Or are there pizza boxes and red cups to indicate a party?
Lighting: Lighting is often the tool that conveys mood most clearly. High-key lighting, often used in musicals and romantic comedies, relies on hard light to minimize shadows. Low-key lighting, often used in horror movies, features a high-contrast lighting pattern to both brighten and darken parts of the frame.
Shot blocking and camera placement: Blocking is working with performers to figure out their body positions, gestures, and movements on stage. In cinema, blocking also involves working out the placement and movements of the camera, and can impact the lighting, set design, and more. Both shot blocking and camera placement are effective tools that convey things like characters’ status and relationships to the audience.
Composition: Composition is the deliberate selection of frames and camera angles that make up a shot. Manipulating composition can accentuate the emotional themes of the story and communicate a sense (or lack) of meaning to the audience.
Depth of space: The depth of space is the distance between people, props, and scenery, both in relation to one another and the camera. Much like shot blocking, it can tell the audience a lot about the tone of the scene and the status of the characters. Is the space shallow or deep? Does this accurately capture the truth of the narrative?
Film stock: The film stock refers to the appearance of the movie on the screen. Is it in black and white, or color? Is the film fine-grain, or grainy? Each tells a different story.
Costumes: Costumes are the clothes actors wear and how they’re tailored to fit them. For costumes to be effective, a costume designer must know which colors look right on a character, and then reconcile this with the colors suited to the actor playing the part and the color palette of the production design.
Hair and makeup: Hair and makeup are the physical touches that help actors transform into their characters, such as prosthetics, blood, or aging techniques. Like costumes, hair and makeup are fundamental ingredients in the story being told.
And these are the things that make up mis-en-scene.
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