The contribution of Mise-en-scene

1. Mise-en-scène
Everything within the frame – setting, lighting,
costume, framing and composition, colours,
expressions, make up
Creation of the mise-en-scène can influence the
way the audience reads the scene/its interpretation
of character or situation
Semiology – the study of signs/symbols – helps
create depth to the scene.

2. Mise-en-scène
• Objectives –
• Understand how mise-en-scène can help
create a narrative and affect audience
response
• To identify the ways in which it can do this

3. • How is meaning conveyed by the mise-en-
scène in the following shots?

4. Shane (George Stevens, 1953) is a film about the Western myth. Both of these
men are gunfighters. The man on the left is dressed in light clothing; the man on
the right is dressed in black. It’s easy to see from this which one is the hero and
which is the villain. The man on the left wears buckskins associated with Indians
who live in the wilderness and the freedom that goes with it; moreover, he is
framed with the mountains behind him. The man on the right is framed with
saloon doors behind him – representing corruption.
At the end of the film, our hero (wounded) will ride back into the wilderness,
having shot the bad guy in a gunfight. He can’t stay in the town because there is
no place there for a man who settles disputes with a gun (even through he was
forced to). If he settles down , he loses his freedom and if he stays, his gun may
invite more violence.

5. Note the cannon and
who it’s pointed at – he
will be shot
Note the shadows of
the blinds across the
man’s face and body,
indicating
entrapment – he has
been trapped and he
will pay for it by
going to jail – and
possibly be executed
The light-coloured
suit, in this case,
implies a good man
(which he used to
be), yet the shadows
indicate he is in
trouble for
something he’s done
Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)

6. Our hero looks down
a narrow, dark
corridor. The confined
space and the
darkness imply he is
trapped and heading
into danger
The clever (and simple) use of low lighting
mixed with bright reflects the film’s key
theme of evil versus good and it will be this
character who will have to navigate his
(and our) way out of the darkness.
Night of the Demon (Jacques Tourneur, 1957)

7. The classic low angle shot implies the
character is confident and knows what
she’s doing.
But look: she’s shut
the door behind her,
isolating herself;
moreover, the lights
aren’t on and this is
a horror film, which
implies she is in
danger
And then there are
those car shadows
on her face to
indicate she’s
trapped. She may
think she’s
confident and in
control here, but
the mise-en-scene
implies otherwise…
The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973)

8. Here’s a clever shot.
1. It’s dark; she’s in the attic investigating a strange noise and she’s alone = danger
2. The attic is full of junk so the space is restricted and she hasn’t got a lot of room
i.e. it’s a confined space and she’s trapped
3. The placement of the camera, looking at her through all the junk, suggests she’s
being watched – and more than that, the audience have been put in the position
of whatever is there.
4. The mise-en-scène and cinematography encourage the audience to anticipate
what will happen
The Exorcist (Friedkin, 1973)

9. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006)

10. The lighting here is generally low, but look where the light source is and how the
people are arranged around it. The fire represents light, warmth and safety and
the people around it are having a good time. Beyond that, however, is the dark
sea and the darkness again implies danger. What could be there in a film called
Jaws, I wonder…?
Note the girl sitting outside the circle. What might that positional element of
mise-en-scène be hinting at?
Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)