Mise-en-scene - The hospital scene

1. MISE-EN-SCENE -
THE HOSPITAL
SCENE
Jessica White

2. LIGHTING
 The lighting in this scene is set so that the room is very dark and Jessica, Sarah’s daughter is
the main focus – everything around the girl is out of focus, with Jessica herself and her
birthday cake being the only thing in the shot that is fully in focus. The reasoning behind this is
because Jessica and her birthday are they only things on Sarah’s mind - Sarah isn’t aware of
what is happening at the beginning, explaining why it starts off out of focus. This creates a
sense of sadness and tension for the viewer. The use of the green tint suggests that Sarah is
feeling very isolated and alone, and portrays the hospital as a very uninviting place. When the
lighting changes nearer the end of this scene, we realise that what happened previously to this
was just a dream - the lighting changes to be a lot brighter, suggesting cleanliness and giving
off a better vibe.

3. LOCATION
 The hospital bed location within this scene is a lot different to the one at the
beginning of the scene, where Jessica, Sarah’s daughter is stood in front of a
birthday cake. In contrast with each other, the hospital location suggests sadness,
isolation and loneliness, whereas the location in which Jessica is thought to be,
seems to be more happy and celebratory, because Sarah gets to spend her
daughters birthday with her. However, the part featuring Jessica turns out to be a
dream and Sarah ends up in the hospital corridor, this showing her coming to
realisation that being with her daughter on her birthday was just a dream, and she
actually doesn’t know where she is, or if she’s even alive.

4. COSTUME
 In this scene, Sarah is wearing a stereotypical hospital gown, therefore
automatically telling the viewer that she is currently in hospital. The colour of the
gown adds to the sense of darkness within the scene, and the feeling of
something hiding in the dark. When the lighting goes back to normal, to show
Sarah standing in the middle of the hospital corridor, the colour of her gown almost
matches the colour of the walls – at this point in the scene, the eerie, dark,
intimidating feeling is no longer present.

5. PROPS
 The two props used in this scene (the birthday cake and the heart rate monitor)
are both very important. The birthday cake is important because it symbolises
Sarah’s daughter, Jessica, and shows how important she is to her. The heart rate
monitor on the other hand, is important to this scene because it shows a rate of
zero and makes a sound as Sarah runs out of the room - this could suggest
possible death of characters.

6. SOUND
 The non-diegetic music in this scene starts off at a slow and
steady pace, but starts to increase in speed as Sarah starts
running. With the pace of the music in the background increasing,
this suggests to the audience that something most likely bad is
going to happen - it creates a sense of suspense