Notes

1. Mise-en-scene
What does mise-en-scene mean?
It’s a French term which means everything that appears on screen.
What are the 6 key areas of mise-en-scene?
1. Colour
2. Costume
3. Props
4. Set/location
5. Blockingandperformance
6. Lighting
Colour:
How is colour used in the 3 below pictures?
Cinderella is wearing light, white and pure colours which allow the audience to see
an innocent character.
The red coat in the first image allows the character to look perhaps evil. Her hair (the
fact that it is different colours) allows us to see she has a split personality.
The middle image has a dark background with a crow on her shoulder. This shows
how the character is evil and perhaps envious. The green tinge of her skin allows the
audience to think that the character is jealous.
Costume:
What can we interpret from these costumes?

2. Mise-en-scene
Culturalcode-the audience understand how costume provides
clues/codes.
The dark clothing of the two men on the right could suggestan element
of seriousness and maturity. The clothing additionally allows us to see
that the pair have money and come from a high class/social standing
group. They are both clean shaven which emphasis there professional
and ‘work’ look. However in contrast, the left image has clothing which
implies they are perhaps at a lower class than the right image. They are
wearing baggy clothing and clothes which are commonlyused of the
lower classes.
Props:
Option 1 - You have to provide props for a tense police interview between two
officers and one suspected murderer. Decide what props you would incorporate and
how the actors should be directed to use them.
Option 2 – You have to provide props for a romantic meal between two characters
on their first date. Decide what props you would incorporate and how the actors
should be directed to use them.
Option 2…
Props needed: Candles, flowers (roses), romantic music, table, chairs and wine.
How actors would be directed to use them: The male will present the women with
roses on entry. The waiter will show them to their candle-light table. The music
should be on in the background and should be interpreted by the actors
Location:
Can be a purpose built set or a real location
Blocking/Performance:
 Blocking refers to the positioning and movement of actors within the frame,
both in relation to each other and in relation to the camera (which represents
us, the audience)
 Performance covers all aspects of the actual acting – gesture, expression,
accent etc.
Lighting:
How is lighting being used to create mood in the following examples?

3. Mise-en-scene
The image on the left has low key lighting which allows the image to have shadows.
This makes the image more dramatic and creates real contrast within the frame. The
light helps to convey the mood. This is prefect for the horror/drama film type.
The image on the right however, shows the lighting using high key light. This is
perfect for creating little shadows and dark areas in the image. As the light is shining
on their faces, we can see that these characters are in fact the good guys. This
furthermore is perfect for the light-hearted and comedy genres of film- similar to the
image.
 High key lighting- little shadows or dark areas.
 Low key lighting- shadows, dramatic.
 Ambient lighting- lit using available light.