The document discusses various elements of mise-en-scène that can be used to convey meaning and set the tone in a scene, including settings and props, costumes, lighting, color, facial expressions, and character positioning. It provides examples from films like Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, V for Vendetta, Pan's Labyrinth, Shaun of the Dead, Skyfall, The Wizard of Oz, and Kill Bill to illustrate how different mise-en-scène elements are used to establish settings, develop characters, and influence the audience's understanding and interpretation of a scene.

1. Mise En Scene
The arrangement and aspects of a scene

2. Settings And Props
The setting isn't just the background, it’s the foundation for a story. Such as the scene from Pirates Of
The Caribbean when Jack and Elizabeth get stranded on the desert island. The untouched, white
sands shows that there is no society situated there. The water surrounding the island confirms they
are trapped. It gives the sense of isolation and confinement.
Filming in a real place gives a more realistic feel to the scene, although CGI can do just about the
same thing. For movies such as Star Wars, although most of the sets were built to resemble the
locations, much of the films had to be filmed in green screen studios. The use of CGI allows films to
be set in impossible locations, such as in space. Real or not, the setting helps build expectations
from the audience about the film.

3. Costume, Hair
and Make Up
The character’s appearance could
be the most important aspect of a
scene. Costumes allow actors to
adopt a certain role, setting up
personalities and identities. V’s (‘V
for vendetta’) appearance is a man
in a mask. This, instead of showing
facial expressions, presents us with
his characters ideals and not his
identity, showing him to be
mysterious and making us question
who and what he is.
The costume can also
show the era the film
is set in. Ofelia’s
(Pan’s Labyrinth)
clothing shows how
girls would dress in
1944 Spain. This adds
believability and
realism to the scene. Equally, the make up presents the character just as
the clothes do. It can be used to show ageing, status,
wounds or completely change the look of an actor. In
this scene from ‘Shaun of the Dead’, the make up
makes the character look ill and deathly, which in
context shows that he is going to die.

4. Facial
Expressions and
Body Language
The body language and facial expressions gives
us an understanding of the character and their
situations. Someone who is smiling can be seen
to be happy, opposed to a person frowning or
glaring which shows anger.
In this scene be have the master siting straight
and confident, unfazed by his struggling
apprentice. She, however, is sat in the dark,
hunched over, showing she is struggling to eat
and that she is not happy. He is also positioned
higher than her, which only makes her look
smaller.

5. Lighting
There are two main types of lighting.
High-key lighting and low-key lighting.
The first image (Skyfall) is an example
of Low-key lighting. The light only
focuses on his eyes, leaving the rest of
his body silhouetted, and the
background faded. This lighting is used
to create a sense of mystery, and was
popular with film noir. The low levels of
light causes big shadows and stark
contrast between the lighter and darker
parts of the shot.
The opposite of this is High-key
lighting. The scene is evenly
illuminated, creating soft or few
shadows. These scenes are bright and
usually used in musicals, such as The
Wizard of oz.

6. Colour
Colour is used to symbolise emotions and
personality, to hint at things and draw the eye.
In this scene from Kill Bill, Beatrix Kiddo is stood in
the centre of a group of masked men. The black
suggests mystery with the masks or, more
importantly, danger. Black symbolises death,
criminal intent and is usually associated with bad
people. So Beatrix, in yellow, stands out in the
middle. Yellow is associated with happiness and
spring and new life. In some ways, she is very
happy to kill, but this is to show irony. She is killing,
not making life. Yellow can also stand for
cowardice (yet another irony), betrayal, madness
and caution. The black stripes cut through the
brightness of her insanity, showing she is
dangerous, making her appear serious.

7. Positioning of Characters/Objects
in the Frame
This scene presents them as
equals, as they are both sat at
the same height in equal light
(the colour of their clothing
makes Bill Appear darker, so
more sinister). The only thing
that suggests Beatrix is the
stronger of the two is the sword,
positioned at her left side, ready
to draw with her right hand.
The position of the characters can show their
state and status in the scene. Someone
standing high up, looking down, shows they
are stronger and more powerful than
someone being looked down on. Someone
placed in the centre of the scene would
suggest they are more important than
someone in the background or to the side.