Mise-en-scene refers to everything visible within a film frame or shot, including color, costume, props, sets/locations, blocking/performance, and lighting. These elements are used to convey meaning and influence audience interpretation. Color can symbolize ideas like danger, purity, or evil. Costume can indicate social class. Props have purpose and direction for use by actors. Location can be purpose-built sets or real places made to look like others. Blocking positions actors and lighting creates mood through techniques like high key, low key, and ambient illumination. Together, these elements of mise-en-scene aim to create a sense of realism or verisimilitude for the audience.

1. Mise-en-scene
What does mise-en-scene mean?
It means place in the scene, it is everything that can be seen in a single shot. We
need to understand semiotics.
What are the 6 key areas of mise-en-scene?
Colour
Costume
Props
Set/location
Blocking and performance
Lighting
Colour:
How is colour used in the 3 below pictures?
Red can show danger and also symbolises the blood of the puppies, the white and
red is a contradiction, trying to seem nice on the outside but isn’t really nice on the
inside. Her hair is also a contradiction and shows that she is mad, as white can be
seen as pure and black can be seen as evil.
Black on the dress can be seen as evil, her green face can show she is envious, the
purple is a royal colour and shows that she is the queen.
Her white dress can show pureness. The blue can be seen as cold, she is
surrounded by a black background which can foreshadow the future of the niceness
only lasting for a little bit.
Costume:
What can we interpret from these costumes?
Upper class, rich, dressed
Quite posh.
Lower class, poor, can be seen through how they wear their
Clothes.

2. Mise-en-scene
Props:
Props needed:
How would actors be directed to use them:
Location:
Can be a purpose built set or a real location.
Sets are usually part of a studio complex.
It’s usually easier to make a place look like another place, e.g. film in Glasgow but
make it look like Philadelphia.
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?
High key lighting: even light across the frame with little shadow, little dramatic effect
Low key lighting: high contrast between light and dark, with shadow being used for
dramatic effect.
Ambient lighting; the scene has been lit with available lighting e.g. sun
Low key lighting, light is shining on both of them. Kind of high key but they are
using shadows
Verisimilitude
Refers to the authenticity of the environment created on the screen.