This document discusses various elements of mise-en-scène that are commonly used in romantic comedies, including set design, lighting, space, composition, costume, and makeup/hair styles. Set design in a high school rom com may include books or study materials. Lighting is usually bright to convey humor. Costumes in a teen rom com are modern and fit a student look. Makeup/hair can signal a character transformation, like a "nerd" changing their style to please a popular student.

1. Mise En Scene
Romantic Comedy

2. Set Design
• An important element of "putting in the scene" is set design—the setting of
a scene and the objects (props) visible in a scene.
• Set design can be used to amplify character emotion or the dominant mood,
which has physical, social, psychological, emotional, economic and cultural
significance in film.
In a romantic comedy you would stereotypically see revision tools or books
if in a high school rom com for example.

3. Lighting
• The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting can influence an audience’s
understanding of characters, actions, themes and mood.
• Light (and shade) can emphasise texture, shape, distance, mood, time of day or
night, season, glamour; it affects the way colours are rendered, both in terms of
hue and depth, and can focus attention on particular elements of the composition.
In a romantic comedy the lighting is usually bright to give a happy tone and
allow humour to be portrayed effectively. Shadows and darker lighting refers to
horror and mystery.

4. Space
• The representation of space affects the reading of a film.
• Depth, proximity, size and proportions of the places and objects in a film can
be manipulated through camera placement and lenses, lighting, set design,
effectively determining mood or relationships between elements in the
story world.

5. Composition
• The organisation of objects, actors and space within the frame.
• One of the most important concepts with the regard to the composition of a film is
maintaining a balance of symmetry.This refers to having an equal distribution of light,
colour, and objects and/or figures in a shot.
• Unbalanced composition can be used to emphasise certain elements of a film that the
director wishes to be given particular attention to.This tool works because audiences are
more inclined to pay attention to something off balance, as it may seem abnormal.
• Where the director places a character can also vary depending on the importance of the
role.

6. Costume
• Costume simply refers to the clothes that characters wear.
• Using certain colours or designs, costumes in narrative cinema are used to
signify characters or to make clear distinctions between characters.
In a stereotypical teen Rom Com, the costumes are relatively modern and 'in
the style' to coincide with the look of a student.

7. Makeup/Hair Styles
• Establish time period, reveal character traits and signal changes in
character.
An example of this can be a 'nerd' of the school can completely differentiate
their look to please the 'Queen Bee', stereotypically speaking.