This document provides information about mise-en-scène elements in TV drama, including costume, body language, props, location, set design, and lighting. It discusses how these visual elements communicate meaning and information to viewers. Specific mise-en-scène considerations are outlined for science fiction, period, and crime TV dramas. Examples analyze how mise-en-scène conveys character traits and relationships. Students are tasked with developing mise-en-scène ideas for different drama genres.

1. AS Media Studies
TV Drama
Mise-en-Scène
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A French term meaning what is put into a scene or frame
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Visual information in front of the camera
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Communicates essential information to the audience
For our purposes, mise-en-scene includes the following:
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Costume (and everything about a character's appearance including height, hair colour, makeup etc)
Body Language
Props
Location
Set Design
Lighting
Remember that everything you see has connotations - that is, messages or values which are communicated beyond
the literal object being shown. For example, if a character wears glasses it carries connotations of intelligence,
cleverness, or possible geekiness. Even colours have connotations - at its simplest level, black=evil and white=good.
1. Settings & Props
Settings & Locations play an important part in film-making and are not just ‘backgrounds’
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Sets are either built from scratch or a great deal of time is spent to find a setting which already exists
Settings can manipulate an audience by building certain expectations and then taking a different turn
Task: What settings and props you would find in:
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A Science Fiction TV Drama
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A Period TV Drama
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A Crime TV Drama
Iconography:
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2. 2. Costume, Hair & Make Up
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Costume, Hair & Make Up act as an instant indicator to us of a character’s personality, status & job
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It tells us immediately whether the film is set in the present and what society/or culture it will centre around
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Certain costumes can signify certain individuals (i.e. black cloak of a vampire, Spidey’s Spiderman suit)
3. Facial Expressions & Body Language
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Facial Expressions provide a clear indicator of how someone is feeling
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If someone is smiling broadly, we assume they are happy but we may get a different feeling if this is
accompanied by scary music
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Body Language may also indicate how a character feels towards another character or may reflect the state of
their relationship
Task: What meanings/emotions do the following images convey?
4. Positioning of Characters & Objects within a frame
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Positioning within a frame can draw our attention to an important character/object
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A film-maker can use positioning to indicate relationships between people
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3. Task: What does the positioning in the following images reveal about the characters/film:
Colour
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Colour carries certain connotations which may add meaning to a scene (i.e. Red = Danger/Passion)
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Can give a scene a particular look, feel or mood
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Can be used for dramatic effect
Task: Analysis
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4. Three Point Lighting
key light only
fill light only
key + fill
Low key lighting:
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Created by using only the key & back lights
backlight only
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Produces sharp contrasts of light and dark areas
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key + fill + back
Deep, distinct shadows/silhouettes are formed
High key lighting:
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More filler lights are used. Lighting is natural and realistic to our eyes
What types of lighting are used
in the following images:
Produces brightly lit sets or a sunny day (right)
Task: What types of lighting are used in the following images?
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A
D
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F
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5. Task: For each image, answer the following questions
1. What type of lighting is used in each image (High or Low Key)?
2. Where are the KEY LIGHTS, FILLER LIGHTS & BACK LIGHTS in each image?
3. What effects/meanings does the lighting suggest?
Effects
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6. Analysis: Merlin
Example
Connotations – Links to class and status
1. Costume (and
everything about a
character's appearance
including height, hair
colour, makeup etc)
2. Body Language
3. Props
4. Location
5. Set Design
6. Lighting
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8. AS Media Studies
TV Drama
Creative Task:
Imagine you are the production designer for a TV company and are charged with devising a
list of ideas for the mise-en-scene of some new dramas. Your teacher will allocate you one
of the following to work on:
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The Comp - a new prime time school-based drama
Northern Grit - a realistic northern-set drama about relationships and social issues
Sleuth - a slightly retro Poirot/ miss Marples style detective drama - set in rural
thirties England
Forensics - a modern police drama, focusing on the forensics department in a big UK
city
Ward 10 - a hospital based drama with a soap element to it
Star Patrol - sci-fi drama based around a small space craft tasked with pursuing The
Intergalactic League's most wanted.
The Limes - new drama series set in an old people's home
Kids Rule - a new children's drama set in a post-apocalyptic world where all adults
have been killed off and only the under 14s survive - they have to find their own way
in a new world
Mandela Tower - new soap set in a tower block in inner city London and its local
surrounds
Highwayman - a new family drama series for Saturday nights based on the exciting
adventures of Dick Turpin, the famous highwayman, and his gang of outlaws.
You will need to think about: setting, props, costume for the main character, colour palette,
lighting.... You can ignore character and performance for this activity.
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