Mise en scene notes sheet

1. Elishia
What does mise-en-scene mean? ‘Place in the scene’
Mise-en-scene is the arrangement of everything in a frame.
What are the 6 key areas of mise-en-scene?
 Props
 Costume
 Lighting
 Colour
 Location/set
 Blocking/performance
Colour:
How is colour used in the 3 below pictures?
Dark, dull colours (black, dark purple) portray a sense of evil.
Crueller’s inside of her coat may help to represent the blood of the animals she has killed.
Her split hair colour can show a split personality.
The used of the dark backdrop keeps the focus of the image on the character, keeping the
tone low-spirited. The non-attractive choice of the bird could represent her dark inner
thoughts.
Whereas the lighter, brighter colours (light blue, white) can help to represent a sense of
innocence. The traditional stereotypical white wedding dress helps to represent the pure and
innocence of the character.
Costume:
What can we interpret from these costumes?
The costumes provide a ‘cultural code’. They allow different audience meners to recognise
different personalities and status’ instantly purely by seeing their hair, make-up and costume.
The clothing of the Jackson’s show
their low class, possibly living in a
council house, reflecting a low income
of money.
Whereas Dr Watson and Sherlock’s
costume portray a professional nature
with a higher class.

2. Elishia
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.
Props needed:
Rose, mobile, table, chairs, plates, cutlery, glasses, flower ornaments, food, wine bottle,
notepad, pen, menu, salt, pepper, ketchup, mayonnaise, napkin, tablecloth, candle etc.
How would actors be directed to use them:
Eat the food and with the cutlery, drink with the glasses, sit on the chairs, write the order
using pen on the note pad etc.
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?
Low-key lighting helps to portray the evening which is generally a more frightening setting, it
can allow for a high contrast between light and dark, with shadow used as a dramatic effect.
The light here is helping convey the mood, the fact that the light is shining on their face
portrays that they are the good guys.
High-key-lighting helps to portray the daytime as well as it being a safer environment
(Ambient lighting (natural light)). The light on the females face could show she is the more
innocent character of the two and the man may be delivering some bad news etc.

3. Elishia