This is the mise-en-scene for the short film The Answers

1. THE ANSWERS:
MISE-EN-SCENE
MACHAELA NICHOLLS

2. LIGHTING
The use of high key
lighting here is to make
his location look happy
and safe and to give us
an inclination that he is
in a spiritual place
(possibly Heaven)
The
Chiaroscuro
lighting
used here
could show
that this is
a good
memory
and a bad
memory.

3. Light shining on her
tells the audience that
she is important and will
be an important factor
in this short film
Low key lighting here shows that
this is more of a dark scene and
that it was a very low point in the
main characters life – when him
and Paige broke up
High key lighting is used here.
It can be used to show that
the character is happy in this
moment or that the character,
Paige, made him feel happy
and safe.

4. SUMMARY
LIGHTING IS USED TO GIVE THE AUDIENCE MORE
INFORMATION ABOUT A SCENE AND HOW A CHARACTER
MAY FEEL AT THAT TIME.
THIS IS GOOD FOR A SHORT FILM BECAUSE IT ALLOWS THEM
TO GIVE THEIR CHARACTERS MORE DEPTH AND HELP THE
AUDIENCE POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND THE FILM MORE AS THE
LIGHTING GIVES THEM EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT THE
CHARACTERS AND THE SCENE.

5. BODY SHAPE AND LANGUAGE
Clenching of
the fist shows
the audience
that this boy is
angry. We then
see his anger
shown when he
punches the
boy.
This man grasping
Nathans arm is
stopping Nathan
and looks kind of
threatening.

6. Her chin is resting on
Nathans shoulder and
she is looking lovingly
at him showing that
she is happy and that
she is in love with
him.
Their heads are
very close
together showing
that they care for
one another a lot
and that they are
very close

7. SUMMARY
BODY SHAPE AND LANGUAGE IS USED TO HELP THE
AUDIENCE UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN
CHARACTERS WHO INTERACT.
THIS IS GOOD FOR A SHORT FILM BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT
THEY DON'T HAVE TO WASTE TIME TRYING TO BUILD UP AND
EXPLAIN RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PEOPLE MEANING THAT
THEY HAVE MORE TIME TO PUT MORE DEPTH INTO THEIR
STORY AND OTHER ASPECTS THAT MAKE A GOOD SHORT
FILM.

8. FACIAL FEATURES AND
EXPRESSIONS
Confused,
trying to
figure out
what is
going on
Shocked
and sad
after seeing
how he died
Joy at stealing
bike which we
can tell
because he is
smiling
Scared because he
thought a shark
touched him which we
can clearly see from his
facial expression as his
mouth is open showing
he is screaming and his
Embarrassed
because a shark
didn’t actually
touch him, we may
be able to see this
from the way he is
look away from the
camera and is
looking at the

9. Joy – he finds it funny when
he watches himself in his
drunkest moment. We can see
this through him
smiling/laughing.
Happy: she's smiling
and looking lovingly
at the camera.
Happy. Its her wedding day. We can
see this through the way they are
smiling at each other and looking into
each others eyes. We can also tell that
they care deeply for each other and
that they may love each other.
Slightly upset
that she got
married to
someone else,
he is frowning.
Happy from being
with Paige, we can
see this as he is
smiling after just
talking to her.

10. Upset from breaking
up, you can clearly
see that she had
been crying.
Upset from watching
break up, he is
frowning again and
he has a sad look in
his eyes.
Him realising
everything he’s lost –
upset. He is looking
sadly away and at the
floor and he is slightly
frowning.

11. SUMMARY
FACIAL FEATURES AND EXPRESSIONS ARE USED TO ALLOW
THE AUDIENCE TO SEE HOW THAT CHARACTER FEELS AND
HOW THEY ARE REACTING TO A CERTAIN SITUATION.
THIS IS GOOD FOR A SHORT FILM BECAUSE IT ALLOWS THE
AUDIENCE TO UNDERSTAND THE CHARACTERS AND HOW
THEY ARE FEELING SO THAT THEY CAN UNDERSTAND THE
FILM MORE.

12. PROPS
Bike: this tells us
that the character is
active as we can
infer from this that
he used to ride his
bike to school
everyday.
Pliers: this tells us
that this character
was planning to
steal his bike
because he was
prepared with
pliers to break
what was keeping
the bike locked up.Toys: this tells
us how young
the girl is as
she is still
playing with
little toys.
Tent: this helps
set the scene
and helps the
audience
understand what
is going on, why
they are where
they are.
Surf board: this tells us
that the character is
still quite active as he
goes surfing and we
can infer that he does
this a lot through the
use of the prop (his
own surfboard) and the
fact that he asked how
Empty glass: from
this we can infer
that there was
alcohol I n it
before he drank it.
This could show
us that he likes to

13. Pregnancy test: from this
we can infer that both
the character in this
scene are promiscuous
and that they are not
carful, which can tell us
that the main character
is carefree.
Tea towel: in this
scene Paige takes
the tea towel from
his shoulder and
starts folding it,
this can show us
that this character
likes to be neat.
Fish: the main
character in
this scene
play's with the
fish in this
scene, this
could show us
that he is
playful and
likes to have
fun.

14. SUMMARY
ALL OF THE PROPS HELP TELL THE STORY AND ADD TO THE
STORY.
THIS IS GOOD FOR A SHORT FILM BECAUSE PROPS THAT
CHARACTERS INTERACT WITH TELL THE AUDIENCE A LITTLE
BIT ABOUT HEM BRINGING MORE DEPTH TO THEIR
CHARACTER. THIS HELPS IMPROVE CHARACTER
DEVELOPMENT IN A SIMPLE WAY THAT SAVES TIME.

15. COSTUMES
Shows they’re from a
very different time
period. This helps us
understand that we are
at a different time as
so to not confuse the
audience
Wetsuit:
from him
owning his
own suit we
can infer
that he surfs
a lot and
that he is a
very active
person.
This shows
the audience
that these
characters got
married as
she is wearing
a wedding
dress and he
is wearing a
tux.

16. SUMMARY
COSTUMES CAN HELP THE AUDIENCE UNDERSTAND THE
CHARACTERS. IT CAN HELP WHEN MOVING BETWEEN
DIFFERENT TIME PERIODS TO LET THE AUDIENCE KNOW THAT
THE TIME PERIOD HAS CHANGED THROUGH COSTUME.
COSTUME CAN HELP THE AUDIENCE INFER FROM THE
COSTUMES ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE SCENE
WITHOUT HAVING IT TO BE EXPLAINED TO THEM, SAVING
TIME WHICH IS GOOD OR A SHORT FILM BECAUSE IT ALLOWS
THEM TO USE THEIR SHORT TIME EFFECTIVELY.

17. HAIR AND MAKE UP
His hair is quite neat here showing
that he is taking care of it which
means he cares about his appearance
this could be because he wants to
look good for his girlfriend.
This man has long scruffy
hair and a big scruffy
beard, this makes him
look unkempt and
menacing showing that
he may not be a nice
character.
Her hair is up, out of her
face, this could show that
she is confident because
she is not hiding behind
her hair.

18. Her hair is up and out of the
way, this links t the scene
where she is changing her
baby's diaper and so she
wants to keep her hair clean
and out of the way. Also she
isn’t wearing any make up
which can make her look
innocent. She has her hair down and she
is wearing makeup, this can
show that she has made an
effort to come and see him
which shows that she cares
about what he thinks of her
appearance showing that she
cares about him.
He looks like he has done nothing to his
hair ad it looks slightly messy. This is in
contrast to earlier in the short film where is
was much neater showing the time and
situation difference. This could show the
contrast to when he was happy to where he
is no longer happy because he no longer

19. SUMMARY
HAIR AND MAKEUP CAN TELL US INFORMATION ABOUT THE
CHARACTERS.
THIS IS GOOD FOR A SHORT FILM BECAUSE IT ALLOWS THE
AUDIENCE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE CHARACTER,
CREATING MORE DEPTH OF THAT CHARACTER.

20. VOICE AND TONE
ALL THROUGHOUT NATHANS TONE IS VERY CALM WHICH
COULD SHOW THAT HE IS A CALM PERSON.
AT ONE POINT HE KIND OF SHOUTS, “FUCK” AFTER SEEING
HIMSELF AT HIS DRUNKEST, THIS COULD SHOW THAT HE WAS
VERY SHOCKED.

21. SUMMARY
VOICE AND TONE IS USED TO EXPRESS PEOPLES EMOTIONS.
THIS THEN MAKES WHAT THIS CHARACTER IS FEELING CLEAR
TO THE AUDIENCE HELPING THEM UNDERSTAND THE
CHARACTER MORE.

22. COLOUR
White represents light,
goodness, innocence and
purity. In this case it is
representing that the main
character is in a spiritual
place
Orange represents joy
and sunshine. In this
case it shows how this
was a happy part of
his life.
Black represents strength,
seriousness and power. This
relates to what the boy does
next which is stand up to his
bully and punches him.

23. Red represents love, passion, romance and
joy. This shows that in this scene they are
very much ion love and they are happy. White
represents light, goodness, innocence and
purity. This represents a good part in their
relationship where they were both happy.
Red lipstick. Red
dress.
Red can represent:
love and passion
which could tell us
that she loves her
now husband. It can
also show that
before she got
married she did love
Nathan (the main
character)

24. SUMMARY
COLOUR AND TELL US MORE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS AND
HOW THEY ARE FEELING.
THIS IS GOOD FOR A SHORT FILM BECAUSE IT ALLOWS THE
AUDIENCE TO KNOW THE CHARACTERS MORE AS THE
COLOURS COULD REPRESENT THEIR FEELINGS AND ADD TO
THE STORY.

25. LOCATION
Spiritual place/Heaven. This tells that
he is dead and that he is in heaven
and if you believe the bible that
means that he has not done horrible
sins to go to hell which can tell us
straight away that he is a good
person.
Bar: this can show
us that he likes to
drink. We can see
this reinforced
through the short
film and we see
him drinking,
drunk and at a bar.

26. Kitchen: the
kitchen looks very
clean and tidy
which can
represent their
relationship at the
time, as everything
was fine and they
were in a good
place.
Shop: she looks
very comfortable
here which could
show that she goes
there a lot.

27. SUMMARY
LOCATION SETS THE SCENE AND HELPS THE AUDIENCE
UNDERSTAND WHERE THE CHARACTER IS AT THAT POINT IN
TIME. SO THIS HELPS THE AUDIENCE UNDERSTAND THE
STORY MORE.
THIS IS GOOD FOR A SHORT FILM BECAUSE IT CAN HELP THE
AUDIENCE UNDERSTAND THE CHARACTERS MORE BECAUSE
FROM THEIR SURROUNDINGS WE CAN KNOW WHAT KIND OF
PEOPLE THEY ARE LIKE. FOR EXAMPLE IF THEY ARE IN A VERY
MESSY PLACE THEN IT COULD REPRESENT THAT THEY ARE A
VERY MESSY OR LAZY PERSON.