Mise-en-scene encompasses all visual elements that appear within the frame of a film, including setting, costumes, lighting, and staging of actors. It describes how these elements are arranged and their practical or aesthetic effects. Mise-en-scene covers four general areas: setting, lighting, costume, and staging. Lighting can be natural, available, or artificial and is used to achieve different moods. Costuming dresses actors according to their characters and can establish hierarchy or emphasize themes. Set design refers to the decor and furniture that dress the set and can bear deeper significance or emphasize themes.

1. Mise-en-scene encompasses the most recognizable
attributes of a film – the setting and the actors; it includes
costumes and make-up, props, and all the other natural and
artificial details that characterize the spaces filmed.
The term is borrowed from a French theatrical expression,
meaning roughly “put into the scene”.
In other words, mise-en-scène describes the stuff in the
frame and the way it is shown and arranged. It covers four
general areas: setting, lighting, costume and staging.

2. Lighting is the deliberate application of light to achieve
some practical or aesthetic effect.
o Natural lighting – is from a natural source such as the
sun or fire
o Available lighting – the naturally occurring light on
the set will be used to completely or partially light the
scene. This is usually sunlight but can also refer to any
lighting that is not set up by the crew. Eg. Street
lights.
o Artificial lighting – lighting that is not provided by a
natural or available source

3. o Key lighting – the main light source used to
light a subject in a scene
o Low key – refer to any scene with a high light
ratio. Often used in horror/thrillers
o High key – this scene is flooded with light,
very few shadows. Often seen in romantic
comedies/musicals.

4. The obvious purpose of costuming is to dress
an actor according to his character. Lawyers
wear suits, nurses wear scrubs, and a drifter
could wear worn out shoes, ragged shirt, and
baggy trousers - But, more than that,
costuming can also be used to establish
someone’s hierarchic level. Costuming may
also be used to emphasise a theme.

5. The set design refers to the decor of the
set, or how it’s dressed. Mainly
containing the furniture, props, and the
set itself. Instead of just placing objects
here and there, the director must be
savvy to fathom how these elements
may bear significance in a deeper level,
while also emphasizing themes, creating
meanings, and provoking thoughts.