The document discusses various elements of mise-en-scène that contribute to the meaning and message of filmed media. It defines mise-en-scène as the arrangement of everything visible in a film frame, including actors, lighting, décor, props, and costumes. It then examines specific mise-en-scène elements like décor, lighting styles, costumes, props, color, location, body language, and character placement within the frame and how they can be used to characterize figures or set a mood. Students are instructed to closely analyze the mise-en-scène of short film clips and consider how these elements contribute to meanings around characters.

1. Mise –en - Scene

2. The arrangement of everything that appears in the framing – actors,
lighting, décor, props, costume – is called mise-en-scène, a French
term that means “placing on stage.” The frame and camerawork also
constitute the mise-en-scène of a movie.

3. Décor
Décor refers to the decoration or decorative styles, comprising mainly of the
set and props used in a TV Drama
As Media students we need to work out how aspects of the décor creating
meanings, and provoking thoughts

4. Unarguably one of the
elements that has the greatest
power to evoke emotions is
lighting.
High Key Lighting
Everything looks bright with little
to no shadow at all. High-key
lighting has little dramatic effect,
and it is often used in a scene
with no tension or to attach
positive and uplifting
connotations to a character or
situation.
Low-key lighting
Often used in tense scenes or
scenes where negative
connotations are to be derived. It
comprises of a lighting pattern
that has both bright and dark
areas in the frame.

5. Costume & Props
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 pants.
But, more than that, costuming can
also be used to establish someone’s
hierarchic level or attach a
stereotype to them
Costuming may also be used to
emphasize a personality trait. For
instance a women wearing
leopard print may be
characterized as a predator.

6. Colour
• What is the dominant color?
• Are there contrasting foils?
• Is there color symbolism?

7. Location
The set or location of any filmed
drama is created to give meaning
to the text. A documentary will
also attempt to film contributors
in locations that are relevant to
the story or meaning of the text.
For instance, in a soap opera
such as Coronation Street, the
actual row of terraced houses,
the pub, cobbled streets etc. all
contributes to the working class
feel of the community.

8. Body Language Appearance - how the actor appears in the role -
large, small, the right size. Costume and make up
can help an actor build a character
Movements – an actor’s movements can enhance
the believability of the character, and increase the
information the audience is receiving about the
character
Gestures – gestures are helpful to creating the
character
Facial expressions – important in whether a
character is sympathetic or not, and for reading
emotions such as love, fear and pain.
Vocal delivery - very important in delivering the
lines so that comprehensive meaning is
understandable to the audience

9. Staging Positions
Which way do the characters look in relation to the camera?
An actor can be photographed in any of five basic positions, each conveying
different psychological overtones.
– Full-front (facing the camera): the position with the most intimacy. The character is
looking in our direction, inviting our complicity.
– Quarter Turn: the favored position of most filmmakers. This position offers a high
degree of intimacy but with less emotional involvement than the full-front position.
– Profile (looking of the frame left or right): More remote than the quarter turn, the
character in profile seems unaware of being observed, lost in his or her own thoughts.
– Three-quarter Turn: More anonymous than the profile, this position is useful for
conveying a character's unfriendly or antisocial feelings, for in effect, the character is
partially turning his or her back on us, rejecting our interest.
– Back to Camera: The most anonymous of all positions, this position is often used to
suggest a character's alienation from the world. When a character has his or her back to
the camera, we can only guess what's taking place internally, conveying a sense of
concealment, or mystery.

10. Character Proxemics
How much space is there between the characters?
The way people use space can be divided into four proxemic patterns.
– Intimate distances: the intimate distance ranges from skin contact to about
eighteen inches away. This is the distance of physical involvement--of love,
comfort, and tenderness between individuals.
– Personal distances: the personal distance ranges roughly from eighteen inches
away to about four feet away. These distances tend to be reserved for friends
and acquaintances. Personal distances preserve the privacy between
individuals, yet these rages don't necessarily suggest exclusion, as intimate
distances often do.
– Social distances: the social distance rages from four feet to about twelve feet.
These distances are usually reserved for impersonal business and casual social
gatherings. It's a friendly range in most cases, yet somewhat more formal than
the personal distance.
– Public distances: The public distance extends from twelve feet to twenty-five
feet or more. This range tends to be formal and rather detached

11. Character Placement
What part of the framed space do the characters occupy?
Center? Top? Bottom? Edges? Why?
• The area near the top of the frame can suggest ideas dealing
with power, authority, and aspiration.
• The areas near the bottom of the frame tend to suggest
meanings opposite from the top: subservience, vulnerability,
and powerlessness.
• The left and right edges of the frame tend to suggest
insignificance because these are the areas farthest removed
from the center of the screen.

12. In the next shot
Where is our eye attracted first?

13. Ghost World directed by Terry Zwigoff (2001)

14. Why?...
The Dominant
The dominant contrast can be created by any number
of techniques:
1. The size of an object may draw our attention to it.
2. In black and white movies, the dominant contrast is
generally achieved through a juxtaposition of lights
and darks.
3. In color films, the dominant is often achieved by
having one color stand out from the others.
4. Placing one object in sharper focus than the rest of
the shot can also create a dominant.

15. Close Analysis
Watch the following sequences and make notes on what meanings can be
derived from aspects of the mise-en-scene, in particular regarding
characterisation. Be prepared to share your ideas with the rest of the class.
You must consider;
From the start until 1 minute
30 seconds of Ugly Betty
•Location
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBhG78Ou
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•Body Language
Monarch of The Glen
•Costume & Props
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTQDipfN8
•Colour JA&feature=related
•Lighting Revenge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJmoqRAa
•Decor Gjw&feature=related