Mis En Scene

Mis En Scene

Mis En Scene means 'what's in the scene' in French.

It is made out of 5 elements:

- Setting and Props

- Costume, Hair and Make Up

- Facial Expressions and Body Language
- Lighting and Colour
- Positioning of Characters

Setting and Props:

Settings - The location of the scene really helps put across the mood of the scene. For example a depressing scene would be dark and dull whether as a happy scene would be bright and colourful.


Props - The props help make the scene what it is and makes the scene look more realistic.

Costume, Hair and Make Up:

Costume, Hair and Make Up all help put across the personality of the character and the time zone that the film is set in. for example a character wearing grey trackies and a snapback will be judged as being a chavy character that you wouldn't want to get involved with, whether as someone with normal jeans and a t-shirt will be judged as more of a level headed character.

Facial Expressions and Body Language:

Facial expressions and body language both help put across the mood of the character, for example someone who has a stern face and clenching their fists will come across as someone who is quite angry.

Lighting and colour:

Low Key Lighting - by only using the key and back lights it creates a contrast between light and dark areas, forming silhouettes and distinct shadows which are often included in horror movies.

High Key Lighting - More filler lights are used to make a light that looks natural and realistic, usually used to make a sunny day.

Positioning of Characters:

The positioning of a character can determine what the audience is supposed to be looking at. If the character is place in the centre of the screen then it implies that the audience should look at the character, whether as if the character is towards the side of the screen, it makes the audience focus more on what's around the character.

This image is set in what looks like an old-fashioned urban city, you can see this because of the brickwork and lamp post around the character. The costume suggests that the character is maybe an old fashioned spy or a murderer due to the top hat and dark clothing. The body language of the character is pretty ordinary which could suggest that character is calm about the situation he is in, as if he has experience with what he is about to do. The lighting is definitely low key lighting as there is only one beam of light, creating a silhouette effect on the character which looks quite mysterious. The positioning of the character is right in front of the beam of light, making the character look more prominent.

  

This image is set in a sunny, pleasant looking area which suggests that something positive and happy is happening in this scene. The costume that the man us wearing suggests that he is an average middle age man who is a nice person, also show with his perfectly done hair. The facial expression on the man shows that he is confident in the situation he is in as he looks determined, and the body language shows he is in action because of the swinging arms. The high key lighting makes the mood of the image happy and safe because there are usually only nice scenes in sunny places. The positioning of the character allows you to concentrate not just on him but the truck that is clearly chasing him in the background.