Mise-en-Scene

Mise-en-scène; a French term that originates from theater. It means to "put in the scene", literally. 


It has a broader meaning for film and refers to almost everything that goes into the composed shot, including the composition, framing, movement of the camera and characters, lighting, set design and general visual environment, even sound because it helps explain the composition. The composition can be defined as the articulation of the cinematic space, and is precisely about space. Cutting is about time; the shot is about what occurs in a defined area of space, surrounded by the frame of the movie screen and derived by what the camera has been made to record. The mise-en-scène can be unique, closed off by the frame, or open, providing the illusion of more space around it. 


Mise-en-scène is also used when the director wishes to give an impression of the characters or situation without having to say it out verbally through the framework of spoken dialogue, and typically does not represent a realistic setting. 

Key aspects of mise en scène

Set design 

An important element of "putting in the scene" is set design—the setting of a scene and the objects (props) there in. Set design can be used to amplify character emotion or the dominant mood of a film, or to establish aspects of the character.

Lighting 

The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting have an amazing effect on the way an image is perceived. Light and shade can emphasize on the texture, the shape, thebdistance, mood, the time of day or night, the season, the glamor; it affects the way colors are renderedband can focus attention on particular elements of the composition.

Space 

The representation of space affects the reading of a film. Depth, proximity, size and proportions of the places and objects in a film can be manipulated through camera placement and lenses, lighting, set design, effectively determining mood or relationships between elements in the story world.

Costume 

Costume simply refers to the clothes that characters wear. Using certain colors or designs, costumes in narrative cinema are used to signify characters or to make clear distinctions between characters.

Acting 

There is large amounts os historical and cultural variation in performance styles in the cinema. Early melodramatic styles, clearly indebted to the 19th century theater, gave way in Western cinema to a relatively naturalistic style.