Research Into Mise-en-scene

Research Into Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene is a French term meaning what is put into a scene or frame. It is made up of visual information in front of the camera and communicates essential information to the audience about setting and characters. The five elements of mise-en-scene include: Settings & props, costume, hair & makeup, facial expressions & body language, lighting & colour and the positioning of objects within the frame. Each aspect of the mise-en-scene creates meanings and communicates them to the audience, influencing how they feel at a certain point. They can also be used for narrative enigma and make the audience question why certain objects have been placed in the way it has, creating mystery and an engaging opening sequence.

Settings & Props:

The location and setting play an important part in filmmaking and help to manipulate an audience by building on certain expectations and creating various moods. The setting can either be built from scratch, allowing the designers to create exactly what they envision, or another time consuming process may be finding a setting that currently exists and filming there. For thriller or horror films, conventions of settings a props include dark forests, basements, knives, weapons, blood, abandoned buildings and other eerie related objects.

(Forest)

Costume, Hair & Make up:

The costume, hair and make up immediately tell the audience what time the film is set, which society or culture it may be based around. They act as an instant indicator to the audience of a character, such as their occupation or role within the film. Costumes are also important as they help the audience shape an understanding around each character and how they may be the protagonist or antagonist. Within horror film, the use of dark clothing and masks could be seen as a convention as they mask the identity of the killer so that the audience do not know who they are.

(Scream Mask)

Facial Expressions & body language:

The use of facial expressions allows the audience to clearly indicate the emotions conveyed by the characters. For example, if someone is frowning, the audience may assume they are either angry or upset. To emphasise this mood, music or other sounds may be played within the background to show this emotion. Body language may also indicate how a character feels towards other people, or to emphasise the facial expressions. In horror films, the victims may have a horrified facial expression to show the audience they are afraid. Their body language may also be used to emphasise this, such as my raising their hands to either side of their cheek. This could be seen as a convention for various horror, slasher or thriller movies.

(Scared Facial Expression)

Lighting & Colour:

By using lighting and colour, it can be used to highlight important characters or objects within the frame. It can also make characters look mysterious by shading parts of the face so it cannot be clearly identified. Colour can also be used to reflect a characters mental state or any hidden emotions. Each colour carried various connotations which may add meaning to the scene and give it a particular mood or for dramatic effect. For example, in ‘Schindler’s List’ one scene where a small girl dressed in red is shown within a short scene. As the movie is in black and white besides this scene, it gives huge significance to the colour and character used.

(Schindler's List: Girl in Red Coat)

Positioning of Characters & Objects Within a Frame:

The position within a frame can draw the audience’s attention to an important character or object. A filmmaker can use the positioning to distinguish relations between different people and perhaps the emotions they have towards each other. For example, within a horror film, the chase sequence between the killer and victim could show how they are in danger, and how the victim is trying to escape the grasp of the killer. Within a romantic film, the two companions may be positioned close together, indicating to the audience that they may be a couple.

(Chase Sequence)

In order for me to understand about mise-en-scene and how it can be applied to our opening sequence, I created two images within pixelmator in order to establish the moods created within a scene. The first image is of a room filled with various objects taken from a character profile description. From reading the description, I selected key pieces of information and used images to display within the image:

• ‘Nietzsche poster on the walls’
• ‘The room is a clutter of papers’
• ‘His bed is spotlessly clean and always tidy’ 

(Image Created on Pixelmator)

The other image I had created on pixelmator is using images I had taken of a model set used for creating the setting of the film. After taking various shots of this model, I uploaded the images and chose one that I felt gave an eerie effect. To begin with, I made the whole image darker to give an eerie feel so that it conveys a mystery/horror feel. Within the window in the background, I cropped shadows and darkened it so that it became black. This creates ambiguity within the mise-en-scene as the viewer can only see a silhouette of a figure, yet have no information about them. Within the foreground, I added heaps of snow to link with the setting and to create a more authentic look. I also added a ‘caution – biohazard’ security tape to develop the scene and give some information about the possible plots. By combining these various aspects onto one piece, it gives the viewer an idea of what the setting may look like and how it can be recreated on a real set.   

(Image Created on Pixelmator)