Mise-en-scène (French pronunciation: [miz.ɑ̃.

sɛn] "placing on stage") is an expression used to describe

the design aspect of a theatre or film production, which essentially means "visual theme" or "telling a
story"—both in visually artful ways through storyboarding, cinematography and stage design, and
in poetically artful ways through direction. It is also commonly used to refer to single scenes within
the film to represent the film. Mise-en-scène has been called film criticism's "grand undefined term".[1]

Definition in film studies[edit]

The distinctive mise-en-scène of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Germany, 1920) features stark lighting and
jagged architecture

When applied to the cinema, mise-en-scène refers to everything that appears before the camera and

its arrangement—composition, sets, props, actors, costumes, and lighting.[2] The "mise-en-scène",
along with the cinematography and editing of a film, influence the verisimilitude or believability of a
film in the eyes of its viewers.[3] The various elements of design help express a film's vision by
generating a sense of time and space, as well as setting a mood, and sometimes suggesting a
character's state of mind.[4] "Mise-en-scène" also includes the composition, which consists of the
positioning and movement of actors, as well as objects, in the shot.[4] These are all the areas
overseen by the director. One of the most important people that collaborates with the director is
the production designer.[4] These two work closely to perfect all of the aspects of the "mise-en-scène"
a considerable amount of time before the actual photography even begins.[5] The production designer
is generally responsible for the general look of the movie, leading various departments that are in
charge of individual sets, locations, props, and costumes, among other things.[4] Andre Bazin, a well-
known French film critic and film theorist, describes the mise-en-scene aesthetic as emphasizing
choreographed movement within the scene rather than through editing.[5]
Because of its relationship to shot blocking, mise-en-scène is also a term sometimes used among
professional screenwriters to indicate descriptive (action) paragraphs between the dialog.[6]

Key aspects[edit]
Mise en scène by Constant Puyo

Set design[7]
An important element of "putting in the scene" is set design—the setting of a scene and the
objects (props) visible in a scene. Set design can be used to amplify character emotion or
the dominant mood, which has physical, social, psychological, emotional, economic and
cultural significance in film.[4] One of the most important decisions made by the production
designer and director is deciding whether to shoot on location or on set. The main distinction
between the two is that décor and props must be taken into consideration when shooting on
set. However, shooting on set is more commonly done than shooting on location as a result
of it proving to be more cost effective.[4]
Lighting[8]
The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting can influence an audience's understanding of
characters, actions, themes and mood.[5] Light (and shade) can emphasize texture, shape,
distance, mood, time of day or night, season, glamour; it affects the way colors are rendered,
both in terms of hue and depth, and can focus attention on particular elements of the
composition. Highlights, for example, call attention to shapes and textures, while shadows
often conceal things, creating a sense of mystery or fear.[4] For this reason, lighting must be
thoroughly planned in advance to ensure its desired effect on an
audience. Cinematographers are a large part of this process, as they coordinate the camera
and the lighting.[4]
Space[9]
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.
Composition[5]
The organization of objects, actors and space within the frame. One of the most important
concepts with the regard to the composition of a film is maintaining a balance of symmetry.
This refers to having an equal distribution of light, colour, and objects and/or figures in a
shot. Unbalanced composition can be used to emphasize certain elements of a film that the
director wishes to be given particular attention to. This tool works because audiences are
more inclined to pay attention to something off balance, as it may seem abnormal. Where the
director places a character can also vary depending on the importance of the role.
 Costume[10]
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.
Makeup and hair styles[11]
Establish time period, reveal character traits and signal changes in character.
Acting[12]
There is enormous historical and cultural variation in performance styles in the cinema. In the
early years of cinema, stage acting and film acting were difficult to differentiate, as most film
actors had previously been stage actors and therefore knew no other method of acting.
[5]
 Eventually, early melodramatic styles, clearly indebted to the 19th century theater, gave
way in Western cinema to a relatively naturalistic style. This more naturalistic style of acting
is largely influenced by Konstantin Stanislavski's theory of method acting, which involves the
actor fully immersing themselves in their character.[5]
Filmstock[13]
The choice of black and white or color, fine-grain or grainy.
Aspect ratio[14]:pp.42–44
The relation of the width of the rectangular image to its height. Each aspect ratio yields a
different way of looking at the world and is basic to the expressive meaning of the film.

See also
 ighting focuses the audience’s attention on the main character or object in a film.
 It also sets the mood or atmosphere.
 While high-key lighting is bright and illuminating, low-key lighting is darker with a
lot of shadows.
 What  special lighting effects are used during the most important scenes?
 Filters are often used to soften and reduce harsh contrasts. They can also be
used to eliminate haze, ultraviolet light or glare from water when shooting outside.
 Using color like red or orange can be used to enhance the feeling of a sunset.
 Can you find any examples where a filter has been used in the film?
 What effect did using a filter have on the scene?
 What colors are most dominant?
……………..

The visual image involves the interplay of several photographic variables,

detailed below. While these variables can provide wonderful aesthetic value,
their primary function is to support or convey the underlying emotion of the
scene.

In other words, they are used to help tell the story. This is the primary goal of
cinematic lighting and image processing. The variables will be discussed at
length in the technical lessons:

Brightness
Photographic images can vary in overall brightness, which is used to support
the underlying emotion of the scene. High-key lighting means an overall
brighter picture, while low-keylighting means an overall darker picture. Mid-
key lighting falls in the middle, yielding average brightness. 

The dramatic content of the scene dictates its brightness. Generally, you will
find that high-key lighting is favored for upbeat scenes, and low-key lighting is
the choice for slow or taut dramatic action.

Although high-key and low-key refer to a picture's overall brightness, parts of

the frame can be illuminated differently to affect attention or composition. For
example, parts of a low-key image can be brightened to facilitate perception,
while parts of a high-key image can be darkened to create a more interesting
composition.

Contrast

Contrast is the range of tones between pure white and pure black. Low
contrast images have a wide range and appear soft to the eye, while high
contrast images have a small range and appear stark. An entire lesson is
devoted to this topic in the technical section. 
 Use of High Contrast to Heighten Drama

Quality of Light

The quality of light is its perceived hardness or softness. A hard quality has

dark shadows with sharp edges, while a soft quality has lighter, diffused
shadows. 

Soft vs. Hard Light

Focus

Focus is the overall sharpness of the image. It can range from very soft to
very sharp. The following photos show two different levels of focus:

Soft vs. Sharp Focus

Depth of field is the amount of acceptable focus behind and in front of the
subject. Short focal lenses tend to produce a wide depth of field, where
everything on the set appears in focus ("deep focus"). Long focal lenses
produce a shallow depth of field, where only the subject area is in focus.
 Shallow Depth of Field

Perspective

Perspective is the breadth and depth of the image, which can be manipulated
with the choice of lens. The foreground and background can appear closer
together (compressed) or further apart (decompressed). The shots below
were taken with different lenses, resulting variations in depth perspective:

Variation in Depth Perspective

 (note size of people in background)

Depth perspective can affect the perceived speed of movement. Specifically,

movement can appear sluggish when depth is compressed and faster when
depth is decompressed. This depends on several technical factors, which are
discussed in the lesson on Lenses. 

Color

Color, also called hue, is manipulated through lighting, art direction, and

laboratory procedure. Shooting in color adds a new set of aesthetic variables:

Overall Hue - A scene can be tinted a certain color to convey scene variables
like emotion, location, and time.

Emotionally, cool colors are associated with aloofness and strife, while warm
colors are associate with romance. Time of day is characterized by different
hues: yellow for sunrise, red for sunset, and blue for night. Distant time
periods can also be conveyed through the use of hues. For example, an
amber tint can be used to mimic the look of an old photograph.
 Use of Cool and Warm Hues

Changing overall hue from sequence to sequence can help the audience
perceive broader changes in scene variables. It also helps create a sense of
variety. The Searchers and Sophie's Choice rely heavily on the use of overall
hue. 

Saturation - Color saturation is how rich colors appear on screen. Highly

saturated colors are vibrant, while desaturated colors are muted. Saturation
can be used to convey the emotion or time frame of a scene. For example, a
flashback can be indicated using desaturated colors.

Two Levels of Color Saturation

Emphasis - Certain colors have a tendency to draw the eye to them,

depending on how they are arranged in the composition. A carefully chosen
color, therefore, can be used to emphasize an element or area within the
frame.

Contrast - Contrasting colors within the frame can be used to convey

character or compositional tension. An unusual use of this technique is found
in Coppola's One from the Heart, where a character is tinted a single hue and
the background is in full color, and vice versa.

Grain

Grain is the tiny particles of dye crystals that make up a photographic image.
It is usually invisible, however, under certain exposure or processing
conditions it can be very noticeable. This results in gritty look that is often
used for aesthetic purpose. 
 Large vs. Fine Grain

Look

Look is the visual feel of the movie.  It is often equated with its surface texture
(i.e., grain, focus), but the meaning is much broader. Different looks are
achieved by systematically manipulating any photographic element, including
grain, focus, contrast, lighting, color, lens focal length, and depth of field.  This
can be obvious or very subtle. 

Look supports the underlying dynamics of the movie.  For example,  The

French Connection makes use of grain and stark lighting to give the film a
sense of gritty realism, almost like newsreel footage, while Rear Window uses
high contrast and saturated colors to convey a sense of romance and intrigue.

Stark, Gritty Look of The French Connection

The look of the movie can be constant throughout or changed in relation to

certain story variables. For example, it may be desirable to alternate between
different looks to reflect shifting story variables like location or time period. 
Another approach would be to progressively change the look to convey
character growth and development.