The Language of Media LI: we will understand the different aspects of mise en scene

Mise en scene Literally means staging an action Used to describe everything in a film frame –Costume and make-up –Behaviour of characters Gesture Facial expresion Dialogue Movement

–Lighting –Setting –Visual Composition All these elements combine to create meaning for the audience The way words, imagery, sentence structure etc are used in written texts

Costume and Makeup The appearance of characters affects our view of them. Characters are usually dressed to underline personality and mood. Provides important information about the characters –Their motivation –Significance

Behaviour of the Characters This combines how the actors move and their dialogue with the type of shot used by the director.

Lighting The way a filmmaker illuminates objects and characters can greatly influence our understanding of a scene. A director can guide the audience’s attention by lighting an object or gesture important to the storyline whilst keeping other, minor details in darkness. A director can also build suspense by using shadow to conceal elements of the shot.

Setting The chosen location for a scene is more than just a background and can greatly influence our expectations. –A place can be scary, calm, exciting etc and can thus convey the emotions of the characters –Colours are often used to give a certain feel to a place.

Props Various objects that appear in a scene/film

Visual Composition Vital to all the previous elements is the type of shot used by the director to film one moment of action. Different types of shot provoke different reactions to what we see. –Close up focuses our attention on one particular character or object –A long shot gives us information about where the action takes place.