Mise-en-scene is a visual information in front of the camera which includes all the detail that is shown on the camera to create the effect and what the audience should think about the scene and the characters, and how they are presented.
The five important points that shall be shown are:
- Setting and Iconography
- Costume, Hair and Make up
- Facial Expressions & Body Language
- Lighting and Colour
- Positioning of characters/objects within the frame
Setting and Iconography:
Setting plays an important part in film-making and not just 'backgrounds' as they create the whole atmosphere and give us an idea of where the film may take place. In a thriller it will be most likely; haunted house, abandoned warehouse, graveyard or a forest at night. Or in a romantic comedy it will be most likely; in a open friendly house, daylight, in a city, or office. Sometimes sets are either built from scratch for a fantasy film or a film that deals with parallel universe or world. Or they chose a setting that already exists and is used again and again.Although some settings can manipulate an audience by building up certain expectations that a film might be happy, and romantic and that in a particular scene everything will be fine, yet the scene may take a wrong turn and change and a fight may break out in a neighbourhood where everything is sunny and normal.
Costume, Hair and Make up:
Costume, Hair and Make up play an important part in Mise-en-scene as well as it is an instant indicator to us of a character's personality, status and job. When you see for example a black suit you can either think of a spy or a person attending a funeral, or if you see someone in a dress which has bright colours it creates a nice turn of showing that, that particular person is a nice and happy constantly.
Hair in a film is very important as it shows in a screenshot what happened to a person for example if the hair is messy then the it shows that there they either just got out of a fight or they just come out of a night out with a person, or if the hair is normal and neat then the character/person has just encountered a normal day and nothing interesting has happened yet.
Make up also shows what has happened to the person so if on an actress the mascara is smudge and she looks quite unattractive then it shows that she has just been crying and is quite upset. Or if the make up is done up proper then it shows that she has done herself up for a party or a date. In a fighting scene making is used to show blood and cuts on their face or body to show that there has been a large fight and lots of people have been either killed or injured.
Costume, Hair and Make up tells us immediately whether the film is set in the present and what society/or culture it will centre around.
Facial Expressions and Body Language:
Facial Expressions provide a clear indicator of how someone is feeling and how they react to a news or something, also body language is used a clear indicator too to show what the character is doing and how it effects the scene. If in a fighting scene the main character would stand at a very confident stance, ready to react to whoever would take a first swipe or attack at the character.
Lighting and Colour:
Lighting and colour is also important in a Mise-en-scene as it creates the atmosphere especially in a thriller as you use very dim lighting to create an eerie feel to the room and making us feel that we are actually in the room with the characters. The colour is also important as it is not right to have bright colours in a thriller or to have dark depressing colours in a romantic comedy, or just a comedy as it doesn't fit the mood.
Positioning of Characters and Objects with a frame:
Positioning of characters is very important in a Mise-en-scene as a character which is close up and in focus whereas a character behind them is blurred and out of focused shows that this person in the front is very important and a main character and should be focused on him more as he is more important than the blurred character in the background.
Also the objects within the frame is important as the object is in the centre of the screen shot might be large and in focus where everything else around it is out of focused and not important as the actual main image.
Summary:
For this summary of mise-en-scene I decided to look at 'Scream' (1996, Wes Craven). 'Scream' is now considered to be one of the best thrillers of all time, as it uses the techniques and follows the narrative of a classic thriller. One of the most important things in this scene to create tension is the telephone. I means that as the audience we are unable to see the killer which helps to build the suspense. It also makes the audience feel sorry for her. The scene takes place at the woman's house in which we learn she is all alone which makes her appear more vulnerable. The woman in this scene is blonde which is stereotypical for thriller movies - blond girls are supposedly innocent and common in all thrillers (one of the most famous thrillers, 'Psycho' 1960, has a blond victim, and 'Scream' is supposed to be an homage to classic thrillers and the thriller genre). The lighting changes half way through the clip very subtly becoming darker which makes it seem more deadly. This makes the audience build fear and tension while they are waiting for something to happen. The majority of the scene is shot at a MS of her character so we see her scared body language as well as her expression. She is always central to the shot to let the audience know she is the most important part of the scene.
