Mise-en-scene

With in media it is important that I am able to understand and accurately interpret media texts. Expanding my knowledge of film langue will help me do this and will also benefit me when it come to film my own media products. One part of film langue that I have recently studied is the use of Mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene is the visuals that make up the frame, it includes everything that is shown on the screen including background and foreground.
One area the Mise-en-scene covers are costumes, this includes hair and make up as well as the outfits that the character is wearing. costume is a good way to show what time period the text is set in and it can also outline what sort of status the character may have. For example if a female character was wearing an smart and expensive dress with neat hair it would add to her authority and make her seem more important.

Lighting is also a part of Mise-en-scene. Having a dark setting will have a different effect on the audience when compared to a bright setting, light also refers to how characters with in the scene are lit. For example is a character was shown in the shadows it may be referring to certain aspects of the personality such as non trustworthy or that they have something to hide. When compare the dark washed out colouring and the bright vibrant lighting of the two images they are able to create very different feelings and tones.
Another area of Mise-en-scene is actors, this are includes how the actors are positioned and how they used there facial expressions with in a scene. All of this will help to build their character and showcase them to the audience. Body language is a good way to identify relationships and how the character is truly feeling and this may help the audience identify key information. A example of body language is shown is the screen shot from 'What Happens in Vegas' for it you can clearly see that there is some tension between the two characters shown.

'Children of Men'

Props also play a part amongst Mise-en-scene as certain props have certain connotations. For example a character holding a bunch of flowers would give a different message to the audience when compared to if the character was holding a gun.

'What Happens is Vegas'

                                                                            Setting is also relevant within Mise-en-scene as it as able to provide the audience with information of where the text is set. The setting will also have different connotations depending where it is. For example the screen shot from 'Children of Men' shows run down city which helps add to the dystopian tone of the whole film.










Overall the use of Mise-en-scene is very important in media as each aspect of t it is able give the scene meaning and influence the audiences feelings. Effective Mise-en-scene is able to communicate key details to the audience about what is happening, this can be done subtlety or it can be more obvious.