Elements Of Mise En Scene

To begin this post i am going to list the elements which make up mise en scene. Mise en scene is one of the most important factors to consider when producing a film or tv show as they are the basics of what you will be filming. The elements of mise en scene are as follows:

• Composition

• The composition is the distribution of elements within the frame.
• The composition will either be balanced or imbalanced.

•  Framing

• The framing is the selection or deselection of elements within the composition.

•  Lighting

• There are three main types of lighting:

1. High Key Lighting - This is when there is few shadows in the shot and the scene will be lit with artificial lighting.  
2. Low Key Lighting - This is when the shot will include more shadows then light bringing a darker perspective to the composition. 
3. Naturalistic Lighting - This is when the scene will be lit mostly with natural light although in some cases artificial lighting will be used. 

• Performance

• There also three main in parts to the element of performance:

1. Body Language - This is made up of the posture and movement of the actor/actress cast in the role.
2. Facial Expression - The facial expression of the actor/actress who is playing the part can tell us about the mood and character type which they are trying to portray.
3. Voice - The are different parts of the actors/actresses voice which can help to indicate the character they are playing. 

• Costumes, Setting And Props

•  These three elements all work together to establish certain factors in tv and film. These factors are:

1. Character Info
2. Period/Era
3. Status, Gender and Age
4. Verisimilitude (How real a tv show or film is) 

For the next part of this post i am going to provide an example of each of the elements in mise en scene. These examples will be stills taken from movies produced in a range of different eras. I used www.film-grab.com as a source for my stills. This site is a good source of film stills as it provides a wide range from different eras and genres.

Composition:

Balanced Composition:

This composition is balanced as the producers have organised the scene so that the subject is what the audience are focused on. They are placed in the middle of the frame this means that there is not much negative space on either side of them.

Unbalanced Composition:

In this composition our focus is drawn to the man on the right however there is much more negative space meaning that it is an unbalanced composition. The main elements of the scene are distributed to the right of the frame which also shows how it is unbalanced.

Framing:

This shot is framed so that we are focused on the characters face. The scar provides us a clue into his dark past and his tormented facial expression gives us an insight into the despair riddled-world of the character he is portraying.

Lighting:

High Key Lighting:

High key lighting has been used to fully light the subject so that the subject is dominating the shot. Some common genres which high key lighting is used a lot in is Hollywood musicals and comedies such as The Wizard Of OZ and others from that era.

Low Key Lighting:

The use of low key lighting in the still provides a dark an mysterious mood to the shots, this alongside the characters expression leaves us curious as to what situation he might be caught up in.

Naturalistic Lighting:

The use of naturalistic lighting in this photo helps to improve the verisimilitude of the shot. This shot looks like it is all natural lighting and no artificial but they would've had to have waited until the lighting conditions were perfect to achieve the correct shot.

Performance: 

The first thing that you draw from this still is the outraged facial expression which he is showing. Also the finger pointed at the camera adds to the effect he is trying to portray.

Costume, Setting And Props:

Costume:

Although the costume is not very clear i am able to tell that he is wearing a policeman's uniform. This provides us clues about what role he is playing along with the facial expression and he blood stained shirt leaves us curious as to what might have happened.

Setting:

This shot establishes the location as we can clearly tell the surrounding environment of the location which in this case is a dry, desolate environment, these are factors commonly associated with the planet mars. The still which this film has been taken from is The Last Days On Mars. 

Props:

The prop which I'm am going to be analysing in this case is the car. Due to the fact that this  is an old car, we can tell that the film is set in a different era than the one we are in today; however the film could have been produced in the era which those cars were manufactured so that would be the reason for them using the car.