Mise-En-Scene & Sound

Mise-En-Scene

In French means 'in the scene or frame'

The elements of Mise-En-Scene are:

1. Settings and props

2. Facial expressions and body language

3. Costume, hair and make-up

4. Lighting and colour

5. Positioning of characters and objects in the frame

Colour: Denotation and Connotation

Denotation - the literal description of an idea, concept or object

Connotation - what we associate with a particular idea, concept or object

Example... Blue

Denotation:

blue¹

bluː/

adjective

1. 1.

   of a colour intermediate between green and violet, as of the sky or sea on a sunny day.

Connotation:

We may associate blue with coldness, aquatics and masculinity.

Positioning of characters and objects within a frame...

Where objects and characters are positioned is key to the audiences understanding of characters and objects as it can emphasise the importance of something or someone. Objects and characters can be found in the foreground, middle-ground or background.

Foreground:


Middle-ground:


Background:

Lighting:

Standard lighting:

Key lighting:

Back lighting:

Sound

Diegetic sound: Refers to the world of text
Non-diegetic sound: Refers to everything outside the world of text

On-screen sound: The audience can see the source of the sound
Off-screen sound: The audience can't see the source of the sound

Jaws (1975)