Mise-en-Scene

Lighting and Colour:
-Use of lighting and colour impacts the most on other elements of Mise-en-Scene. A simple shot of a church can be made threatening by flooding it with deep red light. Props such as statues and crucifixes become frightening and thus the Gothic Horror genre is signalled.

Colour:
-Colour has a big impact on our emotions and therefore on our understanding of a scene. These colours can be used symbolically, for example red symbolises love. Your understanding of the symbolism behind a colour may be influenced by our cultural background as different cultures have different associations with colour.

-Tints of colour can be added by film-marked when editing to create effects. The film Amelie has increased the colour saturation in order to give the film a more fantasy/animated feel/ In contrast the opening sequence from Saving Privet Ryan has de-saturated the colour. It's not quite black and white but the colour levels have been decreased.

Lighting:
Lighting help convey mood or atmosphere. Often our attention is drawn to a particular object or gesture that is important within the film's storyline. The film-maker can also use shadows to hide elements of the scene and create suspense.

If a film is shot in a studio, lights usually come from three different kinds:

• A back light
• A filler light
• A key light

High Key Lighting:
-Refers to a scene where lots of lights are included to create a colourful and/or bright environment. The key light is the main light used in a scene. This is a large light placed at the front, by the cameras. This is because lighting a subject from any other angle (back, side) will create a silhouette or deep shadow across the subject. Filler lights refers to the other lights used in a scene which removes any shadows.


Low Key Lighting:
-Is created by using only key and back lights, creating areas of both light and darkness. This lighting will/is used to create a specific atmosphere. For example the suspense of a thriller or the terror of a Horror. Furthermore it may be used a 'mood' lighting for a romantic scene.

Setting:
-A specific design or choice of location can be very important in/to a film. The setting is able to contribute to the narrative and furthers the audience's understanding of the film. In Thelma and Louise (1991),the two main protagonists are on the run across America, trying to avoid the Police.Eventually they arrive at the Grand Canyon which,in the context of the film's story,serves as a symbol of their quest of freedom. Setting also creates time and place. If set in a historical period, a certain amount of accuracy would be important to the audience.

Costume Props and Make-Up:
In everyday life we often judge people on first impressions.These impressions are formed by what people wear, what they carry, their make-up and hair. In media texts these things are important ways of telling us about different characters. These can change throughout a narrative to show us that things are changing for the characters.

Costume:
-Costume refers to the clothes worn by a character, this could mean mean the armour of Predator or a glamorous dress. It can tell us what people do or a job, if they are rich or poor and even gives us clues as to what type of person they are, for example the symbolic use of colour.

-For some characters, costume is essential both to the genre and the narrative. Spider man uses costume both to mask his identity and to work with his special powers. Superman switches from the business clothes of his day job, to his superhero clothes when he's about to use his powers.

-Costumes also works alongside setting to establish the historical setting of a text and aspects of individuals' characters within that place. Changes in the costume may be used to tell us about personality changes but also about time passing. In films like 'Titanic' costume initially portrays the glamour of the voyage. However when the disaster strikes and the characters have to fight to survive, costumes are torn and indicate the distress faced by the characters. In 'Titanic', Rose's costume is important in showing her social class but also how restricted she feels. At the beginning of the film she moves stiffly and seems to hide her clothes and hat. As the film goes on her clothes become less formal, she is even naked at one, signifying how she is shedding her old life.

Make Up:
-Make-Up is not simply used to make female characters look glamorous. It could also be used to make characters seem grotesque or much older than they are in real life. It can also be used to change a character from one gender to another as in White Chicks or Mrs Doubtfire.

-Make-Up can also be used to create characters from fantasy worlds and aliens from other planets. Furthermore it can also be used to create scars and injuries following action sequences.

Character Positioning within the Frame:
-A characters position within the frame is significant for various reasons. If a character is in the foreground and in focus, then we can be sure that there is something very important about them.We may be listening to a character in the background but the character that is in the foreground grabs our attention.

-Often the director/photographer will 'balance' the screen by carefully positioning characters within the frame. They may position them at different heights to show their various positions in terms of power and importance. Characters can be positioned to show their relationship with each other. For example if an argument has taken place characters may be positioned far apart, in contrast a loving pair will be positioned in close proximity to one another.

Body Language, Expression and Movement:
-Body Language tells us about the relationship between different characters on screen. The hero in an action film will have a strong stance whereas a weaker character may be fidgeting to suggest they are nervous. Film Posters or adverts also use body language to immediately demonstrate to the audience the relationship and status between characters. A good example is the film poster to Mean Girls where the main protagonist has her back turned away from the gang of girls whose body language suggests they might be the aggressors.