Mise en scène is everything that appears before the camera, namely:
- the setting
- the costume and make-up
- the use of figure, expression and movement by actors
- the lighting
The style scale
| Formalism, expressionism | ↔ | Realism |
| Form over content - how things are shown is most important, and beyond a usual representation of reality. Expressionist films are highly stylised, and are characterised by oblique camera angles, distorted shapes, bizarre settings, high contrast lighting and the surreal and subjective. | ↔ | Content over form - looks like real life - the intent is to make us forget it is a representation. This is the dominant style of most films, and is sometimes referred to as "the style of no style." |
Setting
Setting gives a sense of place and time. Whatever the film is, you should always analyse the set because it provides important clues about the nature of the film, such as:
- where the action takes place
- when the action takes place
- the mood
- the characters
- the genre of the film.
Costume and make-up
Costume and make-up can be considered as part of the set, because they indicate:
- the period
- the state of society
- social class
- cultural backgrounds
- character traits.
Changes in cosutume indicate changes in charecter, e.g.:
- rich to poor
- taking off clothes as lowering defenses.
Clothing might also be a trademark.
Figure, expression and movement
- Body language
- appearance
- facial expressions (very significant in close-ups)
- sound elements.
The way a character stands and moves is important.
- If they are the foreground they might be considered more important.
- If they move against a stationary background attention is drawn to them.
- Even distribution of characters makes for a balanced shot, whereas uneven distribution is unsettling to the eye.
- Positioning of characters within the frame may even indicate emotional distance.