Mise-en-scne

Mise-en-scne refers to everything that appears before the camera and its arrangement - setting, location,
costume & make-up, props, lighting and performance

Setting / Location:
Where the film / TV show is set. Can be purpose built sets or real locations. It gives clues to the era
the film / TV show is set

Costume / Props:
Are conventional of the genre and suitable for the era it is set

Lighting:
- High-key: Indicates a brightly lit scene with a few shadows; usually provided by one source of
light (the key light)
- Low-key: The lighting is more towards the greyer and darker scale, where there is a good deal
of shadow, and where the key light is less bright and dominant
- Natural

Performance (gesture & body language):

The characters believability and how good their performance is
 TASK 1: What would you expect to see in the following genres?

GENRE SETTING/LOCATION COSTUMES PROPS

HORROR

ACTION

SCI-FI

CRIME
TASK 2: Deconstruct the mise-en-scene in this screenshot from Boardwalk Empire:

What GENRE do you think it is?

SETTING / LOCATION: When/Where is this TV Show set? How can you tell?
COSTUME / PROPS: Are they conventional of the time and genre?
LIGHTING: High or Low-key?
 TASK 3: Game of Thrones Take notes on the mise-en-scne in this scene:

(Use the notes on the first page to help)

SETTING / LOCATION

COSTUMES / PROPS

LIGHTING
(HIGH / LOW-KEY)

PERFORMANCE
 Sound

Key Terms

Diegetic sounds are from noises that are happening in the scene that havent been edited
in

Non-diegetic sounds are sounds that have been added in in the post-production

Ambient sound describes a kind of background noise or music, and is often natural to the
setting. Sound effects are usually added to a film in post-production by a Foley artist

Foley - complements or replaces sound recorded on set at the time of the filming (known
as field recording). The soundscape of most films uses a combination of both. Foley
artists use creativity to make viewers believe that the sound effects are actually real

Parallel sound music complements what we see (this is used the majority of the time)

Contrapuntal sound - what we see and what we hear do not match

Sound bridge - Sound that crosses from one scene to another maintaining the continuity
of the film. They can occur at the beginning or end of a scene.
 TASK 1: Breaking Bad sound analysis

What diegetic and non-

diegetic sound is used?

How have they made use of

Foley / sound effects?

How is the sound (diegetic &

non-diegetic) used to create
tension?
 Technical Elements of Media Language - HOMEWORK
Part 1: Watch a short clip from a Long Form Drama of your choice. Analyse the use of technical elements and organise them into the relevant
technical area below. Name of Long Form Drama: _________________________________________

CAMERA EDITING SOUND MISE-EN-SCENE

Shot distance, angle, movement, framing Cuts, transitions, special effects, graphics Diegetic, Non-diegetic, dialogue, voice over, Location, setting, costume & make up,
sound bridge, sound effects props, lighting, performance
Part 2: Using your notes, explain how you know what is happening in the clip as a result of the technical elements used (for example, the man looks
superior to the woman because we see him in a low angle shotor, the shot reverse shots helps us to follow the conversation and understand what is happening, or the use
of dark lighting makes the clip feel very tense etc) Write your answer in the box below: