The Art of Cinema: Mise-en-scene Elements Every Filmmaker Should Know About
If you are a cinema enthusiast, you probably might have heard the term “mise-en-scene,” but chances are an average viewer might not be conscious of it. The French term literally means “placed on the scene,” that is to say, everything that contributes to a scene looking the way it does and is instrumental in shaping your understanding of the scene falls into the purview of mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene refers to everything in front of the camera, including the set design, lighting, and actors. So essentially, it is everything that you see, hear and feel as a viewer. Consider Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari . In the silent horror film, the way the director utilizes elements such as light and shadow, costumes, and typography to evoke a sense of alienation and madness becomes a part of the mise-en-scene. To understand this concept further, let us look at all the elements that form a mise-en-scene. Sets A set is an artificially constructed scenery where the scenes of the film are