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 short. A set contributes to the majority of a film’s budget and is an essential element in constructing the “world” of the film. A set can be as simple as a bench, like in Forrest Gump, or elaborate like that of Harry Potter movies.

Props

More often than not, props are seen as a part of the set. But they deserve separate consideration when it comes to contributing to the meaning-making of a film. The props are objects in your frame that might look insignificant to an oblivious viewer, but they make an indispensable part of the story, even if the character is not directly lifting, donning, tripping over, or smashing it.

Costumes

Costumes also play an essential role in contributing to the mise-en-scene of a film. What the characters are wearing and how they are wearing tells a lot about the world they inhabit and the story. For instance, Professor Umbridge’s iconic pink costume from the Order of Phoenix is strategically used to make her seem unthreatening and disguise her political machinations in the garb of the feminine color.

If you are associated with the Toronto film and television industries and are looking for prop artists, check out 16 Tonnes. 

Location: Toronto, ON, Canada

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