Mise-en-scène: class notes

Defining ‘mise-en-scène’
The term ‘mise-en-scène’:

• Originates in the theatre
• Means ‘staging’
• is a French phrase that translates as ‘putting into the scene’

Examining mise-en-scène involves looking for the individual signs/clues that help us to read/analyse the image.

One of the ways in which we can do this involves breaking the image down into a list of key elements which can be analysed according to the rules of semiotics.


Mise-en-scène includes/is made up of

• Lighting
• Shadows
• Costume
• Décor: sets & props
• Colour within the image
• Physical performances/Physical characteristics of the performers
• Placement of the actors in relation to each other.

Examining mise-en-scène in still & moving images
When you examine a film sequence, consider:

• What is contained within the mise-en-scène;
• What these clues within the mise-en-scène tell us about the narrative/characters.

©Paul Andrew Julian Lewis, 2005