What is mise en scéne?

Location

1. Watch the first scenes of Into the Wild. What values do the first scenes of reveal about the main character, Christopher McCandless?

2. How are the first scenes of There Will be Blood used for portraying the values of particular characters?

Costume

3. How is the character of the Joker (Heath Ledger) constructed through the connotations of his clothing and make-up?

4. How is the character of „the Girl“ (Marilyn Monroe) constructed through the connotations of her clothing and make-up? Watch the scene. What else constructs her character?

Props

Key props can function as narrative devices in their own right. Sometimes props serve to impart information about characters.  James Stewart’s camera in Rear Window (1954), for example, reveals his profession – he is a photographer – and his main character trait – he is a voyeur.

Key props function as narrative devices in their own right, such as the props Q provides from James Bond.

Watch how Spike Lee uses mise en scéne in Do the Right Thing.