Mise -en-scene

The mise-en-scene is a French term which means anything and everything within a frame. It could be the props, sets, lighting, actors, costumes, quality of acting and also sound. It is actually the cinematic space that a director gets to show what he actually wants his audience to see. It helps the viewers to understand that the elements present in a scene are realistic, dramatic, exaggerated or expressionistic. It also helps the viewers to understand the significance of the props and settings, the colors used and how they affect a particular scene. To explain this in more detail let us take the example of a movie, The Kite Runner.

The last scene of the movie in which Amir is flying a kite for Sohrab is also a good example to show the mise-en-scene. The kite is flying in the sky and the camera tilts downwards to show the river and the green fields. At the end when Amir runs to get the kite, the whole surrounding becomes so settled and the music is also very soothing. The camera angles in the entire movie are amazingly outstanding and the use of lighting is also commendable. The entire film has been shot using the Afghani stylistic elements.

Mise-en-scene is everything that we see in a scene or a single shot. The characters hand movement or even the way they walk or talk is also included in mise-en-scene. In a long shot, everything that comes within the shot, be it the background, foreground or midground, the props, the setting etc, is the mise-en-scene. All these visual elements help in taking the story forward or also in setting the storyline. Mise-en-scene is what completes a film!