OCR GCSE Media Studies
A guide to the B322 exam
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Guide to Mise-en-scene
Mise-en-scene is pretty much everything you can see in the frame.
Lighting (especially low-key lighting): how bright or dark the scene is.
Location/set: think about whether it is rural, urban, domestic, exotic…
Costume and make-up: think about what it says about a character.
Props: weapons, furniture, equipment (phones, computers, tools)… What do they connote?
Casting and performance style: writing about casting means noticing the type of person the filmmakers have cast in the role. Performance refers to the way the actor acts. Are they an over the top actor like Nicolas Cage (below)?
Blocking: the composition of elements within the shot. In other words, the way the stuff in the shot has been arranged, such as the arrangement of characters below.
Lighting
Costume
Location
Casting
Props
Blocking
Remember: make-up doesn't ust mean lipstick or the sort the Joker wears; it also refers to scars, cuts, blood, sweat, etc
What do the different choices in weapon say about the different characters?...
In this still from The Avengers, the blocking places Captain America at the front; this conveys his leadership and emphasises his heroism. The positioning of the characters in a circle conveys a sense of their teamwork as well as their vulnerability from the imminent attack...