The 5 Elements of Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene describes the main visual elements in the structure of a film production, portraying the artful ways in a composition of a scene.  It presents hidden meanings that the audience can see through the scene, which they can then empathise with referring to all the elements of visual style.  The settings in a scene are crucial to defining a character and their status; giving the audience an idea of what they may be like.  For example is a character is presented in a room where there is a lot of mess and disorganization; it could suggest the clutter and mess that takes place in this characters life.  Other factor's such as location, props, lighting and the character's overall general appearance can also present a hidden meaning.  If lighting is dull and dark in a scene with a character wearing dark clothes; it could suggest unhappiness and that the character doesn't want to express their problems perhaps.  The concept of mise-en-scene is portrayed by a director is they wish  to convey certain situations that a character is in without articulating them vocally through dialogue - which would  be obvious to an audience.  Mise-en-scene that way presents hidden meanings for the audience to discover. The main elements of a mise-en-scene are:

• Setting and Props:  A setting is important in enhancing the role of the character and giving the audience hints about them.  For example; in a horror movie a zombie would be presented in a dark and scary setting, to emphasise it's role.
• Costume, Hair and makeup: As film is a visual medium, the characters presentation is also important in telling the audience what this character is like.  
• Facial expressions and Body Language: The body language and facial expressions enhance the emotion that a character is portraying and show the relationship between different characters.  
• Lighting and Colour:  This adds to the effect of the scene and also can portray the emotions within that scene.  For example; in a scary film the colours and lighting and dark and gloomy to emphasise the eeriness, adding suspense.  
• Positioning characters/ objects within a frame:  This can also help the audience in recognising how the character is feeling at that moment and emphasise emotion.