Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene is a vital aspect of Media Language and builds nicely on our work on denotation and connotation.

Mise-en-scène is a French term meaning ‘Putting on Stage’. It refers to the Media language used by the producer in their media product to communicate with their audience so…everything we see on screen. We can remember what this includes using the acronym CLAMPS:

• Costume
• Lighting
• Actor placement and movement
• Make-up
• Props
• Setting

When we look at a clip, image or advert in Media Studies we need to be able to identify aspects of mise-en-scene and explain the effect it has on the audience.

This video explains the power of mise-en-scene in film analysis: 

Mise-en-scene: Blog task

Watch the opening of television drama ‘Stranger Things’, a science fiction story set in the 1980s when four friends get wrapped up in a dangerous alternate universe.



Create a new blogpost called 'Mise-en-scene: Stranger Things analysis'. 

1) Write about the use of COSTUME in this opening scene. What costume can you see the characters wearing and what does this tell the audience? 

2) Write about the use of LIGHTING in this opening scene. What is the lighting like and what effect does it have on the audience?

3) Write about the use of SETTING in this opening scene. What different settings are in this opening 8 minutes and what might these settings suggest to the audience about the show?    

Extension tasks

If you finish the three tasks above, write about the remaining aspects of mise-en-scene using CLAMPS to help you:

• Costume - done
• Lighting - done 
• Actor placement and movement
• Make-up
• Props
• Setting - done

Try and write extended paragraphs in as much detail as you can.

Finish this for homework: due date on Google Classroom.