[The Language of Animation: Mise-en-Scene]

What is Mise-en-Scene?

Mise-en-scene is the arrangement of the scenery, props, etc. on the stage of a theatrical production or on the set of a film. Essentially, mise-en-scene is a composition of multiple components such as; Settings & Props, Costume, Hair & Makeup, Facial Expressions, and so on. To break this down further, almost everything that is in front of the camera is a part of mise-en-scene, what gets shown to the audience and letting the audience know why things are on the scene (or not on the scene).

Settings & Props

Settings and props are used to create an understanding of the relationship between the character and the environment. It influences an audience by creating a setting or expectation of a certain mood and atmosphere. Live-action requires a finer detail of mise-en-scene due to the limited props that may be available due to location, as the location is the scene. Whereas with studio sets, there is more control on how to manipulate the scene to gain the expected influence and relationship between character and scene. Lastly, the most influential part of settings & props is where the characters engage with the props/objects in a setting, which have a part in the scene/role rather than just being background information.

Costume, hair, and make-up

Costumes, hair, and make-up have a powerful way of communicating to an audience the personality of a character and their social status in the hierarchy of the film. The stereotypes of personality in the film are easily distinguished by the details of a character, for example, an old man with electrocuted type hair and a lab coat can almost instantaneously give the impression of a mad scientist. Hair and make-up have a strong way to exaggerate facial expressions and features which can further impact the idea of giving a hint as to what role the character will play.

Facial Expression and Body Language

Facial expressions provide an overview of the situation describing physical feelings. Often these expressions can be exaggerated, as it helps emphasize feelings of situations for a stronger impact, but most of the time small changes in expressions can send out entirely different feelings. Body language without a doubt is one of the best ways to gauge a situation, as we can discover whether or not a scene is hostile or relaxed, or if there is desperation based on the body language. Eyes on the other hand give strong indicators of the character’s intentions, as their eye-line would switch to their focus or rather a true goal, which gives the director a chance to play with this idea.

Lighting and Colour

Lighting and colour have a psychological undertone to them which helps depict the emotions for a scene or the atmosphere that needs to be portrayed. Light and colour set the mood and atmosphere as mentioned previously, however common colours seen can be red, blacks and greens, which can be regularly seen within western cinema. Colours guide the audience’s attention to key objects or gestures, such as facial expressions, objects or locations. Low key lighting creates a sharp contrast of light and dark areas, which is great for defining characters or objects details. A fill light for example is used to clear up the extremely overcast shadows caused by a key light, to help express the appearance of something.

Arrangement of Elements in the Frame

The arrangement of a shot helps create depth and proximity as well as size. Whether it’s through the use of depth-of-field, objects on/off-screen, or object scale. All these functions can be manipulated through the placement and lenses of the camera, which can allow silhouettes to build in certain scenes, which may for example lead to a more ominous, curious feeling that builds up within the scene. Furthermore, it helps effectively determine the mood or relationship between the separate elements and can help draw the audience closer to the scene. Proximity on the other hand usually relies on object placement (“Alice in Wonderland” as a key example), or camera distance and height. Lastly, the type of shot, whether it is a close-up, medium close-up, off-centred or even a wide-shot can distort or skew the intentions of the screenplay, as the camera angle could contradict the arrangement of elements in the frame.