• Mise-en-scène is French term and means ‘to put in scene’, and encompasses everything that appears in the framing

• It’s used to convey certain messages to the audience, and also to evoke particular emotions and feelings – either in certain scenes or throughout the entire film

• There are five elements: settings and props; costume, hair and makeup; facial expressions and body language; lighting and colour; and positioning of characters/props within the frame

• The director oversees all of these elements, and works with the set designers, props team, costume designers, artists and location supervisors to determine the right atmosphere

• Locations aren’t just ‘backgrounds’ for a film: set designers have to think about what a certain location or prop could mean at a deeper level

• Settings can be used to heighten character emotions, or to make a social, cultural or political point

• Sets are either built from scratch, or filmed on-location, and different genres use different locations and props

Medical dramas like Grey’s Anatomy and House are set in typical hospital environments: these two scenes both feature medical equipment used in hospitals, and are set in a ward and an operating theatre respectively, so convey a sense of unease and intense pressure, feelings we associate with doctors and hospital settings in general.

• Costume refers to the clothing characters wear; by using different colours and styles, costume is used to signify certain characters and make distinctions between multiple people

• All of these aspects establish the time period in which something is set, reveal traits about the characters, and signal changes; they act as instant indicators of what a character is like, what their status is, etc.

• Certain costumes represent certain types of people, for example the medical coat of a doctor

Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones goes through a number of pivotal costume, hair and makeup changes – her costumes reflect the setting, as well as who she is trying to imitate and where her affiliations lie. In season 1, Sansa’s hair is loose and flowing; she is fresh-faced, and her wardrobe is predominantly blue and grey (her family colours), representing her ties to her family. As the seasons go on and her story shifts locations, she begins to change, and dresses like the wealthy ladies from the capital, imitating the Queen; and finally, in season 3, she dresses like Margaery Tyrell.

• The facial expressions of a character provide a clear insight into exactly how a character is feeling, e.g. smiling suggests they are happy, tears implies they are sad

• However, other factors such as soundtrack may influence how we perceive facial expressions, for example if cheerful music is playing as somebody is crying, we might assume that instead of crying tears of sadness, they are crying tears of joy

• Body language also indicates how a character is feeling, for example cowering away suggests fear and shyness, while standing tall and proud implies confidence

These two scenes from Breaking Bad convey entirely different emotions, based on facial expression and body language. In the first image, Walter White is sat in a confident posture – legs apart, shoulders back – conveying a sense of authority and power, while his facial expression is relatively calm and level. In the second image, Jesse is visibly shaken up and we can infer from his red, watery eyes that he’s crying and therefore upset about whoever he has to shoot.

• The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting can influence understanding of characters, plot-points, and mood

• Lighting can be used to highlight main characters or make them look mysterious by using shadows and shading effectively; it can also be used to show how a character is feeling

• Low-key lighting is created by only using key and back lights, producing sharp contrast and distinct shadows

• High-key lighting is created by using more filler lights, and produces brightly lit sets

• Different colours have different connotations, and so add meaning, for example yellow means happiness

These are examples of low-key lighting: in the first image, from True Blood, low-key lighting is used to convey a sense of mystery and danger. Most of Eric’s body is kept in the dark, and only the his face and the blood is highlighted, implying that he’s a dangerous and shadowy character. The second image, from Hannibal, uses low-key lighting to depict Hannibal as also being quite mysterious, and suggesting he has secrets as the audience can’t see all of his facial features, and most of his body is in shadow.

These are examples of high-key lighting. In the first image, from Glee, the lighting used conveys happiness, energy and general positivity, fitting the overall tone of the show; everything in the shot is lit up, and all of the main characters have been highlighted. The second image, from Once Upon a Time, uses high-key lighting to represent innocence and cheerfulness.

Shots from Game of Thrones. The colour red represents danger, war, strength, power, blood and fire; while blue represents coolness, winter, ice, cold, calm, sadness and loneliness.

• This involves how objects and characters are positioned within the frame, and can draw our attention to that object/character

• Positioning can also be used to indicate the relationship between two people, for example as equals, or one having more power over the other

• When characters are placed very close together, we can assume their relationship is warm and intimate; when characters are placed far apart in the frame, we might assume they are distant

• If a character is in the foreground of a shot, we know we should pay attention to this character; however, background characters can also be important, particularly in the horror genre

In the first shot, from Breaking Bad, the two characters (Walter and Skyler) are positioned far away from each other in the frame, with a dug grave between them; this suggests they are distant from each other, and that there is a rift in their relationship (death). In the second image, from Teen Wolf, one of the characters, Stiles, is touching and almost anchoring the other character, Scott, to the spot; this suggests that they have a close, brotherly relationship.