Glossary · Directing, Film Theory

Mise-en-scène

Also called mise en scene

Everything placed in front of the camera: setting, props, costume, lighting, and where the actors stand and move.

Everything placed in front of the camera: setting, props, costume, lighting, and where the actors stand and move.

The term comes from theatre and means "placing on stage". When critics talk about a director's mise-en-scène they mean how every visible element inside the frame has been arranged to carry meaning, before a single cut is made.

Advertisement