Contextual Studies: Mise En Scene

MISÉ EN SCENE

(Thursday 29^th September)

Semiotics

The study of signs and their meaning

• Signifier (Denotes) - The sign itself, visually an image or colour
• Signified (Connotations) - The concept, how the sign is interpreted

When analysing signs and their meanings, it is important to consider the cultures within which they are being interpreted. For example, looking at Star Wars (Western Culture), many of us would be familiar with the conventions of good being white / light colours, and black / dark colours having evil connotations:

Good Characters - White / Light

Evil Characters - Black / Dark

However, other films may differ from this idea, such as The Matrix, which focuses its design mainly on Asian culture:

Good Characters - Black / Dark

Evil Characters - White / Light

Why is Mise en Scene useful?

• A useful visual shorthand
• Helps defince relationships between characters
• Action is character