Mise en scene

Mise en scene is a French phrase, meaning "what's in a scene" and is a loose term applying to the props, background and what's in the scene. Mise en scene can be very important as it can create atmosphere, develop story-lines, give clues into the nature of characters and give viewers further information into what's happening in the scene.

A good example of mise en scene being used well is from this scene from inside Howl's bedroom in Howls moving castle. this scene shows all of Howls magical gadgets and gizmo's and gives the viewer an insight into his personal world and his life. By choosing to include every inch of detail in this (hand drawn) scene the animators were able to show the clutter and mess that signifies what is happening inside howls head.

It is useful to know how mise en scene can effect a piece as I can use this information in my final piece to help portray the right ideas.