Mise En Scene Analysis #1 - Doctor Who

I will analyse the mise en scene of a shot in this clip of BBC's Doctor Who.

This clip can be seen in Doctor Who (Series 3 Episode 10) - Blink.

I have chosen to analyse the still frame below as I believe the mise en scene can tell us a lot about the genre, characters and even parts of the storyline.

Doctor Who synopsis (IMDB)- 'The continuing adventures of The Doctor, an alien time traveller - a Time Lord - from Gallifrey. Together with his companions they travel through time and space in the TARDIS, battling evil where they find it.'

Lighting

- The lighting in this shot is low-key with the main source of light coming from a over-head light-bulb. 

- We see the darkness is mostly covering the character Sally Sparrow - played by Carey Mulligan. This indicates that she is the subject of fear and is the weakest character in shot.

- The light is on all of the monsters - Weeping Angels - showing that they have the upper-hand and are the subject of Sally's attention.

Costumes & Props

- Sally Sparrow's costume is casual, this makes it easier for the audience to relate to her. This is because it makes us believe that she is just like us and therefore we could be in her situation. The idea of her being similar to the audience induces more fear in the episode/shot.

- The actors who play the Weeping Angel's are clearly wearing very technical costumes. The stone appearance is made by prosthetics and special effects. The fact that 'Blink' was the first time Doctor Who fans met the angels meant that they produced fear of uncertainty within the viewers.

- The main prop in this shot is the iconic blue box, otherwise known as the TARDIS. This prop is a spaceship - this can be seen in almost every episode of Doctor Who.

Positioning

- The positioning element of mise en scene can be divided into two sub categories; objects and characters.

• People - The main character, Sally Sparrow, is position to the right-hand side but is placed in front of everything in the shot. This makes the audience able to see what Sally is seeing.
• Objects - The TARDIS is placed just right of the centre. This makes it easier to be noticed by the audience.
• Monsters - The monsters are placed all over this shot. This makes the audience aware that they are dangerous and a threat of everyone who is visible. 

Setting

- This scene seems to be shot in a darkened basement. This is clear due to the lack of lighting and a few background items.

- The darkened setting is used to create an atmosphere of fear and excitement to the viewers.

What is Mise en Scene?

Mise en Scene in translation from French is 'to put in the scene'.

This means that when we look at the mise en scene of a media product we analyse what is in the shot.

It's used to tell the audience essential information about what is happening without the use of a narrative.

There are 5 key elements when looking at the mise en scene of a shot these are:

• Setting and props used - this can help us to identify the genre immediately.
• Costumes - helps the audience discover the general culture of characters and the time in which the film/tv show is set. Costumes can also help us to identify the beliefs and class of each character (e.g. we would expect a stereotypical businessman to be wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase).
• Body Language - this can help us to discover the feelings and possible actions of each character.
• Lighting and colour - different types of lighting are used to distinguish important objects/characters in each shot.
• Positions within the frame - this element of mise en scene can be used to tell the audiences about the relationships between characters.