Mis en Scene

Mis en Scene - Prom Night 

Mis en Scene is split up into 5 categories;

• Settings and iconography
• Costume, Hair and Makeup
• Facial expressions and Body Language
• Lighting and Colour
• Positioning and characters

For Mis en Scene i analysed the film Prom Night. Mis en Scene is a french term meaning what is put in the scene. First of all i analysed the Setting in the film, which was a hotel and a party was being held and it looked like they were enjoying themselves and they were left in suspense because they were just about to announce king and queen and have been told to leave the hotel which makes the viewer think straight away that something has gone wrong. Settings play an important part in film making and are not just backgrounds. The iconography in the film was that the killer has used a fire distinguisher to smash through the door of the hotel and when he gets in he has a knife which he is going to try to kill the girl with. Iconography means props. This is conventional to a thriller film because it makes the viewers assume that he is going to try and hurt her.

The second point i analysed was costume, hair and makeup. This is an instant indicator to us what a characters personality, status and job is. The costumes that are used are unique, they are all dressed very smart. In Prom Night the identity of the killer is covered / hidden, he's wearing a hat and dark clothes this represents he is mysterious and he is trying to hide his identity. This is conventional to a thriller film because it is not letting the viewers see or get an idea of who the killer is.

The facial expressions that are used in the thriller vary throughout because at the start they are enjoying themselves but when they are told to leave the hotel they are all in shock and do not know what is going on, the girl that is going to be attacked is worried at the start because everyone is being escorted out the building but she doesn't know why however, she doesn't leave the hotel and goes upstairs to get something out of her hotel room her mood dramatically changes when she comes across the attacker because she is fearing for her life. The killers face however is zoned in because he knows what he has to do. Facial expressions and body language tell the audience how the character is feeling. The girl is upset and is crying because she thinks she's going to die and she sees a dead body under the bed where she is hiding from the killer her facial expressions are of  her trembling because she is so scared.


The girl was always the centre of attention within the camera shot because she is the one being hunted down by the killer. Both of them are in the same camera shot when he is looking through the peep hole and so is she, he scares her because she thinks that is an escape route and he comes out of no where and is directly in front of her, this is called the "two shot". This is conventional to a thriller film because it makes the viewers think that something is going to happen and leaves them on the edge of their seats.

Colours create meanings through denotation and corritation. The colours in the film were bright and very eccentric at the start because the prom clothes where a main feature of the shot however, the colouring goes much darker when they are escorted out of the hotel into the night sky where there is flashing lights from the police cars that are outside, the killers face is covered by his hat at the start and dark lighting which shows that something could go wrong for the girl and gives the audience a feeling of nervousness so it leaves the audience in suspense. The killers face is then seen clear to shock the audience and make them aware of who the killer is. The lighting within the hotel room was low key. Low key lighting helps the identity of the killer be unknown and leaves the audience on edge.