Assignment task:
Select a feature film from any period in film history. In fact, if possible, get one you've already seen and enjoyed. Fast forward to any point you choose, and then freeze-frame the image. You are now looking at a single frame of a single shot.
What do you notice about its mise-en-scene? Properly speaking, since this is a static image, a single frame, you are being asked to notice elements of its composition rather than the totality of expressive content in an entire shot.
Remember what mise-en-scene means: all of the elements placed in front of the camera to be photographed: settings, props, lighting, costumes, makeup, and figure behavior (meaning actors, their gestures, and their facial expressions).
And composition: the relationship of lines, volumes, masses, and shapes at a single instant. Composition is relatively static; mise-en-scene is dynamic.
Write them down in the form of a list, and be as descriptive as possible. (Instead of saying simply "Julia Roberts," for instance, describe in detail what Julia Roberts looks like-the color of her hair, the color and style of her costume, and so on.) USE THE FILM STILL EXAMPLE IN THE STUDY GUIDE BELOW AS A REFERENCE FOR YOUR LIST
Describe the room or the landscape in terms of its colors. How well lit is the room or outdoors space? Is it day, night, dusk, or dawn? What kind of furniture is in the room, or what landscape elements are in the image? Is the shot taken at eye level or low angle? Is it a close-up or a long shot? Is there anything you notice about the composition?
Concentrate on creating a single paragraph that translates an image into words successfully.
Spell-check your work once finished.