Hitchcock's Use Of Mise-En-Scene In Film

“Mise-en-scene” is a French expression that was originally a theatrical term that refers to “staging” (Thompson & Bordwell 1999). When this term was transferred to film production, its practices involved the framing of the shots (Hayward 2000). According to Karam (2001), Mise-en-scene involves a choreographed set of visual elements that correspond to a set of ideas. Mise-en-scene involves the use of multiple elements that are used in a scene to create a certain mood or to influence the audience’s perception (Thompson & Bordwell 1999). Examples of Mise-en-scene include: setting, costumes, make up, lighting, set decorations and movements involved within a frame (Thompson & Bordwell 1999).
Hayward (2000) comments that Mise-en-scene is known as an expressive tool that directors can use at their disposal. During the Hollywood golden age, many directors had either little or no control over their film scripts. Due to the use and introduction of Mise-en-scene, directors used this at their advantage, as they now had the power to control what appears in the shot and could now stage their shots to tell the story (Hayward 2000 & Karam 2001). This use also allowed directors to be deemed as

To the unknown eye, Hitchcock has carefully and skillfully used Mise-en-scene to his advantage, causing the audience to feel fear and a sense of caution towards the character of Norman Bates. It isn’t until we reflect back on the scene and notice how intelligently Hitchcock uses the positioning of props and the characters, lighting, camera angle and staging, that we notice how he has added meaning to his characters but has also to the film, creating suspense and fear from one scene to the end of the film. Ultimately proving the point that Hitchcock “the master of suspense” uses Mise-en-scene to not only help make a brilliant film but also uses it as his disposal to add meaning in his