mise en scène

or mise-en-scène

[ mee zahn sen ]

noun

, French.

, plural mise en scènes, mise-en-scènes [mee zah, n, , sen, mee zah, n, , senz].

1. the process of setting a stage, with regard to placement of actors, scenery, properties, etc.
2. the stage setting or scenery of a play.
3. surroundings; environment.

mise en scène

/ miz ɑ̃ sɛn /

noun

1. 1. the arrangement of properties, scenery, etc, in a play
   2. the objects so arranged; stage setting
2. the environment of an event

Word History and Origins

Origin of mise en scène¹

First recorded in 1830–1835; French: literally, “a placing on stage”

Example Sentences

Once there, I barely recognized the mise en scene I’d detailed in the novel.

From Washington Post

Featuring Jeunet’s signature irreverence and colorful mise en scène, “Bigbug” follows an ensemble cast of offbeat characters and their domestic robots, confined to a technologically advanced home by the malevolent androids that now rule the world.

From New York Times

That said, if your January is dedicated to repenting for gastronomic excesses over the holidays, director-writer Éric Besnard’s sumptuously photographed mise en scène of so much culinary mise en place may be a tad masochistic, from the first close-up of a delicate pastry to the last shot of a spit-roasted fowl glistening in firelight.

From Los Angeles Times

“With her sense of immediacy and mise en scène, she’s created a mode of participation in which you are required to be present, to participate.”

From New York Times

I was looking for something complex — a woman's story, a thriller, a genre movie — something powerful, with space to direct and work on the mise en scène.

From Salon

Related Words

• film set
• scenery
• set
• setting
• stage set
• stage setting