Truman Show Mise En Scene Analysis

Mise en scene is a French term, which refers to the visual and design elements of a film. Literally, it is what we actually see on the screen – locations, sets, background details, costumes, even the use of colour and lighting. Mise en scene is used to describe every scene, including framing, composition, costuming, setting, objects, lighting, sound and camera angles. Everything is done purposely and intentionally.

Setting of a film can be shot either in a studio or on location, depending on the film’s budget, and how realistic or natural the director wishes the film to look. Setting is about the time, place and social environment in which the main backdrop and mood of the story is. In this film, we have a few settings, such as the idyllic Seahaven and the “real” world in the film.

This show is about a man, Truman Burbank who lived in an idyllic town of Seahaven. However, he was unaware that he was placed on a stage setting complete with a false sky, that everyone else was an actor and that his entire life was being broadcast to the millions of people who tuned in everyday. “The Truman Show” was directed by the TV director Christof – from his vantage point in the sky (Propagandee, 2012).

Thus, when he saw a light fall from the sky and he heard the director’s voice on the radio, Truman began to become suspicious. He remembered Lauren, an actress who had told him that it was just a TV show and so, he went to find her. He travelled across the sea, talked to Christof and then climbed a flight of stairs in the sky, escaping into the outside world. Unbeknownst to him, Truman Burbank's whole life has been the subject of a hugely popular 24-hour-per-day television show entitled “The Truman Show” (Propagandee, 2012).

Camera Shots

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... was talking to. The non diegetic sound of a violin added a creepy effect to what was happening on screen. Meryl said ‘it’s unprofessional’ when she was talking to the studio and the crew members directly. (Seb Patrick, 2011).

The creator of the Truman show said ‘easy on the fog’ showing that the father son reunion was being played out perfectly for the viewers of the world. The timing and dramatic piano music being played perfectly coincide to what was on the screen, which on the other hand, it was a non diegetic music being played. Truman said, ‘I never stopped believing’ because he truly believed his ‘father’ had come back from the dead, yet we knew as an audience it had been set up deliberately and perfectly to coincide with the previous events. At the end the diegetic cheers from the crew of the TV show and watchers allowed the audience to see it was a success.