Mise en-scene Analysis

Shauna L. Mullen MISE EN SCENE ANALYSIS


Analysis #1 - Little MixIn this image Little Mix are all wearing super hero costumes – reflecting the youth of the girls but in a sexy way on top of this reflecting their femininity. The colours of their costumes reflect the pop genre as the colours yellow, pink and turquoise feature in almost every pop magazine. Each costume (other than Perrie’s) is primarily black or white – with the use of pink, yellow or blue in order to make it stand out more.

Costume:Jese is wearing a black and turquoise tightly fitted costume, which looks to be a playsuit. It has long sleeve arms, with the bottom half being shorts. To complement her costume, she is wearing tights that looks like stockings – giving it a sexy, rebellious edge. As does he heels with studs/spikes all over them, which matches the shoulder pads to her outfit which also have studs on them.

Jade is wearing a black and white tightly fitted costume, which also looks to be a playsuit. It has long sleeve arms, with the bottom half being shorts. To complement the costume, she is wearing light black see-through black tights, with hearts all over them. Jade is also wearing high-heeled black leather boots. To make her outfit stand out more – she has some sort of accessory on her chest which is a purply pink colour. She is also wearing gloves – also black and white – that are fingerless that you can transform into mittens.

Perrie’s costume stands out the most – which reflects her the most as she is the main singer. Her outfit is turquoise and tightly fitted, which looks to be a playsuit. It has long sleeved arms and the bottom half it short. It has colourful details on the chest of the playsuit as well as a cape, reflecting the fact that it is in fact a superhero costume. Just like Jade, Perrie is wearing gloves – expect hers are pink – they are fingerless gloves that can transform into mittens. Her heels are light blue, lace up heels with a glass heel.

Leigh-Anne is wearing a jumpsuit - making her stand out from the rest of the girls who are wearing playsuits. It is black, white and silver. With big bulky shoulder pads - similar to the ones Buzz Lightyear has - relating to the superhero theme. However, it is elegant in a sense, making her look like a classy super hero. Her outfit is rounded off with yellow laced up boots with a glass heel. These look to be the same as Perrie’s but in a different colour. This shows that the girls do infact have similar taste which is why they work together as a band, because they are so alike.


The idea that all the girls are dressed up in superhero costumes could reflect that they are coming to save the pop genre. Before they went on the x-factor, Girls aloud had broke up and the other girl band was the saturdays. This photo shot could be used as a statement - that they are here to “save the day”.

Hair:Jese’s hair is dark red, and loosely curled, making it look bouncy. It looks to be dark red on top going bright towards the bottom giving it an ombre, dip dye effect. The colour red can represent many different things both positive and negative. However, in this sense the colour red is a warm and positive colour, and can be a colour that is associated with our most physical needs - which can be highlighted by the fact that Jese is a superhero and she will be helping other peoples needs. It also is a colour associated with powerful and masculine energy - also referring back to the superhero theme. Her hair is long and has a side parting with a side fringe,

Jade’s hair is very vibrant and is almost an electric blue, this contrasts against her outfit which is generally quite basic as it is just black and white. Her hair however does look like it has black in it still and therefore ties in with her outfit. The colour electric blue represents lightning and an electric spark - which produces a brief emission of light and sound. Her hair is all styled to the right, it is fairly long and wavy styled with a side fringe.

Perrie’s hair is very vibrant and noticeable, it is dip dyed which is very popular amongst teenagers and young adults in this generation. The top half of her hair is light/candyfloss pink, whereas the bottom half is a dark which looks to be a “crazy colour” pink. However, it does match the pink on her outfit. The candy floss pink is a statement of childhood - it relates back to childhood memories of going to the funfair and eating candyfloss and therefore relates back to the target audience as they are of a young age. Pink in general represents compassion, nurturing and love. Aswell as unconditional love and understanding - giving a receiving. This idea of love can be compared to the love and understanding the girls share of each other and the giving and receiving they have towards one another in order to make their career successful.

Leigh-Anne’s hair is tied up - again this is unlike all the other girls who have their hair down. It is slicked back on the sides into a long, classy ponytail. In the centre, it does have a quiff giving it a modern day look. The pony tail itself is very long - looking sassy as well as sexy. Her hair colour looks black, however it does look like it has a tint of blue in it reflecting off. This is similar to Jade’s who’s hair is also a blue/black colour. The colour blue is one of trust, honesty and loyalty - these factors are essential within a band. The colour black relates to being secretive and unknown - creating a mystery within the band which keeps the audience wanting to know more.

Make Up:


Jese’s makeup is natural regarding foundation, powder, bronzer and blusher. This sets a good example to the young girls reading it as they tend to copy their role models. By having her make up done looking natural it doesn’t convince the audience in a negative way - such as young girls apply makeup that doesn’t comply with their skin tone making them look ‘orange’. Her eye makeup is dark. However, this is only on the top half of her eye - she is possibly wearing fake eyelashes but it is hard to tell. Her eyeliner looks winged and is connecting from the end of the bottom eyelid, meeting at the end of the top eyelid. Jese’s lipstick is red, to match her hair and looks like it has been topped of with lipgloss in order to make her lips stand out and look more fabulous!

Jade’s makeup is similar to Jese’s in the idea that it is natural looking. Her eyes are also styled with the dark, smokey eyed look - yet looks less thick and more simplistic than Jese’s. It is hard to tell whether she is wearing any sort of lip gloss or lipstick. If she is it is a nude/light pink colour - giving her lips a light tone. I believe this is because her hair is so bright that the makeup she has doesn’t want to class with her hair.

Once again, Perrie’s makeup is natural. However, she has a tad more blusher on her cheeks than the others - defining her cheeks more. Similarly to Jese and Jade - Perrie’s eye makeup is thick on the top and not on the bottom. Giving her eyelashes a sassy flicky look as well as innocent! She is wearing pink lipstick that is quite light that matches her candyfloss hair colour.

Leigh-Anne’s makeup is once again more natural. Her eyebrows look to be more styled than the other girls - they look like ‘HD brows’. Her eye makeup differs from the rest, it looks more winged and delicate rather than rebellious and bold like the others. However, Leigh-Anne’s makeup is rebellious in the sense that she is wearing bold blue lipstick to match her costume. Which is not an everyday makeup choice that someone would make. This makes her stand out from the other girls in the band.

Facial Expression:Jese has her mouth slightly parted, her facial expression looks like she is excited. Her eyes are looking directly at the camera (direct address) showing her confidence.

Jade is smiling boldly and widely showing off her perfectly white teeth. Her smile doesn’t seem to be one out of being happy and excitement but out of nerves which is relative to the superhero theme of the photoshoot. It could also relate to nerves in general, which the girls would always get before a show. Which is always a good thing as they can channel their nerves into adrenaline to put on an energetic show for their fans!


Perrie’s facial expression is similar to Jese, who both look like they are excited, additionally to this so is Leigh-Anne who also looks excited. This can represent their youth and their inner childhood. Further highlighted by the theme of this shoot being superheros.

Layout/Body Composition:The girls are all tightly placed next to/nearby each other, interlinked to an extent which represented their unity as a girl band.Jese is standing on her right leg with the other leg slightly raised going backwards - which looks like its in a position if she was about to ‘hop’. Her right arm is facing outwards looking like she is ‘flying’ and her other arm looks to be behind Jade. She is also slightly leaning forward and slightly towards the left.

Jade’s body position is pretty much face on with the camera, she has both feet firmly on the ground, and is bending slightly forward, allowing both Jese and Perrie to rest one arm each on her back. One of her arms is going straight down towards the floor with her palm flat, where the other one looks to be behind Jese.

Perrie looks symmetrical to Jese. Both of her feet are on the ground, her right foot is at the front with her leg slightly bent, and her left leg is just about visible behind Jade, which is bent further and looks like the front of her foot is on the ground and her heel is raised. Her left hand is facing outwards looking like she is ‘flying’ and her other arm is placed behind jade - exactly the same a Jese. Her body is straight on, but slightly facing into Jade.

Leigh-Anne’s body position is probably the most complex. She is leaning in towards the rest of the girls. Her left leg is crossing over her right leg with both knees slightly bent. One of her arms is resting on Perrie’s shoulder/back and the other is on Perrie’s upper arm, just above the elbow.

Iconography: In this particular piece of media that is not many visuals that represent and reflect the pop genre, other than the girls themselves being a young and fresh girl band, and the bright and vibrant colours they are wearing the represent the pop genre. On top of this, the fact that they are dressed up as superheroes in bright costumers signal genre.

Setting: The setting of the photoshoot could potentially be in a studio, it can be anywhere but the main point is that is has a white backdrop which represents that it is infact a photoshoot and is not the girls out and about or at a high profile event.


Analysis #2 - One Direction In this photo One Direction are more laid back - looking like there more casual, mature selfs. They look like grown up in this image, as if they have matured as they have gotten older.

Costume:Niall is wearing a grey, short sleeved round next t-shirt, that is particularly low down and baggy around his neck, showing his chest. With this, he is wearing black jeans, which look to be acid washed. He looks to be wearing a watch. This look is quite casual and reflects his youth, especially with the low neck t-shirt, which girls will go wild over as it is a slight tease. The watch shows sophistication and intelligence. The colours in himself are masculine colours and can be seen as pretty dull compared to the colour usually expected in the pop genre - which could tie in with the mature them of the shoot.

Louie is wearing a white vest, this in itself reflect his youth. He is showing of his body to an extent - as he is not completely topless. This allows the audience to see his muscles and tattoo’s. Which some of the older girls that read pop magazine would go crazy over. Louie is also wearing black jeans, however, they look bagger than Niall’s and not acid washed. This creates a link between the two boys highlighting the fact that they are united in a band.

Zayn is wearing a black shirt, with the sleeves rolled up over his elbows with the top few buttons undone. To complement his shirt he is wearing grey braces, giving him a more ‘suave’ and cool look about his style, making him stand out from the other boys. He is also wearing black jeans, however, his look to be skinnier that the other boys as well as ripped, on the left left, mid thigh. His look represents a young gentleman, making him stand out from the other boys who look rather casual in this particular shoot. Zayn’s costume also ties in more with the grown up feel of the boys in general.

Liam’s costume is very similar to Niall’s. He is wearing a darker grey, short sleeved round neck t-shirt, that is particularly low down and baggy around his neck. However, Liam’s is a bit tighter than Niall’s. Similar to the rest of the boys - he is also wearing black jeans, which again look to be skinny jeans.

Harry looks sort of similar to Louie - linking with their ‘bromance’. He is wearing a black vest, unlike Louie who is wearing a white one and an actually vest, Harry’s looks to be a ordinary black t-shirt - with his sleeves rolled up his shoulders. To comply with his t-shirt he is wearing which looks to be a black materialized necklace, with a white cross on it. Aswell as the rest of the boys, he is wearing black skinny jeans - Harry’s being the skinniest, almost looking like leggings.

All the boys are wearing a similar colour scheme and are all wearing black jeans, there overall taste in fashion represents them as a band as well as highlights how alike they all are. Little things like this represent the compromises they make as a


band how they generally have a similar taste in fashion and music which helps them to be the successful band that they are. The colours they seem to be wearing (black, white and grey) are all classic colours.The colour grey represents the idea of compromise, which is an element that is needed in a band in order for them to be as successful as possible. The colour black, creates mystery and the colour white represents wholeness. All of these colours therefore highlight some of the key factors One Direction should create within themselves in order to stick together and satisfy their fans.

Hair:Niall’s hair is the same at it always has been from the time we first saw him on the x-factor. It is natural brown as well can tell by his roots, and is highlighted almost a bleach blonde colour. This shows that although he is growing up, he is still consistent is some elements as before, when he was younger. The front of his hair is scraped over to the right and the rest of his hair is styled everywhere, going for the messy look, which is popular with most young men/boys in this day and age. It is quite long - for a boy - and is straight.

Louie has also gone for the messy haired look, it has changed since the first time we met him, despite it being long, it used to be longer however it is still natural and un-dyed. Just like Niall, there is still some sort of consistency from when Louie was younger and now. It is long at the back as we can see, at the front it is sweeped over to the right and pushed back. It looks wavy, rather than straight, giving it more of a messy look. Which is a new look for Louie, as his hair was always straight.

Zayn’s hair is black, without the blonde highlight he used to have in his quiff, showing more mature and grown up hairstyle, to match his costume. It is also sweeped over to the right and is big on top. Like the other boys it is fairly long, but is more neat than the other boys to comply with his smart look. Zayn does however, have facial hair unlike Niall and Louie. It is around his chin and has a slight mustache, giving him and overall stubble look which girls may find ‘sexy’ it also represent them growing up, they are not the young teenagers they were when they auditioned separately for the x-factor.

Liam’s hair is brown and natural as usual but it also longer than usual, as we are used to seeing him with a ‘skin head’, this shows a sense of change, which is very common whilst growing up from a teenage to an adult. It looks like it has actually been styled unlike the messy look the rest of the boys are going for, which I don't think he could particularly pull of as his hair is not as long as the other boys. It is hair sprayed over to the right neatly. Like Zayn, he has some facial hair, but not as much. He looks like have some from his sideburns going all the way under his chin, and a mustache, other than that there is not much actually on his face. Also reflect the idea of growing up - they no longer have baby faces but instead have starting growing and maintaining facial hair.


Harry is the same as always with his big, brown, curly, loveable hair that makes him stand out from the rest of the boys. Harry has always had this look, so in that respect has some consistency over the years - he is pulling off the messy hair look as always. Harry is the only one in the band whose hair has not changed at all since our first preview of him on the X-Factor.

Make-up:The boys aren't renowned for wearing make-up but as it is a photoshot, it is more than likely that they have some sort of makeup on to make them look more ‘airbrushed’ and perfect, so girls can drool over these images and admire their ‘beauty’. This isn't intense, but would probably consist of the basic - primer, concealer, foundation and powder.

Facial Expression:Niall’s smiling as always! It is his cheeky grin as it usually is. This shows that even though he is growing up - he is not losing his charming touch. This time, he is braces free and is showing off his smile which all the young girls love. The fact he recently had braces and now doesn’t portrays the image that he was a teenager but has now matured into an adult.

Louie’s facial expression represents his personality, he tends to mess around a lot and not take things seriously, which his facial expression represents in this photograph. His mouth is open and is giving a “omg” look towards the camera - whereas the rest of the boys are smiling or have serious faces. This makes him stand out from the rest of the boys.

Zayn’s pose is similar to Louie’s in the sense that he has his mouth open, but Louie like more planned and Zayn looks like he is mid conversation. This wouldn’t surprise the audience as out of all the boys Zayn comes across the most likely to be the ‘dopiest’. This could potentially be a “mug shot” of Zayn,as it is a photoshot - many images would be taken. This is perhaps more meaningful to their fans as they can see them being themselves in between poses.

Liam is also smiling, like Niall. However, Liam’s looks like more of an awkward smile. This smile suits him and his personality, as all the boys in the band are very loud and outgoing but Liam tends to come across more shy, in a responsible way. Highlighting the fact that this might be because he is the more grown up one out of the two of them.

Harry is pulling an innocent and cute look, and looks quite distracted. The cute and innocent look completely contrasts again the cheeky Harry everyone knows. It also represents being childlike, which is unlike the other boys and against the theme of being grown up. It creates a more mid-way point, in the respect that he is grown up but he still has his immature, childish and fun side to him.

Layout/Body Composition:


Niall has his left hand slightly raised with his thumb up, this is quite a casual thing to do in a photographs. It makes him look quite relaxed, but at the same time looks like it was a spear of the moment, last minute decision to do. Louie is slouching down slightly, looking like his front leg is slightly bent. Where Niall has his thumb up it looks like Louie is pointing at the camera - with his right hand, with the other hand hiding behind Zayn. It kind of makes you think that he is greeting someone. Zayn is standing up straight with one hands slightly outwards and the other slightly pointing at himself as if he is saying “It wasn’t me”, which his facial expression also matches. Liam looks like he is slightly leaning into Zayn, slightly slouching. Both hands are down by his side and his weight looks to be evenly spread out as he looks to be standing up straight - despite leaning slightly. Harry is also leaning in - towards Liam. Harry body composition is quite relaxed and casual like Niall, Louie and Liam. However, his hands are simply just down by his side.

Iconography:The only iconography in this photograph is that Niall, Louie and Liam are smiling, which is conventional in Pop - the artists very rarely pose, it is usually a smile.

Setting: The setting looks like the boys are at a photoshoot, this is highlighted by the white screen in the background. It could be set anywhere, but is probably in a studio.


Analysis #3 - Katy Perry

In this photo, we see the fun and quirky Katy Perry that many people are familiar with. It reflects her personality and the bright and vibrant colours reflect her as a pop artist.

Costume: Katy is wearing a strapless dress, that is shaped like a love heart and is low cut, creating a revealing vibe but it is also sexy look. It is short at the front and slightly longer at the back, with a bow on the front which gives it a ruffled look. It also gives is a slight peplum look due to the bows positioning. It looks like it is made out of a silky material and the general design and colour scheme of it looks like a cereal box. This ties in with Katie’s wild and extreme side.

The colour of the dress is very bright and features colours such as: blue, pink, green, orange, white and red. Which are colours Katy often wheres, she embraces the pop theme in all aspects of her career, whether it is her costume, hair, makeup or video settings. She is always crazy and over the top and is consistent in doing so.


The main colour of Katy’s costume is blue, which looks to be a deep sky blue. The colour blue itself represents confidence. It is hard to establish some of these factors within this image, confidence being the only exception as Katy looks very confident in front of the camera. Which is further illustrated by her facial expression and body composition (pose). The colour orange represents happiness - although Katy is not smiling she does however look like she is in a state of happiness. The colour pink is stereotypically a feminine colour, which obviously indicates Katy as a female, but also represents the idea of love. The colour green is a colour of growth, which could refer to Katy growing as a person as well as growing in the industry as an artist. The colour red in general is a warm and positive colour and is also very energising, which reflects Katy’s personality as she would need to be energised and positive before she performs. Lastly, the colour white is a colour of perfection, which is what Katy is, and she is a figure many people look up too.

She is also wearing a necklace, which is white featuring the colours green, blue and orange - complying with the colours of her dress. It is a short necklace, making her neck look unplain due to the dress being strapless and over all compliments the outfit.

Hair: Katy is renowned for her wild side, especially when it comes to dying her hair. In this specific photo it is cut into a ‘bob’ meaning it is short in length - between the earlobe and chin. In style, it is wavy (not curly, not straight). Her wild side is shown in the picture as her hair is green and has black roots, the roots highlight that the colour is not permanent, which is expected from Katy as she frequently changes her hair colour. She has a side parting, with the majority of it to the left.

The colour green is frequent throughout pop magazines, and crops up a lot whether it be the feature colour of a magazine, text, celebrity costumes and more. The colour green represents growth and the balance of the heart and emotions. This highlights how Katy has grown as a person throughout the last few years as an artists, which is proven by her awards such as: “Best Video”, “Video of the Year”, “Best Female”, “Best Look” and “Best Live Act”.

Make Up: Her make up is natural foundation, powder, bronzer and blusher. This portrays her in a positive way as well as makes her look more naturally attractive. On top of her eyes she looks to have a thin line of eyeliner, and thick mascara. On the bottom half of her eyes she looks to have a thin shadow of eyeliner, making her eyes more noticeable so she can show off her big green eyes. Her eye makeup overall is bold to match the overall look of the shoot.

Facial Expression:


Katy’s face is slightly leaning in towards her arm, so you can see it from an angle. However, you can still see the majority of her face. She is giving the audience direct address and has her mouth slightly open. This is enticing to the audiences as it makes Katy look ‘sexy’ and charming.

Layout/Body Composition: Katy looks like she is leaning against a wall with one leg straight and the other leg bent, with her heel on the wall. Both her arms are up, behind her head, looking like she is ruffling with her hair at the back. Her head is leaning into her right arm. This stance is ‘sexy’ matching her outfit and facial expression, her body composition fits in with the boldness of the shoot. This will make young girls see it admire her beauty, and want to be just like her. Not only will it attract female attention but men would also be drawn in by her beauty.

Iconography:The colours used are a clear indication of the pop genre. Additionally to this, the fun feel to the image and the vibrant style of costume are indicative of pop to.

Setting: The setting is different, unlike the other photo’s I have analysed. Instead of a white background/backdrop, the backdrop is pink. The colour pink represents compassion and love which Katy clearly shows towards her career. It is also a colour that is featured a lot with in pop magazines. The pink itself is a hot pink, which is feisty, fun and vibrant just like Katy Perry.

Mise en-scene Analysis

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