Mise-En-Scene

 Here in this snapshot taken from Life On Mars, we can spot various things (some subtle and some more obvious) just from this preview that can indicate the context of a scene and its period and setting. The fact that the two men in the background are wearing blue shirts, ties and trousers indicates the fact that they are police officers (linking to the context of the program). one of them also appears to be drinking, and from the background (to the right of John Simm) we can see the end of a bar and its shelves, stacked with alcoholic drinks. Also, we can interpret the time period through the use of the dark, moody lighting and the light and dark shades of brown and black- all indicating the time period, and perhaps our protagonist's perception of the setting. From the large, stylish trench coat, worn by Philip Glennister, we get a sense of power and dominance that he possesses.

In this fragment of Merlin, we can already gather a lot of information by looking carefully into the details of certain aspects of the scene. The costumes that all three characters pictured in frame are quite clearly medieval and establish the time period from just one glance. The fact that the male in the center possesses a sword, and drawn at that, we can tell that he has the highest authority and he is the most dominant - and perhaps the most dangerous - of the three. They also appear to be in a cave, ill lit, but the important part is the fact that they are holding torches. This indicates a sense of perhaps daylight, mood, but also the time period as it would be extremely rare today if anyone was to be venturing through a cave with a torch instead of a flashlight.

From this screenshot taken from Doctor Who, we can immediately establish many things within this scene by taking into account many different details. It is clear that Catherine Tate's character, from the costume, that she is a bride (or a bride to be). From The Doctor's suit, we can feel a certain sense of power he has and knowledge, but also with a sense of style with the way it is worn - to add to our likability of the character. The contrasting of the brown and blue colors, within the interior of the TARDIS, gives us a real sense of homeliness and safety- but also a sci-fi feel, at the very same time.

From this screenshot, even with me being mistaken as to what TV program it is taken from, I can already interpret certain details within the scene to help me to gain and understanding of the characters and the environment  around them. From the blue curtain I can already imagine this place to be a hospital ward (with the characters looking down at a patient). The characters' costumes are obvious, they are clearly doctors or nurses (either way a form of medical staff) and we can also judge this by their props; their stethoscopes around their necks.

This screenshot from Waterloo Road can tell us a lot about the scene, the characters within them, and the setting around them. Judging from the uniform, they are quite clearly school children/students (secondary school) - from their ties, jumpers and shirts - all of with follow a pattern of color coding. Now we can't really see where they are in terms of geography, but they are quite clearly outside. and because the frame is so packed with students (and teachers) it could possibly be the playground, with everyone overseeing some form of incident.