If any of you are film buffs you may be familiar with the term
mis-en-scene (also mise-en-scene). I was introduced to the term by a friend of the family who gave it a certain definition (below, in white), and I've been using it that way for some time. I looked it up tonight and found a decidedly drier definition. So I was wondering if you would share what the term means to you, if anything. I'll white out my take on it to avoid leading the witness.
I was informed that the phrase refers to techniques that put the viewer "into the scene." For example, the camera may linger on sunlit curtains blowing gently in the breeze not only to convey a serene mood, but also to give an organic feel to the movie so that the viewer feels more like they are in the room with the characters, rather than a passive viewer at a safe distance. One example that comes to mind is in "Master and Commander" in the opening scenes when the camera lingers on the rigging of the ship and we just see the ship itself sailing along, creaking and swaying, with the sounds of the water and the wind in the background. 
