The heritage of mise-en-scène lies in the evolving Western theatrical tradition beginning with the Greek theater around 500 B.C.E. and continuing through the medieval mystery plays, the secular stage plays of the Renaissance and William Shakespeare, and the technological advances (such as lighting) introduced in the nineteenth century.

Early movies were limited by their dependency on natural light, but the introduction of artificial lighting allowed filmmakers to move a large portion of film production into studios, offering them a more controlled environment.

In the 1910s and 1920s, feature films became the norm and the movie industry expanded rapidly, in part due to the rise of the studio system. The introduction of sound at the end of the 1920s was also facilitated by the stability of the studio system. Studios had the capital for large soundstages that housed elaborate sets, which were often accompanied by lavish costumes, lights, and props.

A greater emphasis on realism, and therefore on-location shooting, came to prominence around World War II and was most evident in Italian neorealist films and documentary-influenced Hollywood crime dramas such as The Naked City (1948).

Since the advent of computer-generated imagery (CGI), sets, costumes, and even actors can be created digitally after actual filming has occurred, making mise-en-scène as much a part of postproduction as it is of production.