4 films Analysis

With close reference to one scene from "pan's labyrinth", explore how cinematography and mise-en-scene create meaning.

The pale man sequence begins with the camera zooming out from Ofelia as she is entering the pale mans layer. This is followed by a cross-dissolve showing the corridor. The first shot uses a lot of low-key lighting whereas the second uses high-key lighting to show the transition from the real world where the Spanish civil war is happening  and franco is the dictator of Spain to the fantasy world. Del Toro has used a lot of red in the second shot to create a warm atmosphere  for the mis-en-scene. The camera continues to track backwards making Ofelia smaller and smaller. This could portray the idea that Ofelia's knowledge of the world around her is very limited and she feels more comfortable in the fantasy world.  There is a jump cut to a chair being paced on the floor as the camera tilts up to show Ofelia. This could show that the chair is going to have some sort of importance to Ofelia later in the scene. There is a straight cut to a close up of a capsule which Ofelia is grabbing. The capsule is covered in circles, a repeated motif throughout the film. The camera zooms in on the egg timer as it indicates it will play a major part in the following events of the sequence. The idea of time being a factor could be linked to Vidal constantly keeping in time and the importance of his watch shows that the real world and fantasy world are slightly intertwined and equally dangerous.

Further on in the sequence, there is a long, wide tracking shot with a deep depth of field showcasing Ofelia seeing the pale man for the first time. Again, Del Toro has used a brighter colour pallet for this shot to show the richness of the fantasy world. The deep depth of field could imply that everything in

the shot is important to the scene. As she walks forward, there is a lack of top lighting creating a shadow surrounding Ofelia. This could create a dangerous tone as is just as vulnerable in the fantasy world as she is in the real world. The most amount of light is coming from the sides of the pale man and this juxtaposes the ideas of the light symbolising positivity and hope and the pale man is dark and sinister.

There is a slight jump cut and there is a wide, mid tracking shot following Ofelia as she walks down the table of food. The food is in the foreground and this could indicate that food is a important factor in both worlds. Ofelia looking at the food shows temptation and this reinforces the idea of a disobedient fairytale. The top lighting in the background showing the locks tells the audience that the key has some relevance to this part of the story. It then straight cuts to a over the shoulder shot from Ofelia's perspective looking towards the pale man. Ofelia is holding up a plate with two eyeballs, telling the audience that they have a link. The pale man resembles fascism and impersonates both Vidal and Franco. The idea that he doesn't have eyes emphasises a the motif that appears throughout the film which is seeing and hearing things and not being able to voice it.

There is a straight cut showing Ofelia's reactions to the eyes and she looks up and views paintings on the ceiling. These paintings were inspired by the artist Goya and in particular his painting known as "Saturn devouring his son" The images are quite graphic and as a audience member makes me feel quite uncomfortable and worried for Ofelia. This could also show how harsh the fantasy world is and despite being a child which is often associated with innocence, she is still susceptible to danger. This links to the idea of civil war Spain where Franco didn't care about age or gender, if you tried to betray him,you would be killed. There is a shot reverse shot going back to Ofelia showing her reaction to seeing these paintings. It is obvious that there is a high level of discomfort as we see her have deep breathing.

There is a tracking shot where the camera moves left  to show a pile of children's shoes as it goes down to a low angle to showcase Ofelia in the background. This is an intertextual reference to the room of shoes at Auschwitz and this could emphasise the dangers that Ofelia has got herself in. This could place the pale man and Vidal and Franco in the same bracket as ruthless as they chose to murder to children.  This also could intimidate the audience as the reference has more meaning in this context due to the previous reference. There is a straight cut to Ofelia releasing the fairies and this was foreshadowed to be important earlier in the scene when there was a close up on the capsule. The focus on certain objects  continue as the locks that were seen in the background earlier are now being focused on and they have some relevance to the key Ofelia aquired earlier in the film. This links to the idea of keys being important in both worlds as well as knifes which Ofelia will get from behind this lock. There is a straight cut to a side close up of Ofelia opening the lock. There is top lighting and this creates a safe atmosphere and this distracts the audience from the current environment as this is the opposite of safety. It then shows an close up shot of the egg timer showing the audience that time is running out and Ofelia is taking to long, increasing the risk of death.