pans labyrinth / city of god exam question

Mise-en-Scene and cinematography are used to communicate themes within Pan's Labyrinth and City of God.

The camera is put on a dolly zooming out from Ofelia's face to show the long hallway in Pan's Labyrinth, particularly the Pale Man scene, creating a sense of mystery as she has returned to the underworld, not knowing what could be lurking, as Ofelia enters the underworld we quickly realise the warm lighting reinforcing this mystical atmosphere as reality has such cold dark lighting connoting the drastic differences of reality vs fantasy  as the cold dark lighting portrays how sombre Ophelia's situation is during the film and the use of colour to show the drastic differences between reality and fantasy is shown at the end of the film when Ophelia wakes up in the fantasy world the scene is bathed in yellow instead of blue like in reality connoting the divide between the two as Ophelia is finally happy which is instantly presented by the colour pallet present and also the drastic change in lighting in these two realms going from dark shadows and cold lighting to brightly lit rooms further reinforces the divide between reality and fantasy. 

Mise-en-scene is used within the City of God to help reinforce the changing nature of crime in the city of god for example within the apartment scene in City of God as the scenes keep transitioning we see the apartment become more empty as furniture is taken out and the apartment becomes dirtier taking away the domestic homely atmosphere which is shown in the beginning to later become a drug den only used to pedal drugs and this is shown through the drastic change in set design as the scene transitions using fades presenting a skip in time as the apartment becomes neglected and decays as it passes from owner to owner which connotes to the theme of the changing nature of crime in the City Of God as when the apartment is taken over and just used to pedal drugs the apartment had drastically deteriorated and the domestic atmosphere has been drained out the apartment. Also within this scene as we see the deterioration of the apartment the more dark scenes in sense of what occurs in the scenes is connoted by the lighting in this scenes for example when Carrot kills Aristotle the only prominent light is on Carrot emphasising the violence which occurs now and how ruthless the crimes have become in the City of God which links to the theme of the change crime in the City of God. 

Lighting and colours are also used to show the theme of the changing nature of crime within the City of God which is  further reinforced at the beginning of the film where we see the City of God in its inception having very warm colours and lighting and only having the Tender Trio within the City of God but as the film progresses we see the City of God go from a desert to a large favela as the lighting and colours change to be much colder than before and the beginning scene reinforces this as we initially see a cold dimly lit Favela rooftop and Lil Ze's shouting is the first piece of dialogue the buildings tower over the people as they chase the chicken which also connotes to another theme present within the film being escape more importantly the inability to escape for most people as they are trapped within the favela which is also shown by the large high angle shots present making the characters in the scene look very small as large towering buildings surround them essentially looking like a maze.

Within the Pale Man scene a major theme is present which is the disobedience of Ophelia as we see this as Ophelia encounters the Pale Man within this scene she is told to not touch the food on the table and the food present within the scene is shown as alluring due to tis plentiful amount on the table which  leads to the Pale Man chasing Ophelia. And as that scene is mirrored with Captain Vidal as he is seated in the exact same place as the Pale Man in reality therefore we see that both characters are linked both being the antagonist in their worlds helping create this theme of disobedience as she disobeys Captain Vidal throughout the film and also disobeying the Pale Man linking these two characters as they are both grotesque monsters in Ophelia's eyes. And another theme presented is good vs evil as Ophelia has a monster in reality and in the fictional world who both chase her and the mirrored dinner table scenes further reinforces this as they are both sat at the same position in their scenes .

Within Pan's Labyrinth cinematography is utilised throughout the film to convey reality vs fiction as during the scenes where Ophelia is in reality the lighting is very low key with a mixture of blue whereas in the fictional world the lighting is very high key with brighter colours like gold and red this further shows the divide between the two through these scenes. The dark tone adds drama to the scene while also emphasising the theme "evil." The film's lighting creates a sense of entrapment and desperation, while the high-key lighting creates a sense of escape and happiness. This contributes to the overall theme of good vs. evil this is reinforced within the ending scene as Ophelia dies she is transported to the mythical world and this drastic change in lighting as she gets her happy ending in the mythical world as before we see Ophelia dying in the real world its heavily saturated with blues and dark lighting making the scene very sombre until she wakes up and the colours completely change as the colours are brighter connoting happiness.

Another example within City of God escape is a major theme that runs through the film and this is reinforced through the Rocket's hobby which is photography and this is what allows Rocket to escape the city of god and as the film progresses we see Rocket get new and better cameras connoting to his journey to leave the city of god as he upgrades his camera he gets closer to escaping as he himself grows as a character learning new skills in photography which helps him escape also this is reinforced through the chapter transitions using the sound of a camera taking a picture to connote the importance of photography for Rocket as its his only way out of the City of God. Another scene which reinforces this is Benny's death as he gives Rocket a new camera as Benny attempts to leave the City of God but is killed portraying that escape is futile as more characters meet the same fate when they attempt to leave the City of God. 

Cinematography in City of God is used to express power and this is prevalent through the scenes with Lil Ze for example the introduction the first person we see is Lil Ze in a low angle shot which asserts his dominance and power from the beginning also this initial scene the camera is not fully focused connoting to Lil Ze's chaotic nature which become more evident as we see him in more scenes another example which greatly conveys the power in which Lil Ze has is through the montage of executions done by him in the perspective of the victim being all in low angle shots giving him dominance and having the barrel of the gun pointed directly at the camera reinforcing this and to reinforce how chaotic he is through his performance especially his facial expressions smiling during this scene. 

The theme of good vs evil within Pans Labyrinth is greatly shown between the battle of Fascism and the rebellion of the Spanish and this is also a theme within the film as Captain Vidal is presented as an extremely ruthless Fascist being the epitome of fascist ideologies and being the embodiment of Francisco Franco who  ruled Spain at the same time as when the film was set. We Vidal's power  through Vidal as a character and through his performance as he is initially portrayed as extremely serious, demanding, selfish and proud and this is shown through Dr.Ferreiro's death as he attempts to help the rebel Vidal brutally tortured this scene greatly shows the merciless nature which Vidal uses against the people who don't blindly follow his demands.   

  

 

City of God Ending

 Close to the end of the film it repeats the beginning of the film however being cut short to quickly skips the parts we have seen the shootout between Lil Ze and Carrot in which we see Knockout Ned killed and this ultimately builds up to the ending where Lil Ze is also killed by the runts.

 during this Rocket managed to take a load of photos of things like the police corruption to Lil Ze's corpse which helps him be able to leave the City of God which this theme of escape is shown throughout the film as many characters attempt to leave the City of God for example Benny attempts to leave but is killed before hand making the City of God seem to be inescapable using violence which is throughout the favela 

The only person who was able to escape the City of God is Rocket who used his skills and built upon them during the film and by the end he is able to use his skills to leave the City Of God and during the film we see Rockets evolve his skills by the cameras he is given from a old cheap camera to a brand new one at the end     

City of God opening scene/ Apartment scene

The film begins with quick and stylised editing of a knife being sharpened which foreshadows the extreme violence which occurs during the film also the lighting in this initial scene is very cold and blue giving the film an instant unsettling atmosphere this kinetic visible editing as it quickly jump cuts to scenes of music playing and food being prepared which should give the scene a more positive atmosphere however as this is presented the lighting barely changes from a cold dull blue as no sunlight is present during the opening scene and the only sunlight which is present is blinding giving the audience a feeling of oppression. This is also shown as the perspective during the opening is through the chicken as we are constantly in a low angle view also the cuts to a closeup of the chickens face aligns us with the chicken. 

As the chicken jumps down and begins to leave we see the first human within the film and instantly presents Lil Ze in a negative light as he is ordering people to get the chicken also when we see him its in an extreme close up which happens again as he is laughing foreshadowing his malicious intent. 

As people run after the chicken we don't see any of their faces and we are back in the perspective of the chicken as it runs in the streets of the favela creating an oppressive atmosphere as the buildings tower over. Until it cuts to our second character of the film the scene is completely normal staying in mid shot as two characters talk also this scene has invisible editing making feel a lot calmer presenting Rocket as the protagonist. Only for it to quickly cut back to Lil Ze and it instantly goes back to kinetic editing as he is chasing the chicken pushing a man to the floor and pointing a gun at him showing the audience the danger that Lil Ze emanates.

As the Chicken jumps out on to the road we see only a small amount of sunlight and the sky representing freedom as we see the chicken in a high angle shot only for it to land back in the favelas this scene representing a theme which is prevalent throughout the film which is escape from the city of god and how it is impossible as multiple attempts are made by multiple different people on for them to die or fail.

The beginning of the apartment scene starts off with a low angle shot looking at at the buildings instantly giving an oppressive atmosphere as the buildings are towering over the people in the slums. The camera when Rocket is in the apartment is handheld and purposely shaky to make it feel more like a documentary and the lighting inside the apartment is very cold continuing to have kinetic editing with fast cuts until the film changes when Lil Ze enters the apartment and the camera cuts to a stationary mid shot.

When we go back in time seeing the apartment at the beginning it has very warm colours and lighting feeling much more domestic and as the scene carries on the mise en scene changes and slowly degrades into a cold drug den whilst this unfolds the camera continues to stay in a stationary mid shot with no cuts as the scenes flow between each other by using fades which gives a lot of exposition to the audience quickly.

Certain scenes which happen have much darker themes like murder and this is portrayed within the lighting of these scenes as most of the apartment will be in darkness with only a small bit of light creating a lot of shadows creating an erie atmosphere within these scenes. 

 

                

Short Film Planning

Genre: Found footage horror

Plot: Friends go camping/hiking in the Forest whilst they are in the forest something stalks them and terrorises them as they try to survive as they witness a sacrifice.

Film form: dark natural colours, dark lighting use of natural lighting, no non diegetic music

The hunt has influence my work by using a similar style of filming by using found footage and also Elephant by using no music to create a disturbing.

Narrative: 1 or maybe 2 characters working out the enigma of who is stalking them 

evaluative analysis

Elephant is a short film using an obscure way of filming and presenting the narrative to the audience as no dialogue is present within the film having a run time of 39 minutes and keeps a consistent follow shot throughout the film through the perspective of multiple different people giving off a cold documentary style atmosphere as we follow multiple people throughout the narrative as they walk along the scene and shoot an innocent person and chillingly walk away unfazed at what they have done. throughout the film drama and crime genre conventions are portrayed for example the suspense gradually built in each scene as the lack of dialogue builds tension and this reinforced due to the lack of music being present throughout the film creating a more realistic and disturbing atmosphere. This short film has inspired my ideas for my short film by having more of a realistic tone by having a lack of editing and non diegetic music begin present within my short film to give a realistic tone and to build suspense and creating an eerie theme without using music and using film form to create this atmosphere.

Night Fishing is a South Korean short horror film having an obscure way of portraying the narrative by giving no context at the beginning of the narrative by having no dialogue present however through the beginning scene a follow shot conveys who the main character is. horror conventions are portrayed by the darkness of each scene and especially the scene where he is attacked by the woman who we initially think is a dead body and the next scene the roles are reversed and the woman is a shaman priestess performing a ritual at the funeral for the man who drowned in the river. This film inspires me to have a more grainy realistic found footage style way of filming as the entire film is shot on an iPhone 4 giving it an older grainy footage which creates more of an eerie atmosphere also similar to Elephant it has a lack of dialogue which has inspired me to use less or no dialogue within my short film to help reinforce that dark eerie tone and using this tone to further the narrative. And with this tone created in those short films has inspired my coursework to have a similar style and tone. 

The Hunt is another horror short film which consists of a search party looking around the woods as the main character gives exposition as he explains that cattle was initially found mutilated and now people have begun to be found the second half of the film consists of the search party being killed off  unlike the other two films this one follows a consistent narrative giving exposition and context giving off a more classic Hollywood style of film as this is very dialogue heavy whereas the other two have more of an experimental form of creating narrative and structure without dialogue and using the facial expressions of the characters around them and leaving much of the story up for interpretation whereas The Hunt doesn't really do this giving a clear backstory which then is used to progress the story having a realistic tone. Towards the ending a sci-fi theme is created as we come closer to finding out what happened to the animals and people which we find out in the beginning and this build up to the climax of the narrative and them finding out what the creature is helps create an enigma code for the audience whilst the film plays keeping the audience engaged with the narrative. Within my coursework i have created a similar enigmatic code which is hiding the identity of my antagonist to create this mystery but also to help create a frightening tone.  

With my production course work I have been greatly inspired by the short film The Hunt with a similar setting being in a forest whilst having a similar narrative of the protagonist being hunted down however instead of the antagonist being this feral creature like in The Hunt my short film will use similar aspects toward my antagonist by not showing their face and keeping them hidden from the audience adding tension to my work. Also within my storyboard there is no dialogue present like the other short films like Night Fishing and The Elephant and this lack of dialogue allows tension to build through sound and performance using facial expressions and jump scares to add horror and build lots more tension in scenes . Also I will use similar horror conventions of darkness as my short film takes place at night taking inspiration from the other short films. And with these inspirations from these short films my storyboard allows the audience to feel this unsettling atmosphere from the dark lighting, camera angles and antagonist help create this tone. 

i also have been inspired by other pieces of work like the Blair Witch Project as i initially wanted to film a found footage short film however this limits the camera flexibility and movement as I used long shots and tracking shots to connote to the protagonist being stalked from the very beginning but still keeping a similar setting and also being inspired by another short film called the Smiling Man because of the use of the camera utilizing over the shoulder shots to build tension which I have used within my story board and the close up at the end to add a final jump scare which also has inspired my storyboard and also with the introduction of the antagonist as I kept them hidden similar to the smiling man to create tension.     

 
             

week 5 analysis

Each of the selected short films experiment with film form for example in Le Jetee where the entire film is in still photos with a narration to tell the plot of the film  twist by the end, the atmosphere created within the film is a dark realistic sci fiction film set in a post nuclear France the enigma created is answered by the end of the film in place of the conventional positive ending (new equilibrium) in place of an abrupt ending having the main character killed and answers the enigma created at the beginning as we see the main character experiences trauma he had faced when he was a child as he sees a man get killed only to find out that was him. and also the conventional sci-fi genre themes are present as they experiment on the main character and of time travel being the main theme within the film. 

 Elephant is an unconventional allegorical short film where the entire film's narrative is in different perspectives as the camera tracks the main character in the scene as they shoot someone and the lack of dialogue creates an enigma for the audience as they question the random acts of violence but with further research the narrative is a commentary on the increase of violence in Northern Ireland and has a deeper meaning to the unorthodox narrative and lack of understanding the audience experience and the lack of character development add to the realism of the film as their is no significant character present just people.

The Wrong Trousers is the most conventional short film as it clearly follows Todorv's narrative theory as it shows the disruption of our characters equilibrium and also we see the development of the main characters especially Gromit as he overcomes the villain and saves Wallace . The genres present initially is a animated comedy but links to other genres like action and crime fiction as he enigma of the penguin who just moved in. The film is made through stop motion animation usually being more lighthearted as animations are usually targeted towards younger audiences but this seems to have more adult and darker tones as scenes when Gromit is starting to find out who Feathers Mcgraw is ans also a gun being present within the film.

Wasp is an Indie drama and this is present within the beginning as our main character who is a Zoe a mother of 4 instantly goes into conflict with another parent. Form the opening we see that Zoe priorities her pride over anything else as we see when she first talks to Dave she claims that she is babysitting her friends children and in the bar scene when she buys drinks she cant afford to keep her pride intact as we can tell that she doesn't like to admit her lack of money. The narrative structure is unconventional or is not as obvious as traditional films as we don't see a disruption of the equilibrium which gives the film a more realistic atmosphere as the neglect of children is a major theme within the film as the camera cut from Zoe in the bar to her children outside waiting for long amounts of time and it is implied that this is a regular occurrence.The film lacks a main enigma which needs to be solved but the only enigma which is present in the narrative is how much neglect her children have faced. characters are presented in a more realistic way for example Zoe is presented as the protagonist but not as a hero as she is the one neglecting her children and creating the conflict within the film.         

                

La Jetee (Chris Marker)

This french science fiction short film was created in 1962 and sticks to this genre as we are shown the experiments for time travel as the man being tested on has science equipment attached to him like tubes sticking out of his eyes and the setting being underground as the film is set in a post nuclear war helps create this science fiction atmosphere as photos of war torn France are used to portray the destruction from the atomic bombs.

the film uses a range of still images trough out the entire film using a photo-montage and barely uses any footage as we are  shown the narrative through a narrator as they tell the story of what happened and tells the story of a prisoner being experimented on, the colours used in the film are black and white.

The narrative structure uses the conventions like how the narrative comes full circle however their is no new resolution but an ending as the film begins with a prisoner underground begin experimented on as the scientists are researching time travel to see if they can fix the nuclear war which occurred totally desecrated natural life and our main character known as the prisoner who travels back in time and into the future. However we do see somewhat of Todorov's theory as the disturbance of the narrative could be from the main character finding out that he is meant to be executed by his jailers and the resolution is him escaping into the past and he is killed by a jailer who followed him and kills him and we find out that the event which scarred the main character when he was younger was his own death.         

Elephant (Alan Clarke)

Throughout the entire film has next to no dialogue present as the film takes place in Northern Ireland and during the time it was filmed they had a major problem at the time was known as "The Troubles" and this was where people were killing each other based on their beliefs and so the film depicts 18 murders and every scene repeats with the camera tracking the main character of the scene ( the murderer) as they walk to kill their victim and this is what happens throughout the film.

The use of unconventional narrative portrayal gives the film a more realistic cold tone and the use of a grainy 16 mm film creates an even more darker, realistic and unnerving atmosphere as each murder is followed through calmly. The film doesn't follow traditional structure as todorov's narrative theory is not traditionally portrayed as the narrative can be broken down into smaller ones with the main character essentially changing every scene.

The representation of violence within the film is portrayed to be normal due to how calm the murderers are when killing their victim and when the scene ends the camera lingers on the motionless body. The film is a social commentary of the underlying problems which Northern Ireland was facing during this time as the conflict between politics and nationalistic sides as the nationalist wanted self governance.       

Wasp

The plot of the short film consists of a young single mother named of 4 named Zoe living in Dartford living in poverty as she struggles to find food for her and her children, when one day her ex-boyfriend drives by and asks her to go on a date and pretends that her children are not really hers as she is afraid that he wont like her and leaves them for hours as she is on her date. The main shots which are present throughout the film are close ups of the characters faces to express their emotions this shot was typically used on the mother as we see her reaction to leaving her kids and of the kids faces, the colours and lighting is unusually bright for the darker tone of the film as in the majority of the film natural colours like greens and blues stand out more and the natural lighting helps make these colours stand out. The minimalist style of no non diegetic music being present throughout the entire film and the camera switching to handheld adds realism to the film and story.

Conflict is present within the beginning of the film as Zoe has a fight with another mother as their children had a fight and connoting that she is presented as immature as she instantly goes to aggression when faced with conflict. The narrative is not like a typical narrative however it somewhat follows Todorov's theory as the mother meeting Dave and going out on a date with him as he disruption to the family is portrayed to be the main characters however he children are presented as the main characters more as they are shown starving and being left outside the bar for the whole day and this seems to be the norm to he children and the disruption is created as they know what their mum is going to do with Dave, and also the woman who Zoe has a fight with in the beginning asks her if she left her kids alone at home again reinforcing that the audience know that this is a common occurrence, the Zoe is seen as somewhat of an antagonist to the children as she neglects them. The resolution happens when Dave finds out about her children and the new equilibrium which is created is ambiguous but has an atmosphere of hope for the children.

Zoe is initially ashamed by her children especially when she speaks to Dave already having her pride tarnished as she loses the fight she then claims the children as not hers knowing that she is a failure as a mother and rather than admitting her poverty she pays for drinks which she cant afford to keep her small amount of pride she has left intact.   

                

Wallace and Gromit : The Wrong Trousers

The main genre of the short film is a comedy, short stop-motion animation but has links to the crime fiction genre as the villain in the short film is a wanted criminal and the narrative consists of Gromit stopping the penguin.

A major binary opposite within the short animation are the characters Gromit and Feathers McGraw as Gromit is presented as the protagonist and Feathers McGraw is the antagonist of the short film and their differences are presented when  McGraw's wallpaper is opposites to Gromit's wallpaper due to the colours of the wallpaper which presents them as strikingly opposite characters

The narrative of the film is linear and follows Gromit's perspective as it begins with the equilibrium as it is Gromit's birthday and they live their lives normally until Mcgraw moves in which is when the disruption begins to occur as  Mcgraw begins to push Gromit out of his room initially and finally pushes him out the house and the penguin uses the electric trousers to attempt to control Wallace and use him to steal a diamond. The recognition of the disruption happens when the penguin wears the hat and Gromit recognises it from the wanted poster and Gromit watches the penguin measure the height of the window.The solution to the disruption is when Gromit stops Mcgraw from stealing the diamond and saving Wallace from the electric trousers after this the new equilibrium is created by going back to their normal lives.

The only spoken words in he film are from Wallace and in the scene where Gromit follows and watches Mcgraw an ominous atmosphere is created due to the design of the background as the lighting is very different than the rest of the film as it connotes how shady Mcgraw is and this atmosphere is reinforced due to the lack of dialogue and the slightest amount of menacing music being present within the scene.

   

Shaun of the Dead: Social Background

The characters within the film are predominantly white and middle class as the main view of the film is through Shaun. it is set within a suburbia on the outskirts of London as suburban areas are stereo typically known to be filled with white people and were historically known to be built for only white people. Certain characters are presented on a spectrum of class as Liz's friends Dianne and David stand on the far side of the middle class which is shown within the opening scene as we find out that they got to the theatre and listed buildings also the clothing a they are dressed smartly and almost pretentious as Dianne is dressed in a colourful clothes and David looks like a ''chartered accountant''  whereas Ed is presented to be as working class as he is shown wearing a shirt and shorts and is presented as scruffy. Relationships and family are presented in a middle class way which is shown in the opening scene as Liz still not having met Shaun's parents is presented as a big deal to Liz's friends  as it is an expectation for your partner to meet their parents and Shaun also within the dumping scene Shaun promised Liz that he would drink wine as an alternative to beer.

Also a middle class expectation of growing up is a running theme throughout the film as Shaun's problem within the beginning of the film is him needing to grow up as Liz is the first to tell him this and he attempts this but fails and also Pete is another character which portrays a middle class expectation of living as he tells Shaun and Ed to grow up which is prevalent in the electro scene. Shaun is presented to be immature which is shown as his friend Ed and how Ed lives in the house as Pete says ''were not students anymore'' showing how Shaun and Pete need to grow up however we can see that Shaun is not as immature as Ed due to his clothing as he is shown wearing a dress shirt with a red tie sloppily on him showing that he has some maturity whereas Ed is always shown as scruffy wearing casual clothing and having no job but Pete is dressed smartly and is working in an office showing the spectrum of maturity within the house and the influence of both of them on Shaun leaves him in the middle of maturity and immaturity as Shaun has a dead end job in an electronics store.

 the theme of success is presented as Shaun faces a load of problems with his life within the beginning of the film as he is broken up with as he doesn't grow up in the middle class way for Liz as she wants to do more than go to the Winchester and wants do things more like her friends and we also see that Shaun's life doesn't fit with the expectation as he is constantly told to sort himself out.