Pan's Labyrinth- Representation- Gender

-Responsible for creating life- Carmen giving birth to son and Metaphorically (Ofelia's re-birth)

-Carmen and Mercedes reflect two sides of Ofelia- the need to conform tofu into new family's life and rebel against Fascism.

Representation of men

- Captain Vidal is obsessed by his Fathers military exploits and is equally determined that his own son (He refuses to believe it will be anything other than a male) is born close to him. However, the health of his sick wife is only of secondary importance to him and is dismissive of his step-daughter Ofelia. when Ofelia and Carmen stop out too the car, the camera pans down as Vidal feels Carmens stomach while exiting the car. Vidal forces Carmen to sit in a wheelchair to emphasize his physical dominance over her. 

For the Mise En Scene, there is an emphasis on Vidal's pocket watch which he keeps constantly checking. This shows he is a fastidious time keeper.

- The final scene where he tells the rebels who will soon execute him that his son must know who he was show's the final exhaustion of the patriarchy he represents, as Mercedes tells him that his son will never know who he was.

Politics

-Notice during Vidal’s dinner party when the Mayor states “one ration card per family is not enough”, and the priest replies “he has already saved their souls.Their body does not matter.” This would suggest the ignorance (a religious Crusade allegory) of those institutions who profited (and subsequently turned a ‘blind eye’ towards the inequalities associated to a Spanish fascist regime) from the ultra right-wing mode of politics. 

This scene is the real life version of the Pale man scene. the crackling of the fireplace represents the fires of hell.

 Servants moving along the outside edges of the shot (including Mercedes) – the workers work but Fascists plot. 

Extravagant display of food is hypocritical representation of power juxtaposing bourgeoisie wealth to working classes. Franco’s army unit is represented as a brutalising force of occupation and its commanding officer, Captain Vidal, as a sadistic epitome of evil: cruel to everyone including his own wife and step-daughter. His evident pleasure in torture is straight out of a psycho-horror film. The ruling elite who attend a banquet given by him are equally venal and corrupt and Del Toro clearly has little empathy for the priest and the organised Catholicism he represents. 

Experimental film examples

 Experimental film involves breaking the rules of the narrative, Mise-en-scene and genre. This could include having a split-screen which shows two different narratives happening on screen together either for a scene or for the whole movie. They also lack a traditional narrative.

An example of experimental film is David Lynch's 'The Grandmother' where there is no dialogue at all except for the grunting noises from the mother. Lynch uses stop motion sequences in the film to show the boy move about which is an example of experimental film. Mielies 'A Trip to the Moon' is one of the very first experimental films as the silent films made before this were realist films from the Lumiere Brothers. It is the first expressionist  piece of filmmaking as it's the first to have a narrative. The reason it's experimental is because it's the first sci/fi film with the characters going off-planet and this hadn't been seen before in film. Although, the film isn't purely experimental as it does have a narrative. 

The short film 'Pitch Black Heist' is an example of experimental film due to it not conforming entirely to the heist genre. An example of it subverting conventions is how the bank robbers don't want a reward or any cash which is an odd trait for bank robbers but the reason they want to do this task is to put his mother in jail. Another example of this film subverting conventions is by the characters completing the heist in pitch black darkness hence the title 'Pitch Black Heist'. These challenge the limit of the heist genre.

 Breaking the 'Fourth wall' is an example of experimental film as it bends the rules of film form by establishing a relationship with the audience. A split-screen film is also experimental as it has two narratives playing out on screen at the same time as each-other. A film that shows its end scene in the opening is experimental as it breaks the conventions of the narrative. Experimental film can have little or no editing.

Buster Keaton exam question

 I believe that Keaton is an expressionist director. However, he can also use realism. According to Bezin, for a film to be realist, the director has to be invisible which is true for Keaton with his use of invisible editing as Keaton only ever uses very minimal editing and only edits when he needs to. To make his editing invisible, Keaton only cuts on an action which is shown in 'One Week' in the spinning house sequence where the only time Keaton cuts is when he jumps into the house. This sequence also matches Bezin's definition of realism as the house is always in the dead center of the screen with no change of camera angle, even when it's spinning around everything stayed in frame with the only visible cut being when Keaton jumped inside the house. Although, there is some expressionism in this sequence as special effects are used to create a storm and the house spinning around is used to create audience pleasure. Another reason why Keaton is more of an expressive filmmaker is because he uses Vaudeville act routines in his films such as the use of the ladder and In 'The High Sign', the use of the banana skin is used for audience pleasure which dates back to the 1890s vaudeville acts when slipping on a banana skin was used for comedic gags. However, in this nobody slips on he skin. This scene shows that the position of women in Keaton's films is progressive as she does not get pushed to the side as Keaton builds their house but instead, has a prominent role in the film alongside Keaton's character. The only time editing is visible in Keaton's films is in the dog chase scene in 'The Scarecrow' where Keaton falls backwards off the building and the camera cuts to him on the ground. This use of visible editing is quite jarring for the audience as we are not accustomed to seeing Keaton cut like that. Other expressionist films at the time which had a narrative was Melies 'A trip to the moon' which was a sci/fi film. This does not fit Bezin's description of how a realist film should be.

Keaton is very much an expressionist filmmaker; as shown in 'Cops' when a bomb is thrown next to Keaton's character. He doesn't realize it's a bomb at first but a lighter. This doesn't fit Bezin's description of matching reality and is done to create audience pleasure as in the early 1920s, the anarchist bombers were very prevalent in the media at this time so the 1922 audience would off been very familiar with the anarchists bombings as just before this was shown, the anarchist bombers who had been behind the 1920 Wall Street bombing were arrested. In the exaggerated chase sequence, every cop in town is chasing Keaton through the streets. This is both a mix of expressionist and realism as it isn't realistic that a short man like Keaton wouldn't be caught by the comedically large number of cops who are all represented as stupid, useless and pathetic as they don't see Keaton escape into a building two groups of cops ran past. However, it is realistic in the sense that the cops would be chasing Keaton who they think is an anarchist bomber. The representation of women in 'Cops' is not as progressive as in his other films as she plays the romantic interest who would only marry Keaton if he is a businessman. Once again, there is no editing and the police chase is in frame the whole time. Other realism films in the silent era were the Lumiere Brothers 'train pulling into the station' sequence. His stunt in 'Cops' make him an expressionist as Keaton's creative signature was that all his stunts were performed by him. The stunt in this film was when Keaton was shot up in the air and it cutted to Keaton falling on a passer-by. This does not fit in Bazin's description of realism due to it being an edit and was done for audience response. Expressionism is used in 'Cops' when Keaton tries to communicate with the horse by using a telephone. This is an example of modern technology being implemented into Keaton's films. 

In conclusion, i still believe that Keaton's films are more expressive than realist but his lack of editing and the representation of police matches reality does make Keaton a realist filmmaker in some aspects.

Buster Keaton

 In 'One Week', this short, both partners are shown to be equals and in a civil marriage with the wife helping him to build the house and is given a lot to do rather than being forgotten about and leaving her her husband to do all the manual work. In 'The Scarecrow', Keaton is playing the romantic suitor who is in a battle with his brother to win her over. However, she plays a bigger role than a love interest as she is involved in the chase. She is shown to be the dominant one in this scene as it is Keaton who struggles to get on the horse with his the romantic interest at the front. The conventions of Keaton's short films include keeping a dead-pan face in any situation which started with his Vaudeville acts. while other silent comedy actors at that time such as Chaplin would have different facial expressions,  while when a gag happened, the camera would cut Keaton keeping a 'dead-pan face'. Anther convention of Keaton is falling over but each time he falls in a different way and does not repeat the same fall each time. Another key convention of Keaton is his lack of editing in his films.  The action is played out on screen with fewer cuts which makes for invisible editing. Usually when Keaton cuts it is when action is playing out on the screen. The only time a piece of editing is visible (which is uncommon for Keaton) is when he falls backwards of the top of the building and cuts to him on the ground. This was necessary  to do as it would off been hard to frame Keaton falling of the house and landing on the ground in just one take. For the mise-en-scene in 'The Scarecrow', the table in the multi-purpose room is framed in the dead centre of the screen. This is so you can see them use all the functions of the house without having to cut. In 'The Scarecrow', Keaton's short stature is used for comedy when his Brother who is a lot bigger than Keaton, which allows for more comedy between the two of them battling it out as the romantic suitor.

The conventions of silent comedy's are present in Keaton's short films. In 'The Scarecrow', a ladder is used for the dog to run up. Using animals for comedy is also a convention of a silent comedy. Another convention of silent comedy films are the chase scenes. In 'The Scarecrow', the majority of the running time is devoted to Keaton's character being chased. He is first chased by he dog and at the end, he and his wife are being chased on a horse. The fourth wall is broken a couple times across both films. In 'One Week', as the wife is about to get out of the bathtub, she stops when she sees the camera and a hand then covers the lens. This is a very modern pun which you would expect to see in comedy nowadays.

A convention of silent comedy which is shown in the 'High Sign' is the use of the banana peel. Bananas were imported to America in the mid-19th century and were often thrown onto the street. When they rot, they got slippy. They were used for gags in silent fils in the 1890s Vaudeville acts. However, Keaton flips this convention by not having anyone tripped it. Keaton is portrayed as the outsider who gets hired to be a hitman and the protector for the same man. There is the use of the media when Keaton finds the hitman advertisement in the newspaper and falls off the bench straight after which is a classic Keaton gag.

In 'Cops', a convention of silent comedy is the use of animals for gags. Keaton uses a horse for the first part of the film. Modern technology is shown through Keaton using a telephone to communicate with the horse. At the police parade, a town is thrown which lands beside Keaton. This is a representation of the 1920s anarchists who bombed Wall Street in 1920 which killed 38 people. The audience would of caught on to the anarchist bombings were prominent in the media at this time. The cops are represented as ignorant, stupid, pathetic and weak as the whole police force chases Keatons character through town with no one catching him despite Keaton being short. Keaton plays the romantic suitor.

Pan's Labrinth

In the opening scene, subtitles are used to tell us the year this was set in and that the Civil War is over. This is because the Civil War plays a key part in the film and most of the film focuses on the fascists while making the fantasy more of a side plot. There is a voiceover being played over Ofelia's, with a close-up of her head on her side. A blue, cold lighting  is cast over her to show these are this is a dark ending. We then get a close-up shot of her eye to show her emotions. The camera zooms into her pupil which signifies going into the darkness which is the underground realm. We hear a voiceover wile showing us this world so we know what it is and why Ofelia escaped. As we get a deep focus shot of her running up these stairs. The camera then focuses on the light from outside signifying heaven and an escape from the bleak underground realm into freedom. This contrasts with before when the the camera zoomed into her dark pupils to enter the underground realm. An argument could be made that Ofelia thought up this fantasy world and is all inside her head. Her father has died so makes sense that Pan and the King acts as father figures for Ofelia. The Captain treats her with little respect due to being female and only cares for his unborn son. This could be why Ofelia is a princess in the underground realm and is important which the Captain does not regard her as. The enchanted creature takes the form of a fairy in Ofelia's book which shows this is what Ofelia sees him as. Another reason this underground realm is all in her head is because there are no one else her age there and after moving from the city into the rural area, she could dream this world up for her own fun. 

We see Ofelia is reading a fairytale book which shows she's mentally escaping from the real world into a fictional fairytale world where she actually belongs. We get a POV shot of her exploring the forest. When Ofelia finds the eye shaped rock, this sets up for the rest of the film and triggers multiple events which leads her to the underground realm. Putting the eye back in place leads to the first magical creature she discovers which acts as the catalyst for Ofelia finding out about her life she never knew about. Her mother having the flu and Ofelia having to stop the car for her foreshadows her death as it shows she's not in good health. This will lead Ofelia to take charge and stand up for herself. Ofelia and her mother don't have a good relationship with each-other. This is shown when she tells her to stop reading fairytales and when she doesn't respond to Ofelia's claims that she saw a fairy showing she's the anti version of her. She also wants her to call the Captain 'father' which is something she should not expect from her as he is new to When Ofelia meets the Captain, we see he's a fascist who only cares for the unborn child. He want's to shake her right hand showing he likes to keep order and tradition just like how he keeps checking the time and does not like it when they're late.

When Ofelia is reading a story to her unborn brother, the Del Toro is very free with the camera, allowing to move the camera freely but is not shaky but a smooth camera movement. There is not cut in this film but transitions to the unborn baby, to the Thorn tree in Ofelia's story and back to the room. This is invisible editing as it makes it easier to watch than constantly cutting. Del Toro's free camera movement was shown before when her mother is sat in a wheel chair and the camera moves down to her baby who the Captain places his hand on showing his unborn son is the only thing he cares about. The Mother in a wheelchair and the Captain standing over her shows his dominance. 

Second Scene- Meeting Pan

 When Ofelia is introduced to Pan, he used his hands a lot which is the complete opposite to the Captain who's movement is very stiff while pan is very free with his hands. This shows he is a friendly character as he opens his arms in a warm, inviting and welcoming way. He acts as a father figure for Ofelia, guiding her on her quest as well as the King who is her real father. In another scene, Pan tells Ofelia off but later, he forgives her like a Father would do. This is why Ofelia is more attracted to this world as in the real world as she lost her father and isn't treated well by the Captain as she is seen as inferior in that world while in the underground realm, she is a princess. Pan has horns on his head which has similarities to the devil but is actually the complete opposite to him as his first words to Ofelia was 'don't be scared' showing he's a caring character who means well.

Pale Man scene

The Pale Man represents Fascism as it uses its eyes in its hands and sees only what it wants to see which links to the fascist regime as they believe their views are the only right one. The room likes like a church with stained glass windows and old murals depicting the pale man eating babies which looks like they have been there for hundreds of years which shows it was left undisturbed for a very long time as everyone in the underground realm fears him as he represents the devil of the underworld. There is a pile of shoes which links to the Nazis taking the clothes and shoes off the Jews. This is a direct similarity to the Captain having a feast which represents the pale man. This scene flips the meaning of lighting as warm lighting is used which is supposed to show comfort but this scene twists that by having the pale man in it. When Ofelia escapes back into her room, cold lighting is used which is supposed to show danger but in this scene, it is flipped to show the room as safety from the pale man. However, at the ending scene, cold lighting is used again when Ofelia is dying and warm lighting is used when Ofelia is reunited with her Mother and Father but in the pale man scene, it is the exact opposite. Ofelia is shown to be anti-authority and disobedient to Pan when she went against his orders and ate the food on the table. This is important as Pan wants Ofelia to be disobedient which she does in the final scene when she refuses to give her brother's blood to enter the world. The Captain shoots her and her own blood is used so she can enter. This was brave of Ofelia to go against Pan's orders as earlier, she promised to be obedient. 

Script- Action Plan

 Shot List 

SCENE 1

-Begins with an establishing shot in the forest to show the location of the action. This establishes the forest as the main setting of the film.

-In the opening, an extreme wide-shot will be used to get a scale of the forest so the audience can take in the setting as this forest will be used for most of my film.

- There is a POV shot of a frightened Terry running from the Android. We see him grab his gun from within his pocket when he is down.  

 -The camera follows the character through the woods as we get a POV shot of the Android.

- An overhead shot will be used, looking down on my characters. This is to create a sense of scale.

- A full-shot will be used so we get to see the Android in more detail.

- SCENE 2 

 We get a low level of shot of the android standing above Terry in a dominant way looking down at Terry as the Android is superior, making Terry look inferior looking up at him.

-When Terry falls on the muddy ground, a medium close-up shot will be used which shows the character from the shoulders up which allows to see the characters expression. 

-Another medium close-up will be used when the Android takes off his head. This is the shot that reveals he's an Android.

- When Terry falls on the muddy ground, a medium close-up shot will be used which shows the character from the shoulders up which allows to see the characters expression. 

-Another medium close-up will be used when the Android takes off his head. This is the shot that reveals he's an Android.

- We get an Extreme close-up shot of Stevie's lips as he say's an important line.

SCENE 3

- When another android walks out of the hollow cave, Terry spins around in shock. For this, I will use a whip pan shot, moving the camera from one shot to another creating a blur.

 - A cowboy shot is used to Frame the gun in Terry's pocket.

- A Full shot will be used to show the Android walking towards Terry.

SCENE  4

-An establishing shot is used again when we change location from the woodland to the underground bunker. 

- An overhead shot will be used to show Terry outside of the underground bunker with his hands gripped on the bars.

- A tracking shot will be used to follow Terry through the woods using a hand-held camera. <-a a="" an="" and="" android.="" android="" androids="" another="" army="" as="" at="" be="" belongs="" burnt="" button="" by="" can="" cave.="" close-up="" created.="" end="" ending="" enter="" extreme="" find="" flashback="" for="" free="" gate="" get="" grabs="" hand="" he="" high="" him="" hip-level="" his="" important="" in="" into="" inventing="" is="" it="" lab.="" lever="" line.="" lips="" nbsp="" neck="" night.="" of="" off.="" off="" on="" p="" pulling="" reaching="" revealing="" reveals="" s="" say="" scene="" self-destruct="" setting="" shot="" shoulders="" show="" skin="" so="" stevie="" survived="" switch.="" switch="" switching="" terry="" that="" the="" they="" this="" to="" trying="" twist="" unlock="" used="" waist="" way="" we="" when="" which="" will="" with="" working="">

- We get an Extreme close-up shot of Stevie's lips as he say's an important line.

- When Stevie and Terry turn around to see the third android, will use a whip-pan. 

-When we see the switch on Terry's neck, revealing that h's an Android, I will use an extreme close-up shot on this.

For the Android, I will use a person to be the android. I made the android less robotic and more human-like by them wearing hoodies. Each android will wear a different coloured hoodie so you can distinguish them from each other and so they don't all look alike. The main Android wears a red hoodie.  The hoodies will be useful as it confers that the story is set on Earth and not on an unknown planet which would be more difficult to accomplish a set for another off-world planet.

For Terry, he'll be wearing a white coat that represents a lab coat as he is a scientist that created the android. This coat will show Terry has an important status as he is a scientist.

- A full-shot will be used to show the yellow hooded Android staring at Terry and Stevie where it will focus on the Android in shot instead of the forest around him.

- An enigma code in this film is presented at the start when the Android is chasing Terry through the woods and we don't know the reason.

- Another twist ending revealed is that Terry is in fact an Android who was created by the Android chasing him. There are clues which suggest this including Terry spilling coffee on himself and sparks fly off him but does not notice this. This is revealed when the Android digs into Terry's neck to reveal a switch.

Locations

- Most of my film takes place in the woods with the two characters- the Android and Terry (it's creator) so I will film these scenes in a woodland area in Westerham. There is a cave in these woods with a gate blocking the entrance which will be used to show Terry running into it. The cave will be used for an underground bunker in the film. This cave will also be used at the end to show the twist ending that there are more Androids that we didn't know about.

-I have done a location scout at Westerham woods which is where most of my film takes place in. I will have to wait to dark until I film takes place in the evening.

- There will also be a scene in a Lab where we see Terry invent the android as well as the self-destruct button. This could be filmed in a kitchen as I have no access to an actual lab.

Props

- Gun prop which you make yourself. It will be used for Terry to shoot the Android.

- Self-destruct button prop.

- A red laser beam will shoot from the Android's arm.

- Two plastic knives which the Android will use on Terry.

- Fake blood to put on Terry's neck.

- Fake CCTV camera that will be used to spy on Terry.

- Masks which I will use for the face of the Android.

-  Green, orange and blue hoodies which I will use for each Android to distinguish them from one another and give the Androids a modern look.

City of God analysis

 City of God opening scene analysis

Cinematography

The streets use cold lighting and is shot through a blue filter to show these as the bad days. Even some of their shirts are blue reminding the viewer these are dark days. Its very claustrophobic with the houses packed together and having the gang chasing the chicken through the streets. When we see Lil Z, it is always a close-up shot of his teeth when he's laughing like a psychopath. He is the first person we see with a gun showing he's the leader. When we see Rocket standing in-between the police and Lil Z's gang we get the camera panning around him all sped up taking us back to the 60s. The chicken is shown to be escaping Lil Z and his gang, this represents escaping the 'City of God' which doesn't happen and isn't easy to do unless you have a dream and follow it like Rocket does. When we transition back to the 60s, warm lighting is used to show the 'good old days'. We finally get to see the sky and a whole field compared to the lack of space and claustrophobic in the present. The houses have space in-between them and are on the same level which is not the case for the favelas in the present.

Editing

Fast-paced editing is used when the see the gang chasing the chicken through the streets. A handheld camera is used here so the camera movement is all over the place and is very chaotic. We finally get a break from the chase to see Rocket and his mate walking down the steps slowly.

Mise-en-scene

A key prop used in the opening is Rocket holding the camera when he's between the two sides which will be important later on in the film as the camera is the reason Rocket manages to escape from the 'city of God' chasing his dream of being a photographer for the newspaper. Back in the 60s, when Rocket introduces himself, we get a camera shutter clicking over a close-up shot of him foreshadowing the camera playing a key part in his life and associates a camera with this character already.

Performance

 As soon as we are introduced to Lil Z, we know he is the villain of the film as his evil laugh and wide grin