Ok it's time for our latest and greatest blog post dealing with our oh so favorite research script, for our most favored people running IB.  After watching my four films I realized many adjustments that I wanted to make on my research script.  One, maybe even two of my films are going to have to be changed, because I am changing my research topic.  Here's the latest:

Research topic:  How directors use different elements of mise en scene to create varying worlds other than reality.

Films I'm looking at for sure:  Pan's Labyrinth, Sleepy Hollow

Films needed to be changed: The Shining, Dr. Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo.  After I find my two new films I'll update this blog.

Pan's Labyrinth

first scene

Ok, so this is the scene we discussed in class, you know, the "hella awesome one".  I'm going to run through the things I found interesting and what I plan on possibly using in my research script.  Those of you in class can skip over this one because it's very similar to what we talked about in class.

The three elements of mise en scene I'm focusing on in this particular scene is:

Lighting

-The director chooses to play with different temperatures of lighting to separate reality vs this "other fantasy world".  In the fantasy world, the color temp is very cold because of the use of orangy/reddish colors, such as the fire behind the child eating monster.  

-Because the colors are often brighter within this fantasy world, the director also plays with shadows which are produced from the warm lighting.  When we see CU on the girl's face, there is usually fast falloff that separates part of her face in light and in shadows.  Also, when we see the hall, there are many cast shadows on the ground produced from the lights/windows.  This adds to the element of fore grounding, and allows the director to stage/place his actors in interesting ways along the Z-axis, which actually helps to add our attention to something.  For example, when the monster chases the girl while she's standing on the chair, we see the monster coming down the hall, but notice how he's standing in the middle along a row of cast shadows on the ground which stretch from the camera lens all the way down the z-axis.  This adds attention and emphasis on the monster, but also creates this spooky/tense world in which the heroine is attempting to escape from.  

-The real world is the opposite of the fantasy world in that it's color temp is much warmer through the use of bluer lighting.  In the one shot of the hour glass in the foreground, and the tunnel/fantasy world in the background, we notice the difference in lighting and color temps which help the audiance distinguish between the fantasy world and the real world.  

Sound/Music

-The use of sound and music in this scene is another element of mise en scene that the director controls to help add a spooky and mysterious element to this fantasy world.  When the monster awakens for the first time the sounds of his arms/hands cracking and the sound of his breathing adds a whole new element in the scene.  The gasping breathing of the monster and the bone cracks of his hand/body seems not from this world, so it helps the audiance remember that they are not in the real world--they are indeed in another world where the most gruesome/horrific sounds are heard by just one monster/character/element.  

Props(slight focus on setting)/Cosutme (creature) design

-There are many props within this scene that helps add to the fantastical idea of this world.  The most prevalent in this scene are the dagger/key, hour glass, grapes/shoes/pictures, and the chalk/chair.  The key and the dagger help us, as the audience, connect to the story and remember the goals that our heroine must accomplish.  The key was from the first of the three tasks, which she uses to unlock the dagger, which was the goal of this task (the second task).  The key represents her unlocking the discovery of this fantasy world.  She is aware of its existence, but does not know much about it, so the key symbolizes her unlocking the mysterious of this fantasy world as the movie unfolds.  The dagger represents the idea of attacking/force that the girl will need if she is to complete her tasks to become the ruler of this fantasy world.  Each ruler needs strength, and the dagger not only represents strength, but it compliments the heroine well.  Rather than give her a bulky sword or small gun to carry around, she wields a majestic beautifully embellished dagger.

-The hour glass is a prop that the director chooses to almost use as a character itself.  The hour glass is constantly being referred back to as the heroine attempts to complete her task.  This builds suspense and reminds the audience of the strict time limit the girl is on.  On a more subtle level, the hour glass shows how the girl only has so much time to be in this fantasy world--or else she is stuck there forever.  This helps the audience distinguish that this world is fantastical because you can only be in it so long before you loose the chance of coming back to reality.

-The grapes, shoes, and pictures are all elements that build character in this scene.  By building character the director helps introduce the audience to further elements and surprises that can only be found in this fantasy world.  The grapes show temptation, the pictures show the deathly/grim character of the monster (and it foreshadows the possible doom of the heroine), and the pile of shoes show how deathly the monster is (for each pair of shoes represents one child that has been eaten by the monster/fell into its grasp).

second scene

-The scenes where our Heroine visits the faun at the last remaining portal is also carefully manipulated by the director in terms of mise en scene to help convey the meaning of this fantasy world.

-Lighting is very much like the world of reality, because they are still in reality, however, there are a lot of elements in terms of sets that show the clash between the magical world and the world of reality.  Again the color temp is warm, as is expressed through the bluish lighting style.  What's important is how the lighting style of the real world (the warmer temp) compliments the faun, the portal, and the stairs.  

-Set design, as previously mentioned, is key in this scene for conveying the idea of the fantasy world.  The stairs begin with a colder color temp at the top where the real world clearly exists, but as the heroine walks down the stairs, we see the lighting get slightly warmer, showing the ALMOST transition into the fantasy world.  Remember, this set is the bridge between the fantasy world and real world, so it has to have elements of both.  What's neat in this scene is the design of the stairs (they are circular and therefore  have more of a haunting dominance), the statue like/magically shaped portal in the middle of the set, and the balance of color and how it compliments the fauns character.  Such decisions in mise en scene like this allows the director to juxtapose both worlds in one scene, which is essentially the crux of the story--especially to the heroine.

Sleepy Hollow

My two scenes aren't online, urg.  I'll talk to Mr. Bigue tommorow and see if I should post my notes up here anyways.