How Is The Lighting Used In Pan's Labyrinth

Pan’s Labyrinth is a foreign film that deals with a little girl named Ofelia. Ofelia must travel with her pregnant mother to see the Captain (Ofelia’s step-father) and while she is in Spain at her father’s house, she encounters a mysterious faun who gives her three tasks that she must complete. The Faun says that she is Moanna, the daughter of the king of the underground and in order to open up portals to reach her real father she must complete the tasks he had given. Throughout the movie, the mysterious monsters that arrive symbolize Ofelia’s step-father, Vidal who is also known as the Captain. The film constantly reinforces the horror fairytale theme and even how brutal and evil the Captain can be by symbolizing, camera positioning and even

by the way the characters dress. The film incorporates a lot of cinematography and even components of mise-en-scene in order to reinforce the Captain’s character and also reinforce the overall setting of the movie.
One major thing that Pan’s Labyrinth incorporates into its film is the costumes and make- up. In the beginning of the movie, we see Ofelia dressed in an old dark green coat and her mother in an old fashion, worn out dress. Looking at these two characters, you can tell that they have faced some trials and that they don’t come from a very rich place. The Captain, on the other hand is very well dressed. As soon as Ofelia and her mother arrive, the Captain is dressed in a very fancy military uniform which reinforces that he is over everybody. The setting is also reinforced that the film is taking place in the old timey days (possibly 1944) because Mercedes (a worker for the Captain) cooks rabbits, milks cows and pours water from a bucket into a bath tub for Ofelia. Another reason the film could have taken place in 1944 is due to the way all the soldiers were dressed in their war uniforms and because the story centralizes on taking place after the Spanish civil war.
One major setting that sets the tone for mise-en-scene is a fairytale setting. From the very beginning of the movie we instantly see a type of fairy dust just flowing around in the forest air. The forest was bright green with big brown trees and even indented stones. The Pan’s Labyrinth, for example, was very rocky with winding trees and numerous different pathways with a staircase that lead down into a cave. In the Pan’s Labyrinth we also encounter a creature called a Faun. The Faun shows us that this is not just a fairytale but a horror fairytale because he is depicted as a tree monster whom is very scary sounding and big. Numerous other characters in the film show us this is a horror fairytale by their actions such as the pale man and the monster frog. Another setting we also get is smoke rising up from a mountain which gives us a mysterious background and gives us a thought that something must have happened.
Another component of mise-en-scene that is used is lighting.

Most of the lighting for the forest was soft light from the overcast that the trees gave and it made the forest look even more enchanted. When we first see the Faun, under-lighting was used to make the Faun’s surroundings behind him dark and to make all the focus go on him to make him look scarier. Another major lighting effect that was used was frontal lighting. Frontal lighting was used a lot on the Captain and we received good view of this when the Captain was sewing up his face after Mercedes had cut him. Hard lighting was also incorporated when the Captain was looking for the soldiers in the woods because we could see the defined shadows of the forest trees. I think the filmmaker chose to give soft lighting for part of the forest scenes to make it look more like a fairytale and I think the under-lighting was used to portray the monsters as being mysterious and creepy. The frontal lighting was used on the Captain a lot so that the audience could really focus on his character and to show that he is the main part of that particular scene that is

playing.
While mise-en-scene did play a major role in the film’s horror fairytale theme, cinematography also played a huge part. The contrast in certain scenes of the film really gave off the vibe of the Captain being a mean and brutal person. The contrast from meeting the Captain for the first time was very dark colors. It instantly showed that he was going to be the antagonist of the film. Another example of contrast in the movie is when the train crashed and the Captain took his soldiers to find out what had happened. The contrast made the sky look dark and it gave the extra feeling that something bad happened and it also made the audience focus on how mad the Captains facial expression was. When the movie first starting playing, the audience was exposed to warm, golden and scarlet tones which was to show the fantasy world but then the contrast throughout the movie moved to a very sad and depressing quality to express the real world during the war. The movie also gave a lot of green colors during the Labyrinth cave to give the audience a sense of magic and to add an underworld theme. Another major contrast of colors was when Ofelia ended up meeting her real dad and her mother in the palace after dying in the real world. The palace was very bright and the colors contrasted was red and golden colors similar to the ones we got in the beginning of the film. I think the filmmaker chose this type of contrast and exposure so that the setting would constantly be reinforced that this is a fairytale but then again it’s also a scary one. I also think that the filmmaker wanted to keep making the contrast of the Captain dark because he had a dark personality.
Another major component in that film is the way focal length of scenes was made.

The short focal length which is a wide-angle view was used a lot during the film. One major example was when after the Captain killed two men by smashing one of their faces in with a bottle and shooting the other. After both of the men are dead laying on the ground, the camera is zoomed out and we get this wide view of the men laying on the ground, the Captain standing away from them and then the rest of the Captain’s soldiers just looking with disbelief in their eyes. The film maker did this shot to express just how much control that the Captain is in. The Captain is over all his soldiers and even strangers and no matter who you are, the Captain will brutally hurt you if

needed.
The distance between camera shots also expressed the Captain’s characters. We get numerous long shots throughout the film such as the Captain shooting the two innocent men, the Captain shooting the doctor and when he is in the woods looking for the soldiers that are hiding from him. We also get a close-up shot for when the Captain is sewing up his face. I think this shot was very important to the film because we finally get really up close to the Captain and this shot symbolizes just how unstoppable the Captain can really be. The close-up shot really does a great job in defining the character Vidal is playing and it also reinforces Ofelia’s character because if the Captain is more frightening then any of the other monsters Ofelia faces during the film, then she can have strength to say “no” to the faun at the end of the movie.
One other good distance shot during the film was medium long shots. A good example of this shot would be when the Captain is about to torture this young boy into telling him where the other rebels are hiding. We get the shot of the boy tied up from his knees up and then within the shot we get a table full of tools that will be used on him. The filmmaker used this shot to again portray that the Captain is over everyone but to also show us just what he can be capable of. We get another medium shot from the same scene when the Captain tells the young boy that if he can count to three without mumbling then he can leave. We get this medium shot so that we can see the fear that is in the boy’s eyes and then right beside him we can see the hatred coming from the Captain. I really think that the filmmaker wanted to capture this frightening moment on the boy to gives us a sense of, “I hope he counts to three” because we can see the pain he is feeling and it’s like the audience is a part of the scene.
The depth of field and zooming effects during the film also helped with allowing the audience to really focus on particular objects. One great depth of field effect during the film was on the bug that transforms into a fairy. We get numerous close-ups with the insect throughout the beginning of the film and when the insect spots Ofelia meeting the Captain, the depth of field blurs out the background and the only thing your eye sees is a zoomed in, close-up of the insect. We also get another depth of field of the insect when it turns into a fairy. We can’t really see what is happening in the background and the only thing we’re focused on is the insect turning into a glamourous fairy. I think these certain components were used on the insect to emphasize how significant it was and because the insect was a major component in showing Ofelia where the Pan’s Labyrinth was located.
While mise-en-scene and cinematography played a major role in expressing certain characters and what the film is all about, there was also a lot of symbolism. One huge symbolism was the pale man. In the scene of the pale man, he is sitting at the head of this dining table that has squares and straight lines incorporated into it with a feast of food. In an earlier scene, the Captain hosts a dinner party with a scene of him at the head of the table with a feast of food and a table that as well incorporates straight lines and squares. The scene of the pale man therefore symbolizes the nature of the Captain. The pale man is the head of the feast and he feeds on innocent people and the Captain is also the head of everybody and he feeds on the innocent by only giving certain rations and medicine to the rebels. All the other monsters that were betrayed in the film were also used to represent evil and to symbolize over and over again that the Captain was the worst monster of them all. Another symbolizing moment in the movie was when the Captain shot Ofelia. When Ofelia is laying on the ground the colors fade away and the only color that catches our eye is the bright red blood. I think the filmmaker wanted us to focus on the blood to show us that she might have spilt blood but she did it for a good cause which was to save her little brother.
In conclusion, the filmmaker did a fantastic job in making specific camera techniques in order to convey certain characters, actions and the setting of the movie. I really liked how the filmmaker also used his techniques to make the audience not really know if this was actually a fairytale in the real world or if it was Ofelia imagining this fairytale all through her head. The mise-en-scene that the filmmaker used really gave away where the film was taking place and what kind of movie genre this way. The costumes of the characters really fitted the war time period and the monsters even looked real. The cinematography used also really helped in portraying the Captains role. The effects such as frontal lighting, dark contrasted colors, and close-ups made the audience really focus on the Captain’s character and we could always depict that he was an outrageous and hateful human being whom didn’t care about anybody but his own well-being and his son (which Carmen died giving birth to). The filmmaker also not only used these techniques to portray the captain’s character but also others such as the Faun and the insect fairy. My favorite technique that the filmmaker used throughout the entire film was his use of symbolism. I liked how the whole story went into play by comparing the Captain with other creatures and the outcome of this was the Captain being the biggest monster of them all. The symbolism technique not only helped portray the Captain as being a monster but it also helped Ofelia not be afraid and it gave her the power to end up saying “no” to the Faun about sacrificing her little brother. Overall, Pan’s Labyrinth was a fantastic film and all the techniques used throughout the film really made it a great horror fairytale.