Cinematography: Pan's Labyrinth and City of God.

Cinematography - different colour pallettes used for different worlds - the fantasy world of Ofelia's mind? and the brutal world of the reality of Spain in 1944 (also a further, high-key, palette of the magical kingdom Ofelia goes to when she is reunited with her parents at the end of the film). The blue filter at the beginning of the film where Ofelia lays dying is otherworldly and cold - symbolising the young girl's life slipping away. This sinister blue hue is present with the introduction of the Fawn in the centre of the ancient Labyrinth. It is the Fawn who acts as Ofelia's guide (a Proppian dispatcher/donor) and it is he who tells Ofelia that she is in fact Princess Moanna, daughter of the King and Queen of the Underworld. He reveals that the Labyrinth is the last remaining portal between that kingdom and Ofelia's current reality (Spain in 1944) and tells her that in order to pass through the portal and prove that she has not become entirely mortal, she must complete three tasks, all of which will appear before the full moon in a magical book he gives her called the Book of Crossroads. Later he is revealed as the benign advisor of the Fairy King and Queen (Ofelia's parents) but throughout most of the narrative the audience are never quite sure of his intentions. The blue lighting when we are first introduce to the Fawn certainly develops this idea of his possible malignity and his ill intentions. This reinforced through the use of sie lighting on him - we are never quite sure of his intentions - and the backlighting when he leaves Ofelia after she has failed the second task - make him look sinister,evil and threatening. Contrasted with the high key lighting in the magical kingdom at the end when his true intentions are finally revealed and we see him as a benvolent charcter who had been trying to ensure that Ofelia passed the tests.

In stark contrast to these chilling, ethereal blue filtered shots is the bright yellows of the hot parched sun-baked landscape of Spain which we witness in the scene where Ofelia and her mother (part of an ominously large entourage) arrive at Captain Vidal's camp. The extreme long shot/establishing shot, showing the ruins of a church, hint at the violence and danger of the real world that Ofelia is so desperate to escape...

Extreme close ups - In the opening scene the camera zooms into an ECU of Ofelia's eye and beyond into the black of her pupil - the narration at this point has a fairy-tale styling and the audience are transported, through the zoom and a dissolve, into the magical fairy kingdom - the ECU which goes into Ofelia's eye leads the audience to infer that this magical world is in Ofelia's mind - it is a place that she retreats to for sanctuary away from the brutality of her step-father and the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. For Ofelia, this fantasy, fairy world is 'A world where there are no lies and no pain'. Lots of close ups of Ofelia - establishing her as the film's protagonist and positioning the audience with her. Frequent close ups of Vidal - establishing him as the antagonist - reinforcing that this will be a battle between him and Ofelia.

Frequent two shots - look at the distances and see what they suggest about the relationship between the characters - Ofelia and her mother close, Ofelia and the Faun - to begin with close as she trusts him but later distance between them as his motives appear false? Close two shots between Ofelia and her mother, Ofelia and Mercedes, Ofelia and her brother, Mercedes and her brother, Dr Ferrior and the stutterer - all suggest a bond, compassion, security and sanctuary - a means of protecting in the brutal world of the Spanish dictatorship under Franco's reign - and the butality at the Mill under captain Vidal. Close two shots often also represent entrapment, violence, power and control - seen clearly in the scene between Vidal and Mercedes when he questions her about the key and grips her hand as she goes to leave or when Vidal tortures the stutterer - counting to three - or between Vidal and Ofelia (when he finds the mandrake root under the bed and when he beats Ofelia and accuses her of laughing at him once he has uncovered Mercedes' treachary) and at times between the Faun and Ofeilia (reinforcing the notion that the audience are never quite sure whether to trust the creature)

Tight framing and loose framing - tight framing used to suggest unity - the two shots mentioned above (the positive ones between family or Mercedes and Ofelia) and the shots of the rebels at the end when Vidal comes out of the maze having murdered Ofelia - their strength, which enables them to defeat Vidal and the facists comes from unity despite the hardships and the horrors they have faced - only through unity can they defeat Vidal (and therefore Franco). Tigh framing is frequently used to connote imprisonment or entrapment - Mercedes, Ofelia, Ofelia's mother etc are all shown at various points in tightly framed shots - they are imprisoned by their guilt (Mercedes), their circumstance (Ofelia's mother) or their naivety/immaturity/lack of knowledge and understanding (Ofelia) - more broadly, tight framing especially in scenes in the Mill rather than the forest - reinforce that Spain is trapped/imprinoed by the brutality of Vidal's (and therefore Franco's) dictatorship - run through uncompromising violence and fear. Loose framing is frequently used to suggest a character's vulnerability - the rebels are often loosely framed to imply the toughness of their cause and that they are always at the mercy of the brutal, more powerfully armed and resourced regime. Ofelia is frequently loosely framed - in the hallway after her mother has died, in her room after she believes the Faun has abandioned her, multiple times when she ventures into the fantasy world of the labyrinth or the Pale Man's lair - all suggesting she is in danger, vulnerable - hinitng at her ending which we have lready seen at the beginning of the film) - Merceds when she flees and even Vidal at the end in the maze as his fate becomes apparant. Loose framing is also used to represent freedoom - the rebels in the woods are shot far more frequently using loose framing than the inhabitants of the Mill - it is their cause which keeps them free - they are unwilling to bend to Vidal's brutal will. Ofelia is frequently loosely framed when she is in ther fantasy world - suggesting that this provides with freedom or an escape from the harsh realities of life in Spain (under Franco) and life at the Mill under the control of Vidal. The freedom she receives in death and her ultimate return to the magical kingdom is shown through the loosely framed shots of her in the great hall wwith her 'magical' family...

Long shots or extreme shots of Ofelia - showing her in loose framing, hinting at her vulnerability (remmber we know from the first scene that she dies).

Also ECUs on props - Props - there are frequent close ups on props to imply their narrative significance to the audience but also to hint at character traits. A good example of this can be found near the beginning of the film when the audience are introduced to Captain Vidal as he impatiently waits for his bride (Ofelia's mother) and Ofelia to arrive. The first shot of Captain Vidal is preceded by an extreme close up of his watch. His obsession with detail and correct behaviour (the party are late) and his need for precision (as well as his narcisitic vanity) are mirrored in this watch. We find out that it was his father's, a famous general, and that the glass was shattered as he went into battle and died. The watch is, then, a symbol of Vidal's macho need to ape his father's bravery as a means of proving himself (and bettering his father) and also evidince of his own fastidiousness (he is critical, demanding, hard to please and excessively particualr about detail - character traits that are important later in the narritve when he spots things such as...that lead him to uncover the treachery of...finding the vial of medicine leads him to realise that people within the camp have been helping the rebels etc etc). This attention to detail invloves more than just repeairng watches (something which we witness him doing later in the film) - it has a darker connotation in the torture scenes where he clearly delights in the sickening tools of the torturers trade such as skewers and pliers (which are props that are also shown in close up.

Mobile camerawork throughout - camera constantly moving as if probing or investigating (reflecting Ofelia's journey) - her inquisitveness, her escape into fantasy - smooth, as if gliding. Other times there is handheld, rapid camera movement (tracking shots and pans) to reincorce a character's panic or anxiety - such as Merceds leaving the Mill with Ofelia or escaping after she has injured Vidal or when she believes her brother has been captured - or during chaotic scenes of fighting - in the woods or when the rebels raid the Mill. This is contrasted with slower camerawork - used to create tension - especially noticeable with Vidal in torture scenes of when he is suspiciously responding to noises (when he finds Ofelia under the bed etc) - creates suspense and anticipation for the audiences (much like in horror films, a genre that Del Toro frequently works in).

High and low angles - and canted framing - Low angles are frequently used when shooting Vidal, reinforcing his power, control and his btutal, sinister menace. The faun is often shot from a low angle also - implanting the idea in the audience's mind that he may be untrutworthy and have sinister motives. Often Ofelia is shot from a high angle - implying her vulnerability - though both she and Mercedes are shot from low angles when they show strength or bravery in their dealings with Vidal. Canted shots are frequently used - either to show the chaos of battle during fight sequences or when Vidal has been drugged by Ofelia.