How is cinematography used in the opening scene (the Introduction to Ofelia)?
- Close-up eye level shot of Ofelia
- Extreme long shot of the underworld and ruins of he church.
How is cinematography used in the Introduction to Captain Vidal?
- Close-up shot of the watch
- A close-up shot of Vidal holding Ofelia’s hand forcefully
- Close-up shot of his hand on Carmen’s stomach
- A low angle shot of him when Carmen is in the wheelchair
- Low angle shots when he meets Ofelia
How is cinematography used in Ofelia’s story?
- Low key lighting in the bedroom
- Mid (two) shots of Ofelia and Carmen
How is cinematography used in the gruesome murder of the farmers?
- Close up angles
- Extreme low angle perspective which looks up towards the soldiers
- Low key lighting
- Low angle shot of Vidal killing the farmer’s son
Why is the eye-level close up shot used in the opening sequence?
- Establishes her as the protagonist
- Being eye-level to her allows the spectators to create a close connection to her as they and her are on the same level
- Evokes the sense of empathy and the wish to help her.
Why is the extreme long shot used in the opening sequence?
- Reinforces the belief that the movie is a fantastical story and evokes feelings of awe and curiosity as they want to learn more about the world
- The transition to the underworld to the ruins of the church (violence engulfed) = foreshadows the fantasy and real worlds will intermix with each other
Why is a CU shot of Vidal’s watch used in the Introduction to Vidal sequence?
- Signifies the mechanical world Vidal and patriarchal themes – technology is associated with masculinity and nature is considered feminine.
Why is a CU shot of Vidal holding Ofelia’s hand used in the Introduction to Vidal sequence?
- Anchors his sadistic nature
- Reflects the oppression and masculine aggression towards women (especially in a patriarchal society).
Why is a CU shot of Vidal’s hand on Carmen’s stomach used in the Introduction to Vidal sequence?
- Signifies her as his property
- Atypical feminist reading as she is procreating to keep his militaristic lineage going
- He fails to show any heartfelt tenderness towards her or even to Ofelia
Why is a low-angle shot of Vidal standing over Carmen in the wheelchair used in the Introduction to Vidal sequence?
- Signifies his power over Carmen - represented as superior and domineering over Carmen.
- Obvious power imbalance as Carmen is in a physically lower position that him.
Why are low angle shots between Vidal and Ofelia used in the Introduction to Vidal sequence?
- Portrays his power over her.
- Presents him as intimidating to Ofelia, and makes the spectator feel that he is dangerous to her.
- Makes the audience recognise him as the antagonist and will hinder Ofelia.
Why is low-key lighting in the bedroom used in Ofelia’s story scene?
It creates an atmosphere of fantasy and supernatural.
Why are mid (two) shots of Ofelia and Carmen used in Ofelia’s story scene?
It depicts their close relationship as mother and daughter.
Why are low angles used in the gruesome murder of the farmers scene?
It shows the brutality and viciousness of Vidal’s character.
Why is an extreme low angle perspective (which looks up towards the soldiers) used in the gruesome murder of the farmers scene?
- It portrays the treatment as cruel and unjustified
- Shows the power Vidal possesses that the soldiers do not react and merely spectate
- It is reflective of fascism
Why is low key lighting used in the gruesome murder of the farmers scene?
It shows Vidal’s sinister and psychopathic character.
Why is a low angle shot of Vidal killing the farmer’s son used in the gruesome murder of the farmers?
- It allows the audience to witness the harsh beatings
- Evokes a strong sense of sympathy and solicitude for him
- Helps the audience become aware of the nature of the brutality inflicted onto him.
How is cinematography used in the first task sequence?
- Long shot of horses galloping
- Wide shot of tree
- CU shot of Ofelia dismissing her dress
- Low angle of Ofelia entering tree
- Low key lighting in tree contrasts high key lighting of forest
How is cinematography used in the toad scene?
- POV shot of Ofelia witnessing the toad (mid-shot) as she says “I am Princess Moanna”
- Both of them in the same shot facing one another showing the toad’s enormous size
- Close up shot of the toad
- Low key lighting as Ofelia leaves the tree
- Close up of Ofelia’s ruined dress
How is cinematography used in the hunting the rebels sequence?
- Wide shot of Vidal with his army
- Over-the-shoulder shot of the maquis
- High key lighting in wide shot of the rebels
- Wide shot of the maquis
Why is a POV mid shot of Ofelia witnessing the toad used in the first task (the toad) scene?
- We see both of them in the same shot facing one another showing the toad’s enormous size
- Ofelia feels very belittled by the toad because of the large size contrast
- Suggests of her weakness in face of the fascists or her baby brother unintentionally casing Carmen’s death
- Presents her as very brave as she still faces the toad despite large size difference
Why is a close up shot of the toad in the first task (the toad) scene?
It shows the audience how disgusting it is, but is needed up close so the audience feels disgust towards the toad (and the fascist regime).
Why is the low key lighting used when Ofelia leaves the tree in the toad scene?
The reality worsens, implying that she is still in danger/trouble.
Why is a wide shot of the tree used in the first task/rebels sequence?
- Yonic/uterine imagery - resembles the womb
- Represents Ofelia’s return to the womb,
- She is unhappy with the world she is living in (the dehumanised reality of the fascists)
