Inspired by Pan's Labyrinth
I have chosen to do my inspired project from the film Pan's Labyrinth, it has always inspired me as a person and I have always wanted to do a shoot inspired by the film work and fantasy style theme of the film. I like the wide range of styles used by the director and how even though they are very different and unusual it can be captured by film stills as well as the trailers and soundtrack.
The images I wish to remake are of Ofelia, the main character of the film, and some other important characters involved.
These are the images my final pictured will be based on, I like how some are simple yet effective and how the others are very fantasy based and enchanting:
This still from near to the beginning of the film,
it is quite a big part as she finds the start of the labyrinth and so enters the "rea
lm" of her fantasy world. I like how she is young and naive yet still portrayed as a strong character throughout the film and I think this still portrays that from the contrast between her height and the big arch in which she faces before her. This still looks adventurous, interesting and mystical and is what I hope my final image will look up to standards of.
This is who she is greeted by when she enter the Labyrinth and althou
gh he looks sinister and dangerous, he is the one who guides and supports her throughout the film. He is called Fauno and seeks to help Ofelia get back to her real Kingdom. I like this st
ill because it tells a lot about the characters, Fauno is the supportive adult who she wants to trust and guide her and Ofelia is the young naive girl who looks vulnerable and genuinely terrified of what is to come. The overall effect of
the image is dark, gloomy and atmos
pheric and is what I hope to gain from my shoot.
This still is when she has been g
iven a book from Fauno which she is only to read when alone. I like how the only light is coming in
from the circle windows and I believe the bathtub signifies how independent she now is (by being able to bath herself) and how baths are normally something quite self concentrative. To gain
this image I will have to find somewhere dark with one main light and somewhere
you would go alone to concentrate or explore.
This still shows how even though Ofelia is quite grown up she still is interested in fairies and mythical creatures. I like this still because it is very basic but it shows a lot about her personality and an aspect of the film, is Fauno and the other creatures a figure of he
r imagination from all the books she reads or does she really belong in that world? To make this image my own I will use
one of my books from my childhood and maybe edit it somehow.
This still is from a very tens
e scene in the film, when Ofelia has to obtain a dagger from a locked case in a room guarded by the Pale Man. She is forbidden to eat any of the feast laid out on the table but was disallowed supper for wondering off and upsetting her mother and ste
p-father. Her guiding fairies warn her of the danger and she was told by Fauno but she ignores their warnings and eats a couple of grapes. She unknowingly awakens the Pale Man and he decapitates the fairies and tries to capture Ofelia. This image will be the hardest to digitally achieve but I shall use a model and use photoshop to edit and manipulate it to the best of my ability.
Image 1:
This image is an interpretation of the archway.
I chose this setting because it is old and looks interesting. I wasn't too pleased with the lighting but I think the darkness of the image works quite well with the theme. I kept the adventurous theme in mind and got my model to hold the door and look intrigued as to what she will find behind it. I think it works well overall but would change the lighting and clothing on my model if I was to do this project again.
Image 1 (Edited):
Image 1 (Edited):
When I came to edit this image I changed the levels and selected the whole image apart from the archway and gate. I lightened the image and edited the contrast to bring out the different colours in the brick work and clothing. I then tried it in greyscale and decided I like the black and white look better than in colour.
Image 2:
This image was interpreted by Ofelia reading in the bathroom with the sunlight through the hole windows. Unfortunately the room I wanted to use was closed off when I went to shoot but I thought I would use natural lighting and a some glow on photoshop around the bushes and around my model.
Image 2 (Edited):
Image 3:
With this image, instead of editing in Fauno, I decided to read between the lines of the film and think about Ofelia's imagination. She may have imagine Fauno and actually interacted with the trees and flowers so I got my model to hug a tree to imitate the still of Ofelia hugging Fauno. The lighting in this picture was not what I wanted to achieve but I think it would work better ifI edited a face onto the tree.
Image 4:
This was a very simple image to do but I think it looks quite effective for the theme. Even though it is quite different from the still, I think it works well. I like the lighting and have not edited this image which is obvious but could of been cropped. Overall I think it couldn't of been shot much better but maybe
from a different perspective or using a more child like fantasy book with coloured imagery.
Image 5:
I like the image as it is a successful edit of mine and it is quite weird and menacing. I chose to do this because I was in control of my project and model and the Pale Man was in control of Ofelia's life at one point so I thought it would be quite fitting. I tried different ways to do this and found this way (using a layer mask instead of a clone tool) worked more effectively than the other.
