Pan's Labyrinth

Miserable in a new environment, young Ofelia cannot stand the imminent departure of the kindly housekeeper, Mercedes. This scene, set in Ofelia’s bedroom, illustrates the filmmakers’ blend of cool background tones and warm light, a mix that characterizes several settings. After chalking out a doorway on her bedroom wall, Ofelia steps through it and discovers a mysterious hallway. Small holes in the set’s ceiling facilitated the placement of Source Four Lekos, which were bounced into white or silver cards to send soft light into the corridor. Gaffer David Lee and key grip Rick Stribling then proceeded to hide small lamps throughout the hallway, taping them off until they created an interesting effect. In the pozo beneath the labyrinth, the faun explains the tasks for Ofelia's mission. The faun is played by Doug Jones. In this scene, he is seen here with greenscreen-clad legs that will facilitate digital leg removal. This character design is exceptional. Angered at her failure, the faun visits the girl in her room. The creature’s considerable height gave the filmmakers a practical reason to shoot in standard 1.85:1, and the format is appealing for its “human scale.” Navarro and his crew had to light the dark pozo set entirely from above, through a 10 ft.-12 ft. hole at the top, and the ceiling height on stage was limited. The solution was to surround the opening with lights shooting into a silver card overhead, sending a generous bounce down into the well. Key grip Rick Stribling lines up the puchi for a shot in Ofelia’s bedroom. Visible on the wall behind him is the chalked-in doorway that leads to the Pale Man’s room.