No se aceptan devoluciones

Describes the setting of a scene in a play or a film. It refers to everything placed on the stage or in front of the camera—including people. In other words, mise en scène is a catch-all for everything that contributes to the visual presentation and overall “look” of a production. When translated from French, it means “placing on stage.”

Setting

Setting

Location

Explanation

The film tends to use contemporary settings like Acapulco and Los Angeles, but the locations are often altered in various ways to help represent Valentin’s efforts to create a fairytale life for Maggie. The homes, for example, are made to feel like a playground, showing how much effort Valentin puts into creating a fairytale life for Maggie. This still is taken from Valentin’s home, and the colorful lighting as well as arts and crafts on the table signify the life Valentin has created for Maggie where she is free to be imaginative and free to explore her creativity.

Film Still

Lighting

Explanation

As Maggie lies in Valentin’s arms during her final moments, the sunset can be seen in the background. At one point, the camera pans directly to the sunset, and moment;s later Maggie dies. The warm yellow color creates a halo effect around Maggie, which highlights her youth and innocence. However, Valentin appears to be shown as more of a shadow or silhouette against the warm background, which can be seen as a symbol for his grief in this situation. Finally, the fading sun is analogous to Maggie’s life since it is fading at the same time.

Film Still

Costume

Costume

Red and white striped shirt

Explanation

Throughout the film, Maggie and Valentin can be seen wearing matching, colorful outfits. This not only serves as a way to contrast Valentin’s old playboy lifestyle to his new life as a father but also signifies Maggie’s upbringing that is characterized by a strong emotional connection to her father. The matching outfits can also be seen as a way of subverting traditional gender roles throughout the film as Valentin is often seen wearing soft, feminine outfits to match Maggie, placing more emphasis on his domestic role throughout the film.

Film Still

Figure Behavior

Example

Acting and Choreography

Explanation

Eugenio Derbez, the star who plays Valentín, can be seen using exaggerated facial expressions and gestures throughout the film to allow the viewer to easily understand his emotions. Maggie can also often be seen gazing at Valentin for signals or emotional support while Valentin’s gaze shifts between Maggie and whatever is the source of his anxieties. This can be interpreted by the viewer as Maggie placing her trust in Valentin, who wants to provide support to his daughter but doesn’t always know the most ideal way to guide her. In the still Maggie can be seen feeding Valentin with a confident and care-free gaze, which can be seen as an allegory for his unconventional parenting that often involves role-reversal with Maggie appearing more competent.

Film Still

Representative Clip

Explanation

Space: The film often depicts closed spaces that are cluttered with toys, murals, and childhood memories to depict the fairytale life that Valentin has created for Maggie. This clutter can also be seen as a representation of Valentin’s state of mind, which is filled entirely with thoughts about his daughter, Maggie. In the still, the fun and vibrant background can be viewed as a way to mask the difficult of the reality of Valentin and Maggie’s situation, given her condition.

Film Still

This is the art of photography and visual storytelling in a motion picture or television show. Cinematography comprises all on-screen visual elements, including lighting, framing, composition, camera motion, camera angles, film selection, lens choices, depth of field, zoom, focus, color, exposure, and filtration. Cinematography sets and supports the overall look and mood of a film’s visual narrative. Each visual element that appears on screen, a.k.a. the mise-en-scène of a film, can serve and enhance the story—so it is the cinematographer’s responsibility to ensure that every element is cohesive and support the story. Filmmakers often choose to spend the majority of their budget on high-quality cinematography to guarantee that the film will look incredible on the big screen.

Point of View

Point of View

Subjective

Comments

Throughout the film, the camera often adopts a subjective perspective, where the audience is able to see and experience the totality of the emotions that Valentin is experiencing. In this still, Valentin is falling from a building, and the subjective point of view allows the viewer to see his intense fear in this moment. Understanding Valentin’s mental state is significant to the films plot twist, helping to explain the use of a subjective point of view.

Film Still

Quality

Quality

Exposure

Comments

The films often uses shots with high exposure to illicit a dream-like mood in the viewer as well as nostalgic undertones. The still depicts Maggie hugging Valentin in the car, and the shot quality adds to the fairy-tale, dream-like aspect of this scene. By doing so, it adds to the idea that Valentin has provided Maggie with dream life. The nostalgic undertones from the lighting can also be seen as a way to show the viewer that this situation is impermanent, foreshadowing Maggie’s ultimate passing in the film.

Film Still

Framing

Framing

Level Angle

Comments

In the film, intimate shots at a level angle are often used as the standard during a scene of connection because they allow the viewer to see the character’s facial expressions as well as feel more connected and equal to the characters in the scene. In this still, Valentin saves Maggie, who falls into a pool, and it is the first time that he truly begins to feel a connection to his daughter. As a viewer, this connection can easily be felt due to the level angle shot, which allows for full immersion into the scene and a better understanding of Valentin’s facial expressions and thoughts.

Film Still

Scale

Scale

Medium Close-up

Comments

The film also often uses medium close up shots for dialogue so that the viewer is able to see the character’s physical environment and surrounds while still being able to see the characters’ facial expressions. In this scene, the medium close up allows the viewer not only to see Maggie and Valentin, but also Maggie’s mother. This adds a new dynamic to the film, where Maggie no longer gazes at only Valentin but has another important figure in her life who she looks to for support. Valentin’s intense gaze at Maggie while she looks to another signifies a new dynamic that is created in the film associated with parental responsibility and role-model changes. These paradigms are enhanced with the medium close-up shot that gives the viewer a full picture of the scene’s dynamic.

Film Still

Movement

Movement

Tracking Shot

Comments

The film frequently uses tracking shots, especially cuts to tracking shots, to switch from a character’s internal emotions to their exterior environments. This still takes place after Valentin is unaware of what to do or where to go upon receiving Maggie. He finds a truck driver willing to drive him, and the shot of the three of them in the car shifts to a tracking shot. This moving shot not only shows that Maggie and Valentin are about to undergo a journey but also immerses the viewer in the reality of loss and confusion that Valentin is experiencing.

Film Still

Editing is the process of putting a film together–the selection and arrangement of shots and scenes. Editing can condense space and time, emphasize separate elements and bring them together, and organize material in such a way that patterns of meaning become apparent. In addition, editing can determine how a film is perceived: for instance, quick, rapid cuts can create a feeling of tension, while a long take can create a more dramatic effect. The first photoplays generally had no cutting, owing to the fact that they were single-reel films; once filming began, you could not stop until the film ran out. (https://filmglossary.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/term/editing/)

Coherence, Continuity, and Rhythym

Comments

Rhythm and Pace: In the third act, the film editing begins to switch to a more flowing pace with a slower rhythm. This helps set the tone for the act’s more emotional scenes, especially those in the sunset. This still is taken a bit before Maggie’s passing and the slower rhythm and pace serve to set a more quiet, sad tone for what is about to occur in the film. It also foreshadows Maggie’s passing, which also occurs at the beach when the sun is setting. It is clear to the viewer that there is a shift in rhythm, and just as the film seems to slow down Valentin’s emotions seem to speed up, providing a contrast that makes Valentin’s state more evident.

Film Still

Transitions

Match

Graphic

Comments

The film utilizes a graphic match with the children’s manual in the still to compare Valentin’s difficulties with learning how to parent with successful individuals who utilize books for leisure. This emphasizes Valentin’s struggles and helps to highlight his later parenting successes. The film also uses graphic match to connect Maggie’s mind and creativity with the real world.

Film Still

Editing General Comments

Comments

Purpose of editing: At the beginning if the film, there is a thematic montage that has rapid cross-cuts and many different scenes of Valentin living in chaos. This shows the viewer his old play-boy lifestyle and also shows his chaotic nature that makes parenting even more challenging. This still depict Valentin hold Maggie after she is dropped off at Valentin’s home by her mother. Cross cuts are similarly used to show Valentin’s struggle with deciding what to do with Maggie and figuring out how to proper take care of a baby.

Film Still

Sound is an integral part in a film. It refers to everything that the audience hears including sound effects, words and music. Sound is used in films for various purposes, including: providing the information to the viewer about the location of the scene, heightening the mood, telling the audience about the characters and advancing the plot. Every person who watches a film realizes that the choice of voices, soundtrack and music present in a film affect the way that the viewer perceives a particular film. As a result, the sound is an important and integral element of the film, one that determines the way that the viewer experiences and understands a film as a visual experience.

Narrative analysis is an examination of the story elements, including narrative structure, character, and plot. A narrative can be considered to be the chain of events in a cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space. In order to analyze the narrative of a film, we need to first make the distinction between the plot of the film and the story of the film. This is sometimes referred to as the discourse and story of a film. Narrative may also be called the story thought story mainly refers to the events that describe the narrative.

Film genres are various forms or identifiable types, categories, classifications or groups of films. (Genre comes from the French word meaning "kind," "category," or "type"). These provide a convenient way for scriptwriters and film-makers to produce, cast and structure their narratives within a manageable, well-defined framework. Genres also offer the studios an easily 'marketable' product, and give audiences satisfying, expected and predictable choices. Genres refers to recurring, repeating and similar, familiar or instantly-recognizable patterns, styles, themes, syntax, templates, paradigms, motifs, rules or generic conventions.