Christmas Cheers!

Now that I have a new approach to this personal blog, I have decided to get into the Christmas spirit by bringing you five christmas movies that you can See-for-Free this Holiday Season! 


The Most Wonderful Time of the Year 



The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Inside Story - Free videos are just a click away


The Hallmark Channel has been showing this Christmas movie for free on it's website as a part of it's Countdown to Christmas celebration. I actually checked this movie out at my local redbox!

Synopsis 
A modern-day female Scrooge gets a taste of Christmas romance in this family film from the Hallmark Channel. Jennifer (Brooke Burns) is a stressed-out single mom whose holiday spirit is awakened when her eccentric uncle Ralph (Henry Winkler) comes for a visit and brings along a handsome stranger, Morgan (Warren Christie), who was stranded at the airport. - Sandra Bencic, All Movie Guide

Design
The concept of the design behind this made-for-tv christmas special was undeniably flat. This could have been due to the budget or the quick shooting schedule but that's what makes these kinds movies more fun to sift through... when a design really "pops" it's nearly a sure sign of something magical brewing. I love christmas movies, even the made-for-tv flavor and Peter Andringa , the Production Designer, was nominated for a Leo Award in 2007 for his work on Everything's Gone Green. He was also the Art Director of a few Fringe episodes (that look pretty amazing). Andringa's set dresser, Dave Paddon, has worked on crews since the mid nineties, never really breaking in to anything other than the made-for-tv scene. So what went wrong with The Most Wonderful Time of the Year? Let's take a look:

Frame Real Estate

This is the opening shot of the movie. Typically, designs should set up the expectation from the first frame on screen. There will realistically always be low scenes and cover sets that have to be accounted for in low budget movies but this shot should have said it all. They invested in a crane shot for this opening! If they are putting that much money into the execution of the shot, why not do the same with the set design?
What we end up seeing is a two dimensional use of space at best and a devastatingly dark, unbalanced frame at worst. The uniform and slightly boring white lights set up the neighborhood and play a small role later in the movie but it's unbelievable that Paddon and his team only decorated the faces of the houses. Without even so much as a candle in the windows to add a little balance to the frame, this shot pales in comparison to the potential Andringa has shown in his body of work so far.

Once a Dreamer 

Andringa may not be an advocate of the opening sequence "pop" I referred to, but he does have a way with his dream sequences. This scene was my absolute favorite in the film. Andringa and Paddon created a really exciting contrast that had a sophisticated sensibility. In the midst of all the yule-tide-romance blather, this scene is a diamond in the rough. The room where they sit is hallow and lifeless. There are

little details that sell this dream-like idea. The color scheme is incredibly strict, dominate by tones of white, this piece uses only deeply saturated  reds and very delicate hues of green. This contrast is key to the scene's concept. It makes things disproportional and unrealistic. This santa clause (the only representation in the film) is also fantastic. The small details make this character work: his missing beard and goatee replacement, the lack of a collar under his jacket, and his disheveled appearance. Jennifer's

outfit adds to the dream sequence. The oversized collar and silver pendant give her look an outdated feel. Her hairstyle harkens back to the fifties new wave up-do . Even her shoes look to be fifties inspired. With the all white table decked in deep red tones her costume contrast works well in the scene. Each piece of the frame is used by the art team to instill one idea: This is a sophisticated Christmas nightmare. Uncle Ralph makes a charming exception to the rule and though there

is no explanation as to why the designers choose to deviate from the color palette for his character, I find it a delightful quirk in the design. His orange patterned argyle sweater and bow tie combination should stick out like a sore thumb but in this sequence it makes nonsense, dream logic sense. This is clearly a strong collaborative moment for Andringa's team... it's just sad that the film has to right back to undeveloped (and under-designed) scenes like this:

Kitsch or Tell? 
This Holiday design has a few interesting attempts, but I have to say you get what you pay for. This free holiday movie lacks the design cheer that it needs to sustain the even weaker plot points. I'm making this movie the first on my winter Kitsch list.

If you still want to check it out... click here. ( I mean who can turn down a free Christmas movie?)

THANKS!!

After reading some criticism about my blog, I have to say I feel truly grateful. John's insights were extremely helpful and I realized the error of my ways. I considered each film I watched as an opportunity to dissect the film material in an academic way. In other words... I was stuck in film school.

My New Media Blog always seemed to come a bit easier, because strangely I felt like I had more freedom to make mistakes... no matter how dumb they seemed. But picking films as my blog topic was maybe a little too weighty given the fact that I write academically about them all the time. I need to step back and see if I can get at me strengths... I enjoy writing (partly why I didn't understand my struggle with blogging) and I know a little insider gossip about the world of Production Design in film. Maybe I can marry my two passions and make my blog a little more personal and a little less "academically structured".

Thanks John... If you ever check out my blog again (although I would understand why there would be no need) I appreciate your honesty! It really helped me connect some dots!

The Pale Man

** New approach. Taking a look at things through my perspective.**

Synopsis

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth is a gritty fairytale piece set in post-war Spain. It follows young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero)  as her stepfather, Capitan Vidal (Sergi Lopez) , terrorizes the rebels. Ofelia fights to save her mother and unborn brother by completing tasks given to her by the mythical fawn, Pan(Doug Jones). After her mother dies, Ofelia sacrifices herself for her brother and becomes a princess in a fantasy world. Pan’s Labyrinth

is a deeply layered film with stunning visuals and an intricately formed environment. Eugenio Caballero and Pilar Revuelta won the Oscar for bringing Del Toro's vision to life on screen through production design and art direction. Their collaborative effort was meticulous, artistic, and imaginative. Through their art, they take an inaccessible world and make it a hyper-realistic experience for the viewer.

The Pale Man's Den 
“The one who gorged on excess was banished to a den in the netherworld... He kept a watchful eye on a dagger… Once the blade was removed he collapsed unto himself and faded from existence.”(The Pale Man’s Legend) Del Toro drops twelve-year-old Ofelia into this den to complete the task of retrieving the Pale Man’s dagger. Beautifully capturing the era, this scene addresses all the themes of the film. As Ofelia works towards a right of passage, the boundaries between reality and fantasy fall away. The visual motifs comment on the connection between deviant behavior and a child’s imaginative ability to create monsters to explain that behavior. 

Ofelia's Room 
Upon arrival, Ofelia is instantly at odds with her natural world and retreats by reading a book of fairytales that come to life before her eyes. The color palette of her new room is shaded in blues, greens, and grays denoting a cold impersonal place. The sparseness suggests that it was furnished out of efficacy

 not embellishment. Despite the fact that Captain Vidal has money, he chooses to live in a world of strict utility. In a room with unconventionally high walls and low furniture, she is always placed in the lower third of the frame to subtly put forward the notion of submission. Ofelia is forced to reside in Vidal’s home and by extension she is confronted with a new set of values.
Concept and Construction 
When Ofelia’s book animates itself, the color palette from the fantasy world bleeds into her reality. Reds, golds, and browns fill the empty page demonstrating the dramatic contrast between her reality and the

fantasy world she is about to enter. She follows the magical instructions, drawing a door on the wall with magic chalk and when it opens an enchanted world is revealed.  The warm tones of the fantasy world are embryonic.  This is a direct reflection of Ophelia’s subconscious. Her young brother is about to be born and her mother falls ill. This threatens two lives that she deeply cares about. The color palette and shapes are uterine like her mother’s belly. They have 

biological and intimate connotations for Ofelia and the viewer.The contrast between worlds is showcased as soon as Ophelia enters the Pale Man’s chamber. She climbs into the entryway on a small wooden chair from her room, immediately creating a sharp distinction between reality and fantasy. The fantasy world is incredibly organic. Tree-like columns rooted in a red-checkered floor support the cavernous lair. Lights in the ceiling represent the lunar cycle. 

Monsters and Men
The first sight of the Pale Man sitting at his banquet table is extravagant. It is a direct replica of Vidal’s kitchen table in an earlier scene, making a strong comparison between the evil actions he commits, and the manifestation of a monster in Ofelia’s mind. The Pale Man sits motionless at the head of the table on a blood red throne. This visually establishes the monster’s power while comparing him to Vidal. Both characters are two-dimensional representations of malevolence. This is yet another visual representation of the link between Ofelia’s subconscious and her fantasy world. The fireplace behind the monster is a direct replica of his likeness. It

mirrors his eyeless face and gaunt jaw. The fireplace increases his menacing presence in the shot. The key light in the scene comes from directly above the monster causing harsh shadows and immediately denotes danger. The dome above the monster’s head displays hieroglyphic paintings of the monster throwing, stabbing, and eating small children. The images link the evil creatures inner workings with an ancient tradition. Each image is a more threatening foreshadowing of his capabilities. The paintings reveal the Pale Man’s evil nature while giving the chamber a sense of timelessness.
Brutal Disobedience 
As she leaves, she admires the beautiful feast placed before the Pale Man. The table is filled with ham, red gelatin, grapes, and wine.  Each treat is a dark temptation. The camera slowly pans across the feast and as the movement pauses the monster’s long pointed fingers are revealed motionless on both sides of 

a gold platter that holds two eyeballs. Against Pan’s warning she eats one small grape. The monster comes to life. This act of deviance shows Ofelia’s need to rebel against authority as she finds her place in adulthood. Rebellion in her fantasy world results in a near death experience and visually mirrors her entire coming of age experience, while referencing another commonly used mythological device. The Pale Man puts the eyes into the slits in his hands and advances towards Ofelia. 

He cannot see unless his hands are immobilized. This is an outward visual of the monster’s half-life curse. He stumbles and staggers giving the impression he hasn’t walked in several lifetimes. 


Sights for Sore Eyes

It took over six hours of make-up to get the pale man to look like the monster he does in the picture above. Dave Jones, who also played Pan the Fawn, was also the Pale man. He often had to wear the suit for thirteen hours a day. I'm sure things looked a little different from his perspective, but I must say... it was worth the effort.