Sound – Narration is used in the opening of the film to establish to spectators what Ofelia was reading in the car, but also to introduce them to the magical reality they will see throughout the film. The narration foreshadows what the Faun eventually tells Ofelia about how she is the Princess and must “return” to her family.

Mise-En-Scene – The use of a dead rabbit prop in this scene makes clear to the audience that the men that Captain Vidal had killed were telling the truth about why they were armed, as they were simply out hunting. This reinforces the captain’s role as the villain of the narrative, as all him and his men had to do was look inside the bag before killing them.

Cinematography – A low angle of the Labyrinth, when Ofelia first comes across it, is used by Del Toro in order to pull spectator attention towards the head, indicating the significance of the fantasy-related iconography and how it will influence the plot of the film.

Editing – A wipe effect is used as the camera passes a tree, in order to connect two parallel stories in the film together in a natural manner. We see one narrative strand (the captain and his men entering the forest) transition into the second (Ofelia exploring the forest while reading).