Something creepy today. Last bulletin we looked at Dangle and Black Hole. Today's film, Pencil Face, is similar to both those films in that it contains no dialogue. It's also similar because it involves the protagonist discovering an object that can do amazing things. However, whereas Dangle and Black Hole are more science fiction or dramatic in genre, Pencil Face leans towards horror.
The film clocks in at 3.00 mins. In the film a girl discovers a huge pencil with a maniacal grin (as you do). She soon finds out that whatever it draws comes to life. But can a huge pencil with a creepy grin really be out to do her a good turn? Of course, like Black Hole, the protagonist in this film ends up falling victim to the magical object they thought safe to use. Unlike Black Hole, where we feel the protagonist deserves what he gets in the end, we don't feel this about the girl in Pencil Face. In that sense, the film is a good study in characterisation. It can be watched side by side with Black Hole and we can ask our students at the end: did the main character deserve what they got? Why? In Black Hole, the main character is greedy - he deserves what he gets. However, in Pencil Face, the girl uses the pencil to draw objects like a kite and a birthday cake - things of childish innocence. We like her.
Pencil Face is also a simple but effective illustration of sound as a filmic technique. The accompanying music is creepy and rapidly gives us a strong idea of the plot direction. Play the film for a minute or so and ask students to predict what happens in the end. Ask them to think about how music contributes to their sense of where this film is going.
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