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shitsuji-hcs · 6 years

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Elizabeth Midford, Dull Swords: Part 1, Building a fight scene

Despite Black Butler’s massive popularity as an anime and manga, by film standards the movie falls far beyond what the fandom would have expected. The first live action was received with heavy negative criticism and it would seem that ‘Book of the Atlantic’ fell somewhat in the same way. In less than two weeks of the Japanese release and the three days of US release the film earned less than $5,000,000 combined - in comparison, the highest grossing film of the year, ‘Detective Conan: Crimson Love Letter’ earned $11,749,652 alone on its opening weekend.

These two movies can’t be compared, due to the huge differences in the plots and narratives yet… Black Butler’s production team could learn a thing or two. The greatest fault in ‘BOTA’ was its “so-so” action, that was also said to be a fault in the previous movie. Knowing this, I’d like to analyse Elizabeth’s famous fight scene and look into why the series has been known for poor action scenes despite the great action depicted in the manga.

Long post so the rest is under the cut.

For anyone who would like to watch the fight as they read the analysis, the full fight is linked here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LfH_MLe7jI

An important thing to know about writing fight scenes is that a fight alone is not interesting. It is the weight behind that fight that makes things interesting. Superheroes fight to save the world and villains fight to accomplish their own goals. The start of this fight is not interesting because it begins with Grell wanting to fight simply for the sake of fighting - this is just Grell’s character. We know that one of her main roles in the series is to block Ciel and Sebastian from attaining their goal. Our protagonists, Ciel, Sebastian and Elizabeth want to avoid this fight instead, giving us more of a reason as to why this fight should be done with as soon as possible. This fight does however have one purpose - leading up to Elizabeth’s exposition as the swordswoman she is.

When creating a fight scene, interest is added by raising the stakes - the more danger there is of losing something, the greater the emotional payoff and tension - each fight should be a gamble that makes us feel that the characters we root for have to win. Even if they’re bound to lose, the chance that they should win should at least tempt us. Toboso changes this with how she portrays Sebastian.

Usually when Sebastian engages in battle, we expect him to win every fight, since he’s put forward as this amazing force that always succeeds his tasks. Fighting against two reapers should mean nothing to him. Yet, the extra baggage of protecting two children raises a problem. By separating them, Toboso then creates the possibility of “only one can survive” - Sebastian would choose Ciel in priority over Elizabeth. In this instance, we start to fear that Elizabeth is in danger.

Given that Ciel would “do anything to protect his fiancee”, we trust that he’ll be able to reach out to Elizabeth in her time of need. With an injured leg, Ciel is then rendered useless in his state. The fact that Ciel is pictured as further away from Elizabeth in the manga, shown by how Ciel is not in the frame, highlights her vulnerability against the Dolls that are drawn enormously in comparison to her size. Not only is he unable to protect her, but he’s unable to protect himself if Sebastian can’t shake the reapers off of him.

In the film, Ciel is pictured relatively close to her, removing this aspect of fear for Elizabeth’s state. The film makes it seem as if either one of them was able to stand, they could make it to each other in less than a few seconds. Since the idea that Ciel will always protect Elizabeth has been referred to in the film numerous times already, we believe that if she makes it to him he’ll do what he can to protect her. While one may argue that this puts Ciel in danger as well, Sebastian could come in soon and save the both of them - the distance between them in the manga is important in exaggerating that the matter of a second could literally result in Elizabeth’s death.

The manga shows her sluggish movements to get up while Ciel calls out to her quite well, since the distance between her and the Bizarre Dolls is much closer to make it seem as if they’re closer to grabbing her than they really are.

The fact that when the camera cuts to Elizabeth as she’s already propped herself up removes the aspect of vulnerability that’s shown in the manga. The way that the film only shows their legs in the foreground does play with the whole compositing of the scene, making them look larger than they are, but it ends up losing the sense of urgency that the manga had as they seem close enough to touch her.

In the manga, we don’t see Ciel whip out his gun and cut straight to him shooting. This already is far more effective than how in the film we see him pull the gun out (rather slowly considering the situation) and then shoot. This panel is effective as it shows the speed of his fire - he wants to kill them as fast as he can and the futility in it shows it. The film only shows the first shot then switches to focus on Ciel shooting, rather than the targets he’s aiming at. To improve this, perhaps a shot showing his perspective as he watches Elizabeth try to scramble away with his shaking hands in the frame as shoots would be more effective.

Not to mention that as the first Doll lunges to bite Elizabeth, for some reason it gets launched sideways instead of being fired back by the force of Ciel’s gun. If you slow it down enough it even looks as if the image of the Doll being shot was just dragged across the screen instead of actually flopping from the force of the shot.

The next image of Ciel shooting is relatively basic. The team might as well have just made a gif of Ciel shooting those three shots or so and it could look the same. There lacks any variation in those few moments that we see. Comparatively, the single image in the manga of Ciel shooting at the horde without showing the Dolls being killed right before Elizabeth is much more effective. It’s made evident in the manga that this boy is in full panic as we see the large group towering over Elizabeth, once again with the distance exaggerated as much smaller to create the sense of danger. The open space around Ciel in the film also takes away from how much tension there was in the manga - while you can argue that this shows his isolation, having this sort of shot in this perspective loses the image of danger that threatens Elizabeth.

In the manga, we truly see Ciel’s terror as he realises that his gun is out of bullets because of the closeness of the panel and the tightness of the frame which follows the positioning of his arms. Not to mention how the gun is so centred in the panel, showing how it’s the centre of his focus.

Ciel’s expression in the manga shows fear by a wider mouth and the more dramatic shading over his face. In the film, his expression is much more frustrated. This choice is obviously understandable. It’s a pretty shot and all, but it does take away from some of the drama because the position is far less dynamic.

The sequence of events leading up to Elizabeth’s reveal changes, which arguably makes it less effective. In the manga, switching perspectives between Sebastian, Elizabeth and Ciel adds to the chaotic nature of this scene. Everyone has different opponents but they all need to survive. Seeing Sebastian dash towards Elizabeth emphasises that even he might not be able to save her, shown by how close the Dolls hands are to Elizabeth. The manga is able to use action lines to show and highlight the focal point of each panel. Such a thing would be harder to animate. Though used heavily in sports anime like ‘Haikyuu’ and ‘Ballroom e Youkoso’, in a setting such a ‘Black Butler’ which tries for elegant and refined style, rather than artistic interpretation, these sort of lines don’t fit as well.

Arguably, the most important part for this build-up is how Ciel reacts to believing his fiancee is about to die before his eyes. The order of focus is especially important in this. In the film, Elizabeth starts to talk, turning around just as the feet of the Dolls come into frame. This is a relatively good shot. Here, the director chose to show Elizabeth’s vulnerability more by emphasising the height disadvantage. On the floor, she lacks the escape means. In the manga, she may be sitting down, but the danger is shown in the form of hands. What the film shows is the immense force that is about to strike down on top of her. The manga does this as well, but I would give this a pass.

On the other hand, the manga highlights the panic that the both of them feel in this situation. In the film, Elizabeth is already smiling as she talks to Ciel, and then we see Ciel’s reaction, rather than how Ciel in the manga realises first and then we see Elizabeth’s struggle to hold in her tears. The film chose to show Elizabeth in a state of acceptance, which again is very powerful, making the audience think that she’s resigned to her death.

Ciel’s expression in the film is much more akin to anger, a frustration in how he’s unable to save her. The manga’s choice shows Ciel in absolute fear - the lack of colour serves to dramatise this as well. Black Butler is known for beautiful eyes and just zooming in on the empty look of Ciel’s eyes shows the rawness of his fear. His gentler brow also serves towards showing more fear than the sharper brow in the film. This, coupled with the echoed gasp and sound effect, adds to the hollow feeling that Ciel would feel upon realising the possible fate of Elizabeth.

Once again, the lack of colour in the manga adds to the dramatic panic felt in this scene. During the entire scene, Elizabeth’s blazer was coloured black, as well as her eyelashes - pretty much everything has been turned to greys. As she cries over how she can’t be cute anymore, the softened lines serve to show her in the last angelic moment that she may well have. At this point, it’s hard to tell what are water droplets and what are tears as they run down her face. Her innocence is also highlighted by lighter eyes and shaded cheeks and lips in contrast to her tangled mess of hair. This is the last image that Ciel may see of his beautiful feminine fiancee.

I have less complaints about the image of her in the film. The camera panning up to her crying face emphasises how delicate she is while also keeping the Dolls in the background to keep their threat important. There’s far less detail and her eyes are drawn wonkily, but at least they tried to make this dramatic with the camera movement.

Sebastian finally manages to escape Ronald with simple movements, but that can be forgiven since he isn’t the focal point. Instead, we have the image of him running to save Elizabeth, but all that can be seen of her is her dress between the legs of the Dolls. At this point, the film tells you that it’s all over for her.

I don’t want to pick up on this, but the way that Sebastian runs here makes me think of the spider gif. It really is a downer to what is a good scene but it had to be said. If this gif doesn’t work when I post it I’ll start crying.

Another flaw I’d point out would be Ciel’s final reach out to Elizabeth. The way this is done in the film feels far too smooth, rather than carnal and desperate - how one would normally react in absolute panic. It’s more like a dramatic flourish that someone would do in a high school play. Of course, his expression of panic is still great. Wide mouthed in a choked/silent scream. If this was animated with a greater sense of urgency, there’d be less of a problem here.

Frame tightness is especially important for the drama of this scene - the manga frame is tight and barely shows Ciel’s full face. This can symbolise how trapped he feels in not being able to do anything. His under eyes are also heavily shaded to show his distress. The open spaces and use of the background feels inappropriate for the close seriousness of the situation. The manga also showcases a look with greater desperation as we see how things are from Elizabeth’s eyes - her fiance screaming for her is the last image that she’d see.

The fact that we see Elizabeth once again as the shadows of the Dolls close up on her is a really good directorial choice. Here the camera’s closeness to Elizabeth’s form works. It almost feels as if she’s saying goodbye to her audience instead, the tighter frame making us form a more personal connection with her, making up for the lesser emotion that Ciel was drawn in beforehand. In opposition to the reactions of Ciel and Sebastian who see that they’re too late in the manga, having Elizabeth listen as her fiancee screams her name in darkness is really well done.

The blackness that fills the screen is just as effective as in the manga to make one think that Elizabeth’s finally been killed. Letting this ring for two seconds gives the audience a chance to think that a death really has occurred. For an audience member who hasn’t read the manga, this would be effective enough to make them think for a second that she’s gone. These few seconds are good and there’s little I would change and I’m glad that the director actually chose to do this. This blackness serves as an equivalent to the page turn and makes it even more surprising when we realise what happens next.

As pernickety as this analysis has gotten over the build up, it’s important to look at it because this is how fights are built up. You don’t start out in any martial arts match with the massive axe kicks and what not. Tension is built up in every fight, whether an official match or in a fictional setting, by the fighters raring up to the bigger scenes instead of coming out with them straight away. Toboso wrote the build up to Elizabeth’s revelation well, which is why this had so much of a reaction for Japanese readers - far greater than Grell’s reintroduction.

Now, despite all that we’ve looked in to so far… we’ve only scraped six or so pages - 30 seconds if you want to talk about it in the films terms. You can see clearly that there are some great points that the film has done well to adapt the manga. It can also be seen that there are some areas of the film which are “so-so” because it lacks the same depth that the manga does.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this scene alone. I will be getting to the rest of the fight direction, where I believe things start to decline, but I can’t give too much away right now.

#black butler #kuroshitsuji #elizabeth midford #ciel phantomhive #sebastian michaelis #about black butler tag #mod sen

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ko-yeop · 6 years

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Lovecraft: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Coming Soon

Characters: Saeran Choi X Reader

Word Count: 4,093

Genre: Witchcraft!AU, Fluff, Angst

Warnings: Mentions of child abuse

Summary: After an unfortunate drunken night, you, a fortune teller who was cursed from a young age by an unknown witch, breaks your own creed and read your own fate. Seeing nothing but ruin and isolation in the future, you seek out an apothecary named Saeran, who gives you untested potion called Aphrodite’s Blessing, not for free though. In return, he wishes to study and document it’s effects on you. Can his creation not only save you from fate, but also break your longstanding curse?

No matter how many times Saeran rolled over, tugged the sheets above his head, and squeezed his eyes shut, the banging on the door didn’t cease. And it would’ve been a lovely morning too, with the way the sun was shining outside, and how the birds were singing their merry tune. That stupid lady just had to go and ruin his mood with her hollering at this ungodly time in the morning.

Running his fingers through the tufts of bedhead, he tried to smooth it out, make himself look presentable in some way before he greeted the irate woman screaming outside his door. He wasn’t in much of a rush, after all. Secretly he hoped that if he took long enough she’d up and leave, but considering the fact that her screeching had been going on for the better part of half an hour… Well, if she was going to leave she likely would’ve turned tail and left already. The walk downstairs seemed longer than usual, but perhaps it was just him dreading what awaited him on the other side of the door. Sighing, he reached for the door. This lady, and all the others like hers’ rapping at the door was likely why it was so rife with splinters.

“Do you realize how long I’ve been standing here?” The middle aged woman yelled as soon as the doorknob turned. Saeran wondered if the deep wrinkles on her face were caused by the excessive use of expression by her. The display she wore was far too over dramatic to be natural. Was that truly how she looked, or was she exaggerating on purpose? Her eyebrows pinched together, corners of her mouth downturned, eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets...You’d think she was auditioning for the part of evil witch in the upcoming play, not harassing a shop keep before most of the town had woken.

“Long enough to manage to wake me up,” With his long nights of mixing different compositions, reading endless page after page on herbs and their uses, and downing blue vulneraries trying to see which batch let him rest more peacefully, he tended to sleep in later, and deeper than most people. Somehow, sleeping until the afternoon did nothing to help the purple bags under his eyes that never seemed to fade.

“Whatever! Your useless potion did nothing for me!”

“Oh? And which one are you talking about?” Saeran folded his arms, leaning against the doorframe. It was freezing outdoors and he was in nothing but a thin pair of pajamas, but it was instinct to look cool and nonchalant to one up her. He knew exactly which item she had purchased too, he remembered quite well how her musky lingering perfume infested his shop a week ago, how she demanded he craft something custom for her needs rather than buying what was on the shelf, trying to bargain with him as if she couldn’t pay the price despite the gaudy jewel encrusted necklace covering the majority of her chest… This woman had already used up all his patience, and he was going to do everything he could to piss her off.

“Your anti-aging one!”

“Do you mean Hebe’s Nectar?”

“I don’t know! I didn’t read the label!” She tossed her hands in the air, continuing her dramatic display.

“Well, considering it’s the only anti-aging thing I sell, we’ll go with it. How are you using it?” Saeran had confidence in his works. Everything was tested on either him or another person, if there weren’t good results, it didn’t go on the shelf. Anything on the shelf was either his personal creation, or something passed down to him from Jihyun. He was not too fond of the implication that his potions were ineffective.

“What do you mean how am I using it? I take a spoon everyday like any other potion!” Silently, he prayed this woman would never reproduce, no child deserved to inherit a brain as small as hers. Their upbringing would be hell too, gods save any kids she may already have.

“Well ma’am, if you read the label, you’d know it’s supposed to be added to bathwater once a week, not ingested,” Saeran couldn’t believe this, just how stupid did she have to be to not read a label and then come screaming at the seller? He may not put price tags on products out of laziness, but he made sure the instructions and ingredients list was attached. Does everyone who owns a shop have to deal with people like this? Did his late teacher have to deal with this?

“W-Well you should have told me that when I bought it!”

“I tell every customer to read the label, whether you do or not, is not my problem,” The lady was flabbergasted, taken aback by his words. Her long, cracking nails dug into her balled up fists in an attempt to contain her anger.

“Well, am I going to get sick now? From drinking this stupid thing?”

“Likely not if you haven’t already, but maybe since you’ve been ingesting it, it’ll help with your ugly personality,”

“Excuse me? Are you implying something here boy?” She accentuated the final word, as if it were some insult to call him a child. He knew he was too young to be running a shop, and to be an apothecary. It wasn’t slander, it was a mere fact. He refused to let this woman use his age as a tool to demean him.

“Yes, now please leave, I’d like to get some sleep,” Saeran slammed the door in her face, far more pissed off than he should’ve been. It was people like her that made him question why he even ran a shop in the first place. He was kind enough to share his practice with the townsfolk and this is how they treated him? Abhorrent.

Judging from the position of the sun, it was too late to go back to bed. If he wanted to open up Lovecraft at a respectable time for once, he was better off just getting ready for the day. Sitting down at his desk, he opened the leather bound journal to an aged page. It was the last ingredient list he’d used for creating Aphrodite’s Blessing. Tea stains dotted the scribbled writing. All the markings were remnants of long past nights where Saeran was so sleep deprived his hands shook as he reached for yet another cup. Picking up the quill nearby, he began to jot down notes about his test subject. Your name, gender, age, basic physical traits… There was quite a bit of necessary information missing, however. Saeran made a mental note to ask you about your past experiences with potions, allergies and whatnot the next time you met. All factors in this test were equally important, from which kind of rose petals used, to your height. It was always unknown what results could turn up, so it was best to keep notes of absolutely everything to learn the properties of different ingredients, and their effects on certain people.

He moved to close the journal as he got up from his desk, but a brush of his hand sent it tumbling to the floor by accident. A detailed pencil drawing that had previously been tucked in between pages slid out. Carefully picking up the print, Saeran’s eyes took in every aspect. The tiny indents of the man’s pores, the cracks in his lips, and the shimmer in his eye.

It was of Jihyun, his former teacher. Saeran’s eyes began to well with tears as Jihyun’s charcoal mouth smiled onwards, as if trying to tell him not to cry, to smile instead. It was just like Jihyun, to want to be remembered as smiling. The portrait was the only picture he had to remember his face by. All the memories seemed to come rushing back to him whenever he looked upon the drawing, no matter how many times he told himself he was over his death. That was why it was tucked away, so he didn’t have to look at it. It was expected for him to still be upset though, Jihyun essentially raised him after all.

Saeran’s mother passed away when he was 8. It never really upset him though. He was more traumatized by the way she treated him than her death. She was a horrid lady, not unlike the one who had just visited to do nothing but complain and blame him for her woes. Bruises and cuts were no stranger to him. She had driven his twin brother to run from her when he was very young. He hardly remembered him anymore, his brother left early on in his life, leaving him behind to bear her abuse. It was by some god’s grace she was always too drunk to notice him sneaking out the window, running to the nearest potion shop, which just so happened to be Lovecraft. He remembered how he cried and begged for help, how much pain he was in. It felt like someone had placed needles under his wounds, the side of his face felt swollen, every movement put him in agony. Jihyun had nearly burst into tears himself at the sight of the small boy. What kind of monster could do that to a child? Jihyun began teaching him how to make his own salves and basic balms to treat his injuries when he couldn’t make it to the shop, whether it be because she had shackled him to the bed, or he was too weak and injured to move. After that, Saeran simply wanted to know more about what kinds of things apothecaries could create. He was enamoured by the fact that a mixture of common items could create something that could help people. He wanted to end his own pain, and perhaps, do something for his mother. Saeran wondered if she was in pain because of how often she cried into whisky glasses. Jihyun would only smile whenever Saeran would tell him about his plan to create “a really strong potion that will stop mother from hurting,” The child thought that maybe, just maybe, if she wasn’t in pain, she wouldn’t create pain for him either.

It was a serene night when his mother passed, everything was quiet for once. No screaming, no choked sobs, no broken glasses. Saeran recalled how he she didn’t move, how she didn’t snore or bolt out of her rocker to yell when he made the smallest of noises like she usually did. He poked his head out of his room, inhaling the overwhelming scent of alcohol. Half empty bottles were spilled everywhere, smashed glass littered the floor. Carefully, he had poked at her arm, just to see if she’d move. He shook her arm, nothing but a flop of her head. He reached his small hand up to her face, striking her as she had done to him countless times. No movement, no reaction. Saeran bolted out of the front door, running into the streets teary eyed. Rather than running to inform a town guard, he ran to Jihyun, frightened at his first hands on experience with death. The only guardian he had, even if she was a poor one, was gone. Jihyun cradled small boy in his arms, and cried with him. Saeran never understood why Jihyun was crying with him. He still didn’t know why, even though now he was older and wiser. From that point on, Saeran moved in with the apothecary, and learned to craft potions from him. Life seemed the brightest when he was with him. Jihyun was his sun, and since his departure from the world, Saeran had decided to carry on that feeling of warmth he was given, passing the same care to others.

Living with him meant sleeping in bed that creaked in the night as he rolled around, trying to escape the nightmares that haunted him, but that was fine. It was better than the sheetless mattress, or the cold splintered floors he was used to. In fact, having a bed with pillows was quite the luxury to him. At least he had somewhere comfortable to cry as he tried to sort out his feelings, tried to remember that he was no longer a small child who could only rely on the woman who’d strike him with broken bottles and forget to feed him for days on end. He was no longer trapped physically by her, but her presence, the damage she caused, lived on and encased him.

Jihyun had begun developing a relief for his nightmares before he passed. It typically took several years to perfect a potion, and sadly, he had passed before he was able to complete his work. Creating the elixir was his way of apologizing to Saeran, for not being able to remove him from his mother sooner. For letting this continue on rather than alerting the authorities. The very least he could do was to ease his nightmares. As Saeran ran his fingers over the edge of the drawing he still held, he wondered why Jihyun did what he did. He had faith in his choices, he was always a wise and calm man, but he just wish he got to know why he made his decisions. What did he foresee with his actions? What was he trying to avoid? Would the authorities have done nothing to save him from his mother? Why didn’t Jihyun act sooner? When Saeran took up his work on Bane of Phobetor, the elixir he had been working on until his death, along with running Lovecraft, he could only hope that by continuing Jihyun’s work, he could find the answers he was looking for.

Wiping stray tears from his eyes, Saeran tucked the picture back in the pages of his notebook. There wasn’t time to dwell any longer, he had a shop to open.

You found yourself staring at your own reflection at lot longer than usual of late. The eagerness to see any signs of change overwhelmed you, the thought occupied every hour of every day. You were paranoid about every minor thing, taking note of every twitch, your skin seeming to be a hue too pale or too dark, was your hair suddenly longer? Why were you more tired than usual? You had reason to be paranoid though, you were a test subject after all. You kept hoping that perhaps someone would bump into you on the streets, someone who’d genuinely be intrigued by you, someone who wanted to get to know you. However, nothing so exciting had happened yet.

You tugged the wide brimmed witch’s cap down, trying to shield yourself from frigid winds as you braved the walk to Lovecraft once again. A few days had passed, and like you promised, you’d meet up with him so he could take note of the effects. You weren’t sure there would be anything for him to write down though, but perhaps an apothecary would know better what to look for than you.

The bell chimed as you burst through the door, quickly shutting it to prevent any snow from getting in to warp his floorboards more than they already were.

“Ah, there you are,” Saeran poked his head out from behind a shelf filled with lilac coloured potions. They were haphazardly placed, far too many bottles crammed onto the weakening shelf. a few bottles threatening to dive off the edge, some knocked onto their sides. “I was wondering when you’d stop by,” He stood up, brushing the dust and dirt off his pants. You noticed the book he held in hand, some sort of encyclopedia perhaps? You couldn’t read the title very well from this angle and distance, but it was thick with pages surely full of knowledge, gold foiled leaves decorating the burgundy cover.

“Were you in the middle of something? I could stop by later if that’s better for you,” You didn’t want to interrupt him, and you silently needed assurance that this was a good time to drop by. It was roughly early afternoon, judging by the position of the sun hanging high in the sky, but you’d heard rumours of Lovecraft opening quite late due to the shopkeeper's sleeping habits.

“Oh no, I was just doing a little research on herbs. Come, have a seat,” He motioned to the stool by the counter. You took up his offer, wanting to rest your feet after the small journey you made to get here. It wasn’t a long walk to get to the shop, but the cobblestone roads combined with thinning soles on your boots didn’t allow you to trek with much comfort. “How have you been, noticed anything different?” His eyes eagerly looked you over, searching for any signs of physical change.

“I’ve been… the usual, I suppose,” You sighed.

“You sound a bit down,” You were caught off guard by his insight. Most people simply asked how you’d been as a pleasantry, they didn’t genuinely care how you were doing. That’s how life always was for you after all. The curse you were burdened with hung on your shoulders, as if it was scaring off anyone who perhaps wanted to ask how you really feeling that day. Someone who wanted to say more than “That’s awful,” when you explained the worst day of your life to them. Anyone who offered consolation, just… someone who listened.

“I… I’m just worried that it feels like nothing is happening,” You confessed.

“Don’t worry so much, sometimes it takes longer for certain potions to begin to take effect. And other times, the differences are so minute that you don’t even notice them,” He smiled warmly, trying reassuring you that things would be alright.

“But I’m betting everything on the hope that this concoction of yours works,” You were nervous, this was your future after all.

“I guess I’ve got high expectations to live up to,” He laughed. You appreciated how upbeat he was despite the situation you were in, he was much like a beacon in your darkest hour.

“But I suppose you’re right, I shouldn’t be worrying so much,”

“Here, let’s take a look and see if there’s any changes from my perspective,” Gently, he grabbed your chin, turning your head to the side. “Hm, Your cheeks look a bit pinker than last time…” You were taken back by his abruptness. Most strangers didn’t just grab someone’s face like that, and he was getting awfully close to you. Did he just lack decorum? Did he not understand social cues?

“I-I’m just cold, it’s freezing outside,”

“Is it? I haven’t really left the shop today,” Saeran tried to not remember how the winds whipped at his flesh while he stood in the doorway earlier in the day. Looking smug definitely had it’s cons. It’d be better for him to just forget the woman from this morning, she wasn’t worth his anger anyways. He turned your head to the other side, examining and jotting down the hue of your skin. Touching the back of his hand to your cheek, he noted how warm they were too.

“Didn’t you have to leave your house to get to the shop?” Did this guy honestly not leave his shop? If so, how did he manage to earn a reputation for opening late when he was always here?

“No, I sleep here. My room is upstairs,” He said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’ve lived here ever since my teacher took me in, and I don’t think I’d have it any other way,”

“Isn’t this place a little too worn down for you to live in?” You went from thinking this guy was a weirdo to being concerned for his well being. The winter months were rather cold here, and he was sleeping in a barely insulated shop?

“I think it being worn down is what gives it its charm, don’t you think?” He ran his hands through your hair, examining for any colour changes in the strands. The gesture was a little odd but… Intimate, almost. It felt so relaxing, soothing. Subconsciously, you leaned into Saeran’s touch. You saw the smirk catch on his lips for the briefest of moments. “Does that feel nice?” He asked as he repeated the motion, slower this time. You weren’t sure at this point if he was still examining you or if he was toying with you.

“Ah, sorry.” You jerked upright, only now realizing your actions. “It’s just… No one ever did that and I...Uh...Yeah… It does feel quite nice. Is that a side effect of the potion?”

“Most people enjoy this, so I’m gonna go with no,” You felt your heart sink that no changes had been noted yet. He continued to tug gently at your roots, eyeing your expression.

“Well, physically, there’s not much change aside from your face being redder than usual. Emotionally, you seem slightly less reserved, but to be fair you did just meet me,”

Saeran wondered why you were so alone, and why your cards gave you such a grim reading. It’s not like you weren’t pretty, nor did you have a bad personality from what he knew about you so far. Just what was keeping people from you? And why did you being alone cause such a ruinous future? Was your problem stemming from yourself as a person, or was there a third party interfering? He didn’t believe in divination being absolute, other forms of magic such as potion, spells, curses, and enchantments could always change the future. But why were things as they were for you? It felt like he was missing a piece of the puzzle that could help him resolve your problem. There were so many questions he was trying to resolve, and you’d thrown a new quiz at him. Of course, he wanted to refine Aphrodite’s Blessing first, but he did want to assist you as well. That’s why he continued to run Jihyun’s place after all, because he wanted to help people like him, like Jihyun had done for him.

“I think I would like to try something with you,” Your head perked up, nervous at what he was about to suggest. “I’d like to go to the market with you, I want to see how you react with other people, and how they react to you,”

“Right now?”

“No no, maybe tomorrow if you’re free?” He offered. “I think I might get some better insight to how to potion is affecting you if I’m able to observe interactions with people other than myself,” He did have a point, you hadn’t really done much socializing the past few days aside from the odd reading here and there. You joked about a prince charming popping up out of nowhere when he proposed the idea of taking Aphrodite’s Blessing, but you hadn’t been acting on your own and yet you were still expecting results.

“That sounds like a good idea, but don’t you have to watch your shop?”

“I own it, I can close whenever I like. I’m not going to miss much business anyways,” Customers were few these days, and he wasn’t located in a high end of the city. The district was filled with commoners, all trying to sell their own craft to each other when no one had any money to spare. Plenty of product, yet no demand. Capitalism at its finest.

“What time did you want to meet up?”

“Noon perhaps? That’s when the market is at its busiest. The more people the better,” Saeran was scribbling away unknown notes in the journal he had laid on the counter. You were inclined to ask just what he was writing, but refrained. What if he thought you were being too nosy? Perhaps there were things you didn’t want to know.

“Sounds good to me, I’ll see you then, I suppose?” You reached for the door.

“Yep, I’ll see you tomorrow,” With a wave of his hand, you were off, braving the chill yet again.

Saeran buried his face in his palms and breathed deeply. He picked up the qull once again and began to jot more notes down.

Noticeable difference in skin hue

Skin warmer than average body temperature

Cute expression when hair is played with

No change in hair colour

Not much of an emotional/behavioural change, noted changes could be due to her warming up to me

Avoids eye contact

Glancing at his notes one last time, he realized something.

He forgot to ask about her allergies again.

#saeran choi #mystic messenger #mm unknown #mm ray #mysme #mystic messenger fic #angst #fluff #lovecraft #witchcraft!au

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oncethomastebbings · 4 years

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Composition

https://fstoppers.com/commercial/keys-composition-filmmaking-183577

Composition is one of the most important creative aspects of any filmmaking. Simply put, it is the act of defining the position, arrangement, and view of objects within the frame.

The subject of composition is composed of five elements: scale, angle, space, background, and colour. Here are explanations of each along with real world examples illustrating the concepts.

Scale

Scale is essentially the size of the subject in your frame. For example, are you shooting a very close up shot of just your subjects eyes or is the shot wide enough to include the entire room and everyone else in it? Scale is greatly affected by lens choice. A wide angle lens tends to distort facial features at close range as well as accelerate motion throughout your frame. For this reason, wide angle lenses are rarely used to photograph portraits but ideal for enhancing the menacing speed of a race car coming down a track.

Conversely, a telephoto lens compresses your image making the objects in frame appear to move much slower. In addition, larger faces and body types tend to benefit from a telephoto lens as it will slim down features. Also important to note is that longer focal lengths help decrease the depth of field in your image giving you those blurry backgrounds so often sought after. This is widely accepted look for cinematic purposes whereas a wider angle lends itself more to editorial work where candid moments are more commonly viewed.

Angle

The first, and most obvious, aspect of angle is camera height. How high is your camera in relation to your subject? The height of your camera can have a dramatic effect on the emotion being conveyed. A simple example is that of photographing a child. The typical placement of camera when photographing a child is from above while looking down. Subconsciously, this placement conveys a sense of superiority over your subject as being above them must mean you are in charge.

- similar to the interviews within the first purge.

On the other hand, getting down low and shooting up towards the child will convey a sense of inferiority as the subject will appear larger than life and strong in relation to the viewer. Use a wide angle lens and this effect will be exaggerated even further.

The last thought to consider is photographing someone at eye level. Doing so conveys a sense of “connection” as you are able to see directly into their eyes. Move the camera to the side of their face for a profile and the feeling now becomes a sense of “voyeurism” almost as if you are watching them without their knowledge.

Space

The Rule of Thirds is probably the most used spacial technique in photography. Imagine your 16:9 frame divided into thirds horizontally and vertically with four points of intersection. These four points are considered “pleasing” to the eye for no particular reason other than it being the general consensus amongst most cultures. Placing key elements of your subject, such as their eyes or head, at these intersecting points is ideal for most situations.

Negative space is another important consideration. Simply put, negative space is the area that surrounds your subject which does not include detail. It helps define what your subject is and leads your viewer's eye to that point. It provides breathing room and prevents visual clutter creating a more visually compelling argument.

Background/Foreground

Background and foreground. Backgrounds should complement your subject not distract you away from it. Poles sticking out of heads or crazy patterns are probably not going to achieve this. Can’t avoid the background? Pull out a telelphoto lens, open up your aperture, and get close to your subject to blur out the background.

Conclusion

The beauty of photography and filmmaking is that the latter is simply an extension of the former. Most of us start by appreciating the basics of photography and the basic concepts of this art carry over easily into the world of video. Composition is no different except you must keep in mind that your subject will be moving as you film them. Take these five tips with you and go out to practice each. Take a person and photograph them from far away. Then get so close you can see the color of their eyes. Shoot them in a cluttered forest and then an open parking lot. Examine the differences between these shots and see if the feeling or you experience is any different. By putting these concepts into practice, you will be sure and remember them time and time again.

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emilyknightsequentialimage · 4 years

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Critical Reflection

Emily Knight 1011215

Sequential Image

The Morning Routine as a Sequence

Introduction

My main goal when starting this sequential image project was to pick a topic that all readers could relate too, as Martha Newbigging wrote ‘Telling our stories, repeating them by sharing with others, becomes a way of knowing ourselves and our relationships’ (Newbigging, 2018 para 8). I also wanted to use myself as a subject as my Observational and Experimental project was based around watching others and drawing their environments and surroundings. In this brief I wanted to observe myself. The morning routine as a subject met both these needs.

I also wanted to set my sequence in the morning as I struggle with tone, by choosing a time of day where light rapidly changes meant that being able to communicate time and tone become vital in telling the story of my frantic, fast paced routine.

Time and Panels

‘In the world of comics, time and space are one of the same’ (Mccloud,1994 p.100)

A mountain I discovered I would need to get over early on in this project was pace. More specifically how to show a quickening of time. And what tools illustrators use to communicate how time is behaving and what clues we can give the viewers about how time works within the confines of the pages.

To start with I divided my sequence into equal panels, spanning across three double page spreads. Within these panels I needed to show certain events, these where; waking up, using the bathroom, making breakfast, getting ready to leave and leaving the house. By dividing my pages into equal panels, I realised I had restricted myself and created a space where time was always moving at a steady, even pace. Which is the opposite to the frantic, quick morning I was trying to portray. It did not seem to matter how the character was acting within the panels, they were still being viewed as calm and steady.

When writing about the uses of panels, Matthew Sutherlin described new panels as causing ‘the brain to reorganise its understanding of the world through repetition and change’ (Sutherlin, 2012 p.20). I took this as by being more playful with the shape and size of my panels, I could control how quickly or slow the viewer observes time moving. For instance, ‘even though the long panel has the same basic meaning as its shorter versions, still it has the feeling of greater length’ (McCloud, 1994 p.101). The idea of repeating panels to slow down time helped me to communicate the sluggish, slow start to the morning as the character misses their alarm clock and appears to go back to sleep. This then raised the question of did I need panels at all?

Through experimenting with panels and pace I concluded that when I wanted to show the most chaotic, quick moments in my morning routine, no panels at all seemed to work best. Creating vignettes of the character interacting in the same space meant ‘The overlapping object pierces or violates the space of the other, but this also joins them together’ (Bang, 1991 p.86). These overlapping or touching versions of the character created a sense of chaos but also made each action they were doing seem rushed and overall quickened the pace of my sequence. I used this technique in my second spread, using no panels or boarders at all. I finally understood how I could convey time within my pages.

Line, Colour and Tone

‘White is effective, when used with restraint’ (Bang, 1991 p.40)

Now that I understood how to control the viewers perception of time with layout and panels, I now needed to illustrate the movement of time through line, colour and tone. The tone and colour of the characters surroundings at 6am would be quite different to the tone and colour at 8am. Also, each room in a house has different lighting, the warmer lights we have in our bedrooms are the opposite to the stark, cold lights often found in bathrooms.

As my book folded out into a map of me walking to work, I decided that observing and making colour palettes of the morning sky for the map would help me to understand how time would effect the tone of the inside of the house. If I could feel comfortable drawing the buildings of Norwich for my map, I could apply the same tonal principles to create a believable atmosphere for my character. Using similar colour palates for both sequence and map also meant that the two looked cohesive and like they are part of the same story rather than separate entities.

I found depicting tone and the change in light much easier on the map than the sequence. Although at first blending colour transitions was an issue on the map side, by turning it from landscape to portrait that issue was quickly resolved.

The biggest problem I was having in my main sequence was the darker panels showing the character first waking up, where rich in tone and atmosphere but as soon as the bathroom light gets turned on, I lost all tone and it was reading as flat and one layer. My technique for the darker panels was layering dark blue acrylic with navy inks and finishing with deeper toned pencil crayons. However I was using only one or two layers in bathroom scene, and felt restricted as I wanted it to have a cold light but felt the more layers I built when creating the room, the more I lost the artificial, stark light feeling.

The breakthrough came when I started to use vignettes and no panels. Instead of showing tone in the walls of the room and trying to create a believable space, I made a room with no walls, start or end, and gave tonal range through the character and the objects she interreacted with. By trying to give everything a tonal value I had made the world flat and had taken the main view off the character. This new composition was less restrictive; the room had a strobe light feel but the character remained warm and her space relatable and homely.

How the character moved in the space was particularly important to again show pace. The shapes the body was making added to the frantic movement and atmosphere. Looking into shape and line really helped as the character evolved from draft to draft, the more exaggerated the more hurried the character seemed. By putting her limbs at extreme angles or overly elongating her arms and legs meant the character seemed to have more movement, energy and be in complete pandemonium. Molly Bang wrote ‘Vertical shapes are more exciting and more active, vertical shapes repel against the earths gravity. They imply energy and a reaching towards the heights and heavens’ (Bang, 1991 p44), which explains why the more vertical, harsher lined character worked better in my sequence. I then carried on using this way of drawing the character for the map, not only to make them link but to also show that just because she has left the house does not mean that she is in less of a hurry or the pace has slowed.

Conclusion

Although I am not pleased with all my final artwork in every panel and spread, I feel like this brief was more to do with trying to understand sequence and the ways to tell a story through that. I think through experimenting with panels and layout I have been successful in illustrating a quick, hurried pace. Having my peers read my images at the speed I intended, shows that the purpose of my sequence was successful. Learning the ways others show the movement of time and pace has been so interesting and will hopefully make me a better storyteller in future briefs.

I also came into this project still a little scared of tone. I knew that by setting the sequence at a time of day where light changes so rapidly I would have to finally overcome this fear. Through continuing with observational drawing and bringing my findings into my fictional house, I think I am more confident in creating tone and see tonal drawing as less charcoal and rubbers and more whatever you want it to be.

I first used the layering of paints, inks and pencil crayon in the observational experimentational brief and I wanted to continue to use it in sequential. I have really enjoyed this way of working and learning its limitations and effects. It made me be more selective with colour but also experiment more in order to find the colours and textures I really wanted to use. It is making my work naturally evolve and I am excited to keep going.

word count 1426

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ethan-byrne · 4 years

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Atiba Jefferson

Skate Photographer

Jefferson primarily works within fashion, skate and sport photography, a lot of which I can take inspiration from for my current project. For the benefit of my own work, it’s worth looking into the equipment/techniques used by himself as well as the composition of his imagery. The majority of his skate work is shot using either a Canon DSLR (flash sync 1/250th) or a Hasselblad, which uses a leaf shutter meaning it will sync to the quickest shutter possible for the lens (1/800th in this case). In skate photography, having the fastest possible shutter is one of the most important variables as it allows you to capture the figure without blur. To compensate for the fast shutter, Atiba will also use a selection of off camera flash sources placed around the subject, often with the idea of exposing solely the subject leaving the backdrop behind slightly underexposed. This technique separating the two, emphasises the sharpness of the figure and brings them away from the setting to highlight the action in place. When shooting in film with the accuracy needed for capturing fast action with flash, he stresses that it’s important to also have the DSLR for test shot purposes due to their ease for experimentation. In terms of lenses, he’ll switch between fish eye’s, which force you to get closer to the subject, and longer distance lenses allowing him to stay clear of the path of the skater. The effect of using a fish eye works best in a setting which will emphasize the warp, and when the subject is closest, it’ll once again do the same. In order to do this, photographers like Jefferson will commonly use low to high angles, which in skating will make the skater seem higher and gaps seem larger.

The pieces of work below were selected for how they display these techniques and traits.

The first, embodies a few of the previously talked about points, as shown, the low angle really exaggerates on the height of the skater and paired with the slight fish eye effect, this is further enhanced. By shooting at night, the fill in technique using the flash is also clearly displayed. Against the black silhouette of the trees, the figure distinctly stands out within the shot as a key focal point, attracting the viewer towards the skater rather than the surrounding.

The next shot takes a completely different approach in the way that its focused towards the setting rather than the skater. Within this I was drawn to the composition in the way that aperture is used to focus in on areas, which cover such a vast distance. The image could be cropped down into certain sections creating a frame of their own, inspiring my idea previously spoken about for my boards.

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drloribaudino-blog · 5 years

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Intuitive Thinking: How to find Purpose for your child

"I want to play with my friends, I hate that shirt, I can do it myself" (Age 6.5 Raina)

In psychology, Erik Erickson spoke about the 'synchronizing of the child's needs and wishes with society's demands. The achievement being a sense of purpose (age 4-7).'

When I worked with Raina I quickly became aware of her ability to see one aspect of a story; how a feeling of dissapointment or a lack of predictability could immediately set her off in a complaint or a dismissing of her parents efforts.

Jean Piaget, showed how a child at this age would see the potential height of a liquid in a jar but not the width - just one aspect at a time. So, how can we support the child to see the whole picture? How to help the child understand her purpose?

Raina, was observed to move with quickness into her interactions with her mother. She rushed to the breakfast table, she spoke before looking around, and she focussed intently at specific details.

For instance, when she woke up she immediately stomped her feet as she rushed to the table and looked at her food with a frown and pushed the plate out of sight. Before her mother could speak, she was already complaining that she had not asked for that plate of food and wouldn't eat it. Lucky for her the food was intended for her father.

The situations and examples continued. In therapy, Raina was given permission to explore her way of moving. She quickly took over the room, and remarked when I, the therapist moved just the slightest way different than her. I supported her to notice these changes and instead of becoming upset - that if she saw a discrepency, I asked if she could purposefully repeat the "error" and make it even bigger. Expanding our arms to the side, or jumping higher, she exaggerated all my "errored movements." She became the judge of the moving time. She had purpose and insight into what was her way and what was mine. She felt she was a part of a bigger project and she intuitively started to anticpate my steps with hers. She decided on her own time, that we could combined the movements together to realize that there was no "wrong way to move" and that she knew I was not intentionally trying to mess up or negate her way (it wasn’t personal) but that we had our unique choices.

We later applied this movement exploration into real life situations. We discussed slowing down to see all the parts and the whole picture before making assumptions or becoming dissapointed.

Raina shared with her mother a new plan for entering situations. She communicated an understanding about how “when someone responds or moves different from her it’s not because there is a problem or threat that she must defend against but rather a beautiful unique opportunity to notice or try.”

Everyday I work with children of all ages and their families to support their development, awareness and connections! For more ways to learn how to embody parenting and support your child through life, Email me at [email protected] or call me at (310) 966-0700 to schedule your time.

Please Note: These stories are based on real moments but all names, ages, and identifying information has been changed to ensure confidentiality and safety for all individuals involved. The events are a composite of related scenarios used to illustrate the work; bringing understanding to the benefits of supporting children through a mind/body connection.

#parenting children therapy learning dance movement

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jeremystrele · 4 years

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Luxury Modern Living In Grey And Gold

Luxury and class exude from every millimetre of this 149 square metre apartment in Saint Petersburg, Russia, designed and visualised by Idol Design. Each room is a detailed composition of high-end pieces, with plush soft furnishings and designer lighting solutions. A sophisticated palette of powder greys and gold elements paint a smooth colour story that runs right through from the modern living area and glossy hallway design, to the decor of two stunning bedrooms and two fabulous marble covered bathrooms. In fact, marble is a main player in every area of the home to really ramp up the level of luxe, whilst introducing freeform pattern to feature walls and floors.

The open and airy luxury living room is a polished ensemble of designer pieces, brought together inside one colour palette with complete finesse. The grey walls and curtains draw powder grey shades down the vertical planes, whilst black anchors cross the baseline of the scheme. A black border encapsules the ceiling space, and a stretch of marble sends a storm of black and white across the back wall.

Behind the refined lounge area lies an elegant kitchen with a dining island. The flooring changes here to mark to transition of purpose, halting light wood chevrons to give way to hardy grey tiles.

To the side of the designer sofa in the lounge, two black and gold accent chairs stand as though in guard of a glass wine store. Black marble travels the width of the TV wall, mirroring the marble backsplash in the kitchen that’s on the opposite side of the room.

A gold unit slices through the seat cushions of the modern sofa, forming a convenient side table and magazine storage nook. Golden hued scatter cushions complement the precious metallic addition.

A glossy hallway runs the length of the living room, defined by its tile floor and stunning lighting solutions that integrate with sleek ceiling recesses and textured wall panels.

Low level lighting stretches along the length of the hall too, making a runway toward a dramatic bust sculpture.

Bespoke storage furniture occupies the opposite end of the hallway to the art exhibit. A seat has been built between the storage cabinet and the wall near the entry door, and it’s here that a tall mirror stretches to the ceiling. Soft lighting exaggerates every line of the custom hallway furniture design, including a small set of recessed display shelves so that the home entryway may be suitably adorned.

Divinely delicate mesh dining pendant lights have an almost supernatural presence over the kitchen island with their translucent quality.

A tinted glass vase makes a simple yet classy table centrepiece, holding dried botanics. The arrangement works beautifully with the natural vein in the marble backsplash behind.

Up on the raised prep area of the kitchen island, a modern fruit bowl set with marble bases add chic and practical decoration.

A chairs for sale online” title=”32 Comfortable Reading Chairs To Help You Get Lost In Your Literary World”>comfortable reading chair and a plant stand furnish the covered balcony area. More indoor plants grow from stone pockets installed up the height of the wall, which include ambient lighting strips.

The other end of the covered balcony is set with a round dining table, and green chairs that match the plant life.

A beautiful teapot has a regular spot in the centre of the marble dining table.

The first luxury bedroom we find is alive with the heavily marbled pattern of an illuminated headboard feature wall. Two designer bedside table lamps adds to the lighting scheme.

Two modern wall sconces brighten the area around a suave swivel chair and side tables.

A glassy TV wall bounces the light.

Every surface and every plane is clad in a different texture and edged with gold.

A dressing table and vanity mirrors descend from the ceiling near the window.

Copper legs cradle a square vanity seat cushion.

The vanity table and mirrors inside the luxury bathroom have a similar connection with the ceiling line.

Copper faucets bring out the base tone in the marble double sink bathroom vanity shelf.

Grey marble engulfs the shower area. Warm illumination spills down the back of it.

The bath tub looks fit for a queen, set into a thick marble slab base, and surrounded by the same.

A grey toilet and bidet set blend with their grey marbled area.

Storage cabinets are built in above the concealed cistern block to give a sleek level finish that is also a wise use of the vertical space available.

The second stunning bedroom sees the introduction of rich maroon, used over an exquisite bed.

The headboard feature wall has a rustic clay texture, but is fronted with smooth glass and golden strips. Wardrobes adjacent to the bed have matching gold edging and decorative plates.

A smoked glass TV mount reflects the unique headboard wall treatment.

Golden touches add panache to the dressing table and vanity mirror.

Despite its size, this small bathroom is maxed out on luxury. Every bit of the same care applied to the design of the larger rooms applies here too.

The unique bathroom sink is a black glass pedestal design, paired with a freestanding tap.

A tall vanity mirror towers to the ceiling. A black toilet balances out the black basin.

Grey marble brings texture to the shower enclosure, which is fitted with a square rainfall showerhead and ambient lighting for a relaxing shower experience.

Recommended Reading: 51 Luxury Living Rooms 51 Luscious Luxury Dining Rooms 51 Luxury Kitchens 51 Luxury Bedrooms 50 Luxury Bathrooms Luxury Kids’ Room

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drewebowden66 · 4 years