#there just hasn't really been a lot of MVs that made me want to write

[maximura]

MVNALYSIS: GOD’S MENU by STRAY KIDS

Hello friends, seeing as 2020 is going down in flames anyways, there seems like no better time than to start my MV Analysis series, MVNALYSIS. Storytelling and cinematography are both important but the technical aspect is definitely more interesting to me. If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’d know how often I yell about a good lighting scheme so this is just an extension of that.

There have been some great MVs this year but the one that really lit my fuse and prompted me to do this is God’s Menu by Stray Kids. If you haven’t seen it yet, go watch it first then come back. This is very long so if you’re not really interested in the technical aspects of music videos then I would definitely recommend scrolling past. 

1) The Cyberpunk-Anime Intro tracking shot. That flourescent-neon title card reminds me of cyberpunk aesthetic, especially if you’ve seen the trailer for Cyberpunk 2077. I really love title cards because they remind me of old movies and cartoons. To throw it up so nonchanlantly immediately sets the vibe and subconsciously triggers your mind to think about when you last saw something like that, be it a video game or anime or a movie. They use it a lot more often than other groups and I never noticed until I went back to watch a few of their videos for this post. 

The Intro to God’s Menu is both a sonic and visual assault. It’s so fcking good that I am almost sad I will never get to watch it again for the first time. 

That tracking shot for Changbin is just beautiful perfection because it has three levels of depth and a very controlled use of blocking. The deepest level is the chaos in the background, the main level is Changbin and the most superficial level is the one closest to the camera, with the marching band player. Interestingly, the movement and speed of each level progresses in descending order: the background is crazy busy, Changbin is moving through at a controlled pace and the marching band player is almost still, like a sign post to reiterate the depth of field. 

There are a few really famous and amazing tracking shots, so I’m just going to link them here if you are interested in camera work: Atonement (legendary tbh), 1917 (deserved the cinematography Oscar), Ava Adore (you can see the track they used for the whole video) and the Baby Driver introduction has one of the best tracking shots but I won’t link to it out of respect for people who might be triggered. 

Sometimes you watch something and you don’t know why it’s so cool. Well, this is why it’s so cool. This is why some MVs are so interesting to re-watch and why others have no re-watch value at all. 

2) Transitions and editing. Oh boy. The fcking transitions. Sometimes people think of them like a cheap trick in the vein of a horror movie jump scare but when you see a good transition, 'cheap’ should be the last word you think of. All the transitions are worth mentioning: Changbin seemingly changing the frame with his hand, Han’s mid-choreo transition and Hyunjin’s forced perspective to mimic the spotlight. I suppose they are are little flashy and tricked-out but it doesn’t change how cool they look. The video editer deserves all the credit for this one. 

It’s seems obvious but I can’t ignore the stop-motion DuDuDuDu editing either. It does exactly what the music does in that moment: it’s jarring and abrupt and literally like shots fired and bleeding red. Sometimes literal interpretations are cringey and don’t work but sometimes they work so well you wish everyone was on this level. 

A more subtle transition is one that I don’t see a lot of people talking about but it’s when the music shifts from the heavy rap to the smoother vocals. The first time it happens we went from the dark enclosed confines of Han’s kitchen rap to vast open air of the cars racing. The smooth flow of the vocals is echoed in the smooth silent roll of the car tires and then the smooth choreo from Bangchan with that bright God ray lens flare. It’s just like a smooth smooth smooth flow of water after total chaos and that’s exactly what the music is trying to do: the rap is a spicy meal, the vocals are a glass of cool water. Seriously, this MV is so well thought out and well planned. It’s like the director actually listened to the track. What a crazy notion, heh. 

3) Robot Camera. If you’re not sure which part I mean, it’s basically during Han’s rap, Felix’s 5 Star Michelin part and the subtle camera tilt for the group choreo. You can see it in action in their ‘Making Of’ video. You’ve probably seen this used before, most notably on Jungkook for DNA but I think it was made really popular in music MVs when Kendrick Lamar did it for Humble. Everyone is using it now but I still love it. No human can film with that precision and it’s seriously cool use of tech. I like that they didn’t overuse it though because it would’ve felt too repetitive. Restraint? In Kpop? Hell really has frozen over today. 

4) The colour and lighting. It’s generally really well lit and coloured but the most remarkable thing to point out here is that God’s Menu has only four sets. It feels like it has some meat and depth to it because they used those four sets to their full capacities. In contrast, I think I counted 9 sets for GOT7′s ‘Not By The Moon’ and let’s be honest, they were all kind of wasted. 

The scrapyard set is used four times with four different lighting schemes and you barely notice how repetitive it is because they all look so different. The garage scene is my favourite example of good depth of field because they’re in a tiny confined area for choreo but it doesn’t actually feel tiny or confined because of the huge open grandstand in the background. 

Also. It’s rad how the video goes from day to night. I didn’t even notice until the third or fourth re-watch. 

5) Kendrick Lamar. I just wanted to spend a little time on this point because I hear and see his influence on God’s Menu. Obviously, Kendrick doesn’t have a patent or copyright on use of RoboCams but the main backing track is very Humble-esque and the DuDuDu reminds me of old KL. It’s a little grating tbh but the producer at least showed some restraint with it. Any more of the DDD part and it would’ve been too obnoxious to listen to. 

6) Styling. I really love these black outfits because they look like a cross between a karate uniform/dobok and black chef aprons. I wasn’t really sure why they went with the racetrack imagery but there is something about this entire MV that reminds me of anime/manga...and then I remembered that Initial D existed. If you’ve never heard of Initial D until now? You’re welcome. 

Oh and Hyunjin’s hair. Damm. 

7) Bias: Okay, I’m Australian and I used to live in Sydney so part of me has always been invested in Chris and Felix. But. I have to be straight with you all, that tag-team of Changbin and Han is insane. Insane, I tell you! I wish I could hear that rap intro again for the very first time. It’s like when I heard Mingi’s rap in Wonderland for the first time. Some things are just inexplicable. 

8) Conclusion: This is one of the best MVs JYPE has ever made and it’s not even story driven. The modern tech and insane editing is truly next level and I hope people appreciate the work that went into it instead of just seeing it as another flashy kpop video with no substance just because it’s not “deep and meaningful”. 

[mywritingonlyfans]

ok i spent 20 minutes trying to find my angst prompts christ

so a long while ago (think before iwbys mv dropped) i share some angst prompts of what i think each of the band members would be anxious about

we are picking up damiano cause i am writing about him in parallel to this

i had made the assumption of damiano always overworking himself to succeed. he sees overworking himself is the only way he will trully have any chances to produce great work

"i feel like damiano is more likely to stress work, like burning himself out cause he thinks thats when he does his best work." to quote myself lmao.

personally, when im overworked i tend to be mor aggravated and moody, snapping easily and feeling sad and shitty

so imagine as his s/o, you see damiano working on lyrics from home over the winter. he sits on the couch, scribbling furiously every few minutes in a notebook of some kind

the next morning, you wake up and damiano isnt in bed. and he wasnt there when you went to sleep last night

so you go to the living room and he is sitting in pretty much the same spot, coffee on the table and a cigarette burning in the ashtray

you ask him about and he says he did sleep but woke up early to work

you doubt it at first but then you decide to believe him.

the entire day, dami is just sitting on the same spot on the couch, he hasn't moved in a certain 7 hours and he still is scribbling in that lyric notebook.

after some persuation he eats something and drinks something other than energy drinks or coffee (water) but he goes back to work instantly after that.

you understand he has to work but you are still mad that he is working non stop, giving almost no attention to you

you go to bed earlier that day, and you wait for him to come to bed until around 2am, when you lost hope and slept.

the next morining he is still there, with the addition of too many cans of energy drinks and too many finished cigarettes.

he actually looks dead and you try and talk to him but he doenst even aknowledge you.

for the entire day you tried to get dami to eat something or drink some water or to go lay down but he just shakes his head and works on the lyrics.

at this point hes been working non-stop for 3 days consecutively and you are worried

by night he keeps sighing loudly and scribbling on the notebook, getting mad at himself, sometimes even softly hitting his head. you know its from frustration but you couldn't break him out of the mindset. you had talked to vic and she had told you about this 'state'

at some point while you are sitting inside the bedroom, on your phone, you hear damiano curse very loudly after something fell on the floor.

you thought it was just a glass, so you got up to clean up and you just see damiano sitting on the godforsaken couch, this time looking down at the floor where water was spilt and where some tissues lay

(tw blood and mention of intrusive thoughts) (i am self projecting yes shush)

when you go there there you see the tissues on the floor also had ink on them

it was weird and it was weirder there was so much ink you could see from the kitchen

you go there and damiano is covered in water and ink, and on top of it, his hands are bleeding.

that was a traumatising sight in and of itself but seeing him with tear stained eyes made it worse

you slowly help him up from the couch to the bathroom to help him wash off the ink and to see why his hands were bleeding

while you tried to clean the ink from his chest, he explained how he was so stressed cause he forgot a deadline with the band (it was the next day)

so he pulled 3 all nighters to hopefully get different drafts of some lyrics, and every day he was slower but he didn't allow himself to rest in any way cause his brain thought it would slow him.

as a coping mechanism he would scratch his hands a lot, hence why they were bleeding, especially where his tattoes are

he couldn't get work done since his in his mind "finish the song, meet the deadline, no matter what" played on repeat and he was really mad at himself and thought he just sucked at lyrics

he was so worried about not meeting the dealine and disappointing the others that he didnt allow himself to do anything but try and write lyrics, all because his stressed brain made him think the others would be really mad at him and hate him (yay anxiety)

he bit down on his pen too hard while he was thinking and broke it, and got his face covered in ink

he still didnt want to get up so he tried to take it off with tissues and water but he dropped the cup and the water.

he didnt want to bother you either cause he knew you would try to break his 'concentration' (anxiety fueled all nighters) and he wouldnt get anything done, plus he thought you were mad at him for ignoring you while he worked

this whole time you were washing the ink off you re-assured him constantly, both about himself and the band members forgiving him for the dealine, and also about his self worth as a lyric composer

then you help him out of the bath and to your bedroom, putting some cream on the irritated skin to help it somehow heal and you forced him to stay bedbound while you cleaned up

then you go lay with him and obligatory cuddles ensue

he falls alseep almost instantly and you just sit there petting his hair, still in disbelief cause you didn't know damiano got so stressed so bad

you made a mental note to always supervise him when he seemed stressed

it scared me a but but it looks good, i mean worryingly good... you're doing great babe!!!

[damejanai]

Dameraji

2020.12.16

S: It's here

K: It has come

S: It's here. And did you know? Around the world now, there have been monoliths sighted?

K: As expected huh

S: And? The first one was in America or something, Utah huh?

K: Hmm

S: And then in Romania, Holand, and England

K: Those are the things that appear, disappear, and then appear somewhere else right?

S: Yeah, what, are they?

K: That, was me

S: Eh? You?

K: That was me

S: That was your, YouTube project?

K: That was for promotion

S: HAHAHAA Well well if you think about it sensibly it's probably it right

K: It's promotion for outer space

S: Ahhh for outer space. If people are behind it, it's probably not just one person right

K: Well yes, it's controlled by organisation by me

S: Hehehe, for you

K: HHAHAA

S: You are quick to reveal it then, if that's the case

K: I thought it was quite about time i reveal the information

S: This is, unexpectedly, my friends from university were also going on about it

K: Oh i see, they were helping to promote it?

S: Eh? You're still continuing that? Ahahaha

K: Coz, you casually brought the topic away, so i didn't know how long should i continue this

S: You know I like occult stuff, and many things happened in 2020 so, i was thinking, what, at the very last part there's something this mysterious happening too?

K: Me too, you know what shocked me most about this monolith talk was that, Yasumoto san was here before our recording, and I was talking to him. We talked about Hosoya san

S: Right

K: and how he is in ascension now. Of course he loves occult stuff and.... what? myths

S: Uh huh, yes

K: And Yasumoto san said, "Isn't Soma getting into that phase soon too?"

S: Hahhaa

K: We were talking about that and here you have it

S: HAHAHAA

K: I thought, whoa as expected you talked about Monoliths

S: First ascension after a few years break. But truthfully, like at one of the previous Damerajis, I said, "Ahh i feel like I'm going to go through ascension again". And honestly I think our moods for these few episodes were weird. Weren't we in rather high spirits?

K: Really?

S: Yeah so, it is starting

K: Just as expected huh

S: It's baddd eh?

K: We'll be going over together

S: You know it's the age where we can share our brains so

K: I know right, our databases are connected, by 5G

S: Totally....Can, we start?

K: Shall we

S: Saito Soma

K: Ishikawa Kaito's

S/K: Damejanai Radio

----

"in bloom"

S: We're gonna play one song later so it's not a bad radio

K: WooHOOOO Wowoowowow

S: You're reacting like that?

K: Hahhahaa

S: I've never even seen that on TV

K: Really? But isn't it common in anime?

S: No!

K: DoHYAAA!

S: What is that?

K: Album's out next week, DoHYAAAAA

S: AHHHH Ohooooi!

K: Such a happy thing~ happy~

S: So one song will be played here~

K: Come on if it isn't played here, where else would it be played?

S: Right? Dameraji has really been promoting it a lot for me

K: Amazing right

S: More than me promoting it myself

K: If i knew Dameraji was promoting this much I would think about it more.... Well I'll only THINK but that doesn't necessary convert into actions~~~ ahhaa So today we will be playing a song, and hearing some insights... but for the song, it won't be available in the archives

S: Yes, just that

K: So please just enjoy the insights

S: Yes~~

K: Only today guys~~ that you will be hearing the insights of the song while listening to it~

S: Well I've not really talked a lot about the songs.... well I have in interviews but in my own natural voice

K: Natural voice...

S: That doesn't mean anything... really.. it hasn't started (ascension)

K: Monoliths and natural voice....

S: HAHAHAA

---

~"Carpool"~

S: Ah yes, thank you, many have mentioned that, No Licence Driving

K: That's true right?

S: No no, all I did was sit in the driver's seat

K: Uh huh uh huh

S: I wasn't driving

K: But you know, those with no licence have no right to sit there

S: I was properly sitting in the driver's seat, not driving, but reading a book

K: Hahhahaha

S: Very properly

K: Seriously?

S: Uh huhhh. But this MV has been released and I've received quite a lot of comments.... many were saying that, " Isn't this a song about Kaito kun?"

K: Ohhhhh

S: I want to say it loud and clear, NO

K: Oh it's not a song from my point of view?

S: No no no, totally not

K: Hmmm

S: One thing was that, when i was writing the lyrics, i was thinking that i wouldn't like it but people might think that way

K: Don't say you wouldn't like it

S: wwwww

K: Whatever happened to the things you said last last episode?

S: www Well but you know, whenever i write songs, i don't really want to decide what kind of song it is about, and would like it to be interpreted differently

K: True

S: This "carpool" to me, is about youth. But it may be youth in your teens, or youth like us, before 30

K: Ho ho ho

S: So i think that hearing that the theme is "youth", you could still have different ways of interpreting it

K: Makes me want to hear the different interpretations

S: Yeah yeah yeah, at this point, it has one chorus and a little bit of the second part. But if you listen to the second part of the song, you'll probably think of it differently

K: Ohhhhh

S: Yes yes

K: That's interesting, so afterwards when we're not on air, you'll be telling me, "Actually I wrote it with this meaning in mind" (soma voice)

S: What, me secretly telling you stuff, sounds like that?

K: Huh?

S: No no

K: You don't realise it?

S: Nooo, "I wrote it with this meaning in mind"

K: "You know, I don't know how many people will get it though"

S: Don't do that your hair like that

K: That's what you do

S: That's true i tend to do that, well thank you, my album will be out next week

Song played: Carpool

K: I understand now, you know, when i was searching my name on Twitter, there were a lot of stuff that came up that made me go, "ah!"

S: Hahahaa, Like?

K: Isn't it about Kaito kun?

S: No

K: Ehhh!!

S: It's not a song about Ishikawa san

K: But you know, I don't mention it a lot but, my car is an open car, you know?

S: AHHAHAHAa..No.. STOPPP!! Doing what i'm good at

K: Screaming

S: STOPPPPP!

K: Ahhh that's when you really hate it, when your life's at stake

S: This song... when I wrote the song, the lyrics came to mind at the same time. It's true since I don't have a driver's licence, so the driver's seat is "your special spot"

K: Yes, my special spot

S: Hahaha! But if you listen to what comes after, the last chorus, you'll have a different interpretation of it

K: Don't tell me.. it's death?

S: Ohhhhhhh

K: Ohhhhh?

S: Kaito kun, how do you always know?

K: AHHAHHAA

S: It has begun huh

K: Right? Ahhh... is that it.... is that it...

S: That'll become like Kaito kun dies

K: So I actually recorded all of this before I died

S: You're a hologram? ( O.o! Just like one of the Mangas that Soma recommended on his daily recommendations)

K: I was told to record myself talking as if i was talking to Soma san

S: If that's the case then our conversations complement so well. Well rather than dying, well, I welcome everyone to have different interpretations but it's like singing about something you lost

K: Uh huh uh huh, I see

S: But youth, like what i mentioned earlier, at our age, we're still continuing to be youths but in a different form

K: I see

S: There's something you lost, but there's also things that are continuing, it's just singing it from a unique point of view

K: In "Date", you also went to the sea right

S: wwwww Right? I personally don't go to the beach at all

K: Because you get all sticky , you said

S: So, am I really going to the beach?

K: Oooooh

S: Well well, you can interpret it in many ways

K: This is scary....

S: Rightt www

~Dameraji Photo Studio~

Pose like a present box

Guests next week:

Nakajima Yoshiki

Sakakihara Yuki

81!

[hikarumkns]

Depressing Post Incoming

I've had a lot of things happen in my life. Who hasn't?

It's only been until recently that I've realized that maybe I'm weak to situations that greatly impact me. Truthfully, I feel very comfortable saying it here since no one knows me here but since I was in high school, I had acquired a drug addiction that had been on and off for the total span of 10 years. I had always thought that maybe it wasn't and that it was coincidental that I would always come back to it but it didn't hit me until a three years ago, when I almost killed myself.

I think some part of me had always been hiding from reality since the passing of my grandmother and I hid through the addiction. Then my brother who taught me most of what I know, someone I looked up to, moved faraway. So about five years ago, I was really, really lost. I thought I was on top of the world fighting everything by myself and by accident, my ex showed me kpop. A genre I really despised at the time. The same ex had introduced me to BAP when we had dated many years back but I hadn't delved much into it.

By this accident I came to realize that the music really resonated with me and I felt free despite being in this horrible trance. I threw myself further and further. Then by some chance delved into BAP and I felt real freedom. I didn't even know why but I just connected to them. I came to a stark conclusion that the relationship I was in was toxic, that I had other things and that I truly had a problem that, for the time, wasn't going away. So with the help of BAP I tried to fight it. I became depressed, looking for anyone to help me, I felt useless but Bang Yongguk released AM 4:44 and found I wasn't alone. I wasn't alone struggling to get out of this depression, addiction, loneliness, whatever it was.

Still in my addiction, I tried to climb out paying attention only to Yongguk's voice at the time. He spoke a lot of truth that it resonated with me and I clung to it in my darkest of days. I found out he was the composer for most of BAP's songs (something I didn't know because I was only listening to tbe music but not paying attention to it all) and began paying attention.

By then Wake Me Up had released and I cried when Yongguk came back because he gave me a path to follow. A path I truly wanted to pave myself out. I listened to it day in and day out. Dystopia even, to get me out of this addiction that became habit, became an everyday way of life that I didn't know was killing me until it almost did.

I lost consciousness and didn't wake until a day later to have no recollection of anything. That was the breaking point for me and by then Honeymoon had released. To this day I find it hilariously coincidental that everything happened in this weird pattern.

When BAP announced they were going their separate ways, a part of me shattered for this reason. The group that helped me and especially, the voice that guided me out and helped me find myself again; I wouldn't hear anymore.... Or so I thought. Until with time, Yongguk released his first solo album. By that point I had become almost two years sober. I've never been more happy than to hear the same voice that clung to, to hear those lyrics that I do wanted to hear. Holding the album in my hands meant the world to me. To think that had it not been for one group, six members and this one leader that I probably wouldn't be here to tell my story. At least a short version of it.

When EGO released I came to realize there was more to myself than I thought. I grew to live myself, I grew to enjoy life and everything that came with it. I wanted more for myself than ever before and I was going to fight for it.

So what's all this? I've told my story one I haven't told anyone. It's so that one day when I find myself lost again, because as dark as it sounds, I feel like that day will come again. Probably sooner than I'd like to think. That one day I'll look back and read this to talk some sense into myself because it's going to be a while before I hear that voice again.

No words can describe how much I cried during Yongguk's Orange Drive MV. For many reasons. First, he enlisted, which although we all knew it was coming; it was sudden and too fast. Second, I remembered how he too said he had wanted to put an end to his life but didn't because of the fans. Thirdly, he came to love himself something we never heard before and it touched me so deeply. And forth, because I wouldn't be able to have someone to hold on to, to look back on but it's okay. I know now that I'm better than what I was. I know now that I can do it on my own.

I promised myself I would never go back to that place. Mental health is something I never thought I dealt with but it turns out that I was a victim to it. It's real. It's powerful and we can fight it. Whether it's music, writing or any hobby, there's always something to fight it. Whether someone and anyone can help you through it. For me it was music and an artist that respect no matter what. For me, I wish I hadn't isolated myself. For me, I wish I had surrounded myself with people who cared. But now I'm stronger than before and we learn through these things. I've made peace with my demons.

So even though I've done this so many times, I want to thank a group of people.

And this man who probably never realized how many people he's helped with his music. With his lyrics. With his words. With his kindness. With his help, I wouldn't have been here. I wouldn't be alive to tell this tale of mine. I wouldn't have the courage to do so.

Thank you for everything

Thank you for saving me

Thank you for keeping me here

Thank you for sharing your story

It's time to tell mine

Thank You And See You Later

🍊🛵