Space Dandy S2 Episode 13

This final episode sure was a visual feast. Not much in way of thoughtful composition but this was a fast paced and action-centric episode, appropriately much of the focus was on delivering superb animation and exciting sequences. There was plenty of dynamic camera work, mostly composed of follow/tracking shots. The most impressive parts were the almost unnoticeable cuts that made the some of the action scenes looked seamless.

Look at all those perspective changes! There’s cut at the 15 sec. mark, where the camera position switches from side to front view. The switch in view didn’t really interrupt the flow of the action. The reason for this is the contours and color palette in the frames prior and after the cut were fairly similar.

The flash from the explosion at the 2 sec. mark is used to hide the cut. At the 8 sec. mark, extreme close ups are used to hide another cut.

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Nice use of progressing closer shots to build drama/tension. First a wide shot, mid-shot, close up and finally an extreme close up. In between them are eyeline matches between Dandy and the monitor, where he reaches out to what matters the most. The last shot of the monitor uses Dandy’s eyelids for a frame within a frame shot. This adds extra emphasis to Dandy’s primary motive for fighting. All these dramatic build up for the sake of that booty, topped off with a comical zoom.

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This shot is the only part of the finale that I didn’t like. The tower and its vanishing point are way too off center, which leaves all that empty space in left side and middle of the shot. It’s an unbalanced framing where the empty space comes off as the focus.

Zankyou no Terror Episode 11

While the finale didn’t meet my expectation of gripping composition and more dynamic camera work, I still think it delivered some interesting shots. It’s also hard to be disappointed when the finale also delivered a strong cohesive visual storytelling from the countdown to the aftermath.

The red beams in the background serve two purposes. First, they give the audience an idea of his location (Tokyo Tower), which explains Nine’s high vantage point. Second, red is a striking color further intensified by the muted foreground. This combined with the movement of the elevator creates a dynamic shot that expresses an imminent dangerous act that builds anticipation. This shot is far more interesting when seen as a contrast to this shot (cool vs. warm) and part of the visual narrative.

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The camera behind the wall, the shallow focus and a very slight shaky cam give a feeling of a first person view of Lisa and Twelve. This makes the shot feel more personal and involving. The park setting and the soft lighting create intimacy.  I like that the soft lighting wasn’t used to spotlight the characters, which would’ve taken away the subtlety of the shot.

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The explosion created an intense and warm lighting. It’s an astonishing and moving sight for everyone except Nine. As you can see in the second image, he’s unstirred by it. To him this is just a final part of a long tragic journey.

The after-effects of the explosion produced a green glow resembling that of an aurora borealis. This scene acts as the cool color contrast to the previous one. The contrast is best demonstrated by the expressiveness of Nine’s face. He’s amazed by the serene and calming sight in front him. It’s also a look of relief, as if to say, “It’s finally over.” It’s an expression reflecting the relaxing scenic view that signals the end of this whole ordeal.

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Some of these still shots show the aftermath of the explosion; the once crowded streets are now empty and the train at a standstill. Interspersed among them are stills from the earlier episodes, a restrained way of showing how it all began. This sequence of stills also serves as a breather for the audience. It acts as a transition to a playful scene of the three characters with their guards down and acting like kids for the first time in the series

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A year after Twelve and Nine died both Lisa and Shibazaki are at peace with all that transpired. The peaceful nature of the dialogue is reinforced by the use of an S-curve (stream). The graceful line of the S-curve is a compositional tool often used to evoke a feeling of tranquility and gentleness. In this shot it also acts as leading line guiding the viewers’ attention to the two characters.

Space Dandy S2 Episode 12

This episode had a plethora of camera movements and editing techniques. In terms of editing there were dissolves, wipes, split screens, split screen wipes and match cuts. The camera movements were composed of pans, whip pans, tilts, shaky cam, erratic zooms and parallax effect. The camera work lacked movement in the z-axis but the variety mixed with the snappy editing gave the episode a dynamic look.

For the most part the stylish camera work and editing worked well in conjunction and maintained continuity. Although, there were actually too much going on that it made it hard to take in the scenes and pin point anything to talk about. Also, some of the dissolves were way too slow and visually distracting. Some of the split screens resulted in sloppy framing and the point of interest being partially obstructed. Despite some faults, all in all the direction in this episode was interesting.

The most interesting part was the clever use of formulaic sequence of shots for the testimony of Scarlet, Meow and QT. The structure of their scenes being almost identical is a visual narrative of the prosecution’s similar approach for each witness.

Each scene starts with a medium close-up to full shot of the character to establish them as the primary focus of the scene.

The scene transitions to a split screen as the prosecutor paints Dandy in a negative light by using the witness’s history with him.

When the prosecutor moves on to saying incriminating things about Dandy and getting the witness to do the same, the camera zooms out to a foreground framing shot. This framing puts an emphasis on the dialogue that incriminates Dandy and also the foreground seems to be from his vantage point.

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The quietness from the ending of Episode 24 continues with the intro to this season finale. Although not completely silent since there’s a really soft music that aids the scene, there’s calmness to it that resonate strongly. The show makes exceptional use of silence to contrast the characters’ thoughts with the normalcy of school life.

The intro starts with a brief flashback to show the intensity and excitement of competition. This is to establish where the characters’ minds are at, which is volleyball. The scene conveys the difficulty of letting go of that strong experience (especially after a painful loss) and settling back to the routine of school life. This feeling is further reinforced with the good usage of panning shots. The camera slowly pans not just for dramatic effect but to show a full view of the characters in their classroom and how their class is the farthest thing from their minds. I also liked that in a couple of shots panning was used to create a sense of connection by moving the camera from one team member to another.

The impressive thing about this little sequence is the fluidity and cohesiveness of the combination of imagery, camera movement and editing. The overlaying of the flying crow is analogous to Hinata’s jumping ability. As we watch Hinata get ready to jump/fly the scene dissolves to him sitting in the classroom, conveying the stark reality of the loss. The camera movement and editing is molded into one. The sequence starts with the camera tracking Hinata from behind then dissolves to a graphic match but what makes this so seamless is the push/pull effect that blends really well with the tracking movement. The combination of tracking shot and push/pull also creates a visual of Hinata being transported from flashback to reality.

Tokyo Ghoul Episode 12

This finale heavily used white and red for compositional purposes. White is often associated with purity and good. Red is an intense and eye grabbing color that’s attached to strong emotions, whether they’re positive (love, passion, excitement) or negative (hate, pain, violence). The latter being the representative meaning of red in this episode.

The centered wide shot of Kaneki and Rize gives a strong visual of what each character represents. The white flowers are an imagery of what Kaneki aspires to be, which is kind, pure and caring just like his mother. Rize is the ghoul side of Kaneki that infringes upon this vision of himself and tries to awake his real emotions. This is reinforced by the white flowers turning red within her vicinity.

In Kaneki’s memory sequence about his mother the white and red flower imagery continues to hold significance. In the first shot, the white flowers are symbolic of a happy moment that exemplifies his mother’s kindness. In the second one, the flowers turn red as Kaneki re-experiences the painful memory of his mother dying. These shots also show that imagery can be the point of interest despite being in the background and even out of focus as long as it’s established convincingly.

The overhead shot of Kaneki and Rize in a sea of red flowers is the culmination of long held emotions being released. First of these emotions was the pain of not being chosen by his mother over his aunt and the resentment that came along with it. More importantly the red signifies his choice to be a ghoul and the acceptance of violence for the sake of people he cares for.

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I really liked the way this scene uses circular camera movement. It functions as a way to put more dramatic focus on Kaneki’s anguish and to transition to the horrible vision causing that anguish. The circular movement almost feels like a cycle of pain and misery.

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The use of one point perspective in these shots works in multiples levels. Both shots make Kaneki look distant from what he’s witnessing. It communicates his feeling of helplessness, unable to do anything as he watches his mother get taken advantage of. These shots also isolate him and create a sense of loneliness that stems from his mother’s inability to choose him over anything.

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This episode did a great job of capturing the intense emotions of competition and how sudden that can change to an emotional drop-off after a defeat. Kageyama and Hinata’s conversation with Takeda were especially poignant. It’s a quiet scene that lets the sincerity of the moment sink into the audience.

The above clip is a wide shot of the Takeda conversation. The wide shot gives us a look at the contrasting body language of the characters. Kageyama and Hinata are slumping on the ground sulking while Takeda is standing straight up with a look of poise. It’s an image of difference in maturity that communicates Takeda’s role as a mentor and advisor. Also, notice the large amount of negative space between the characters and above them. This plays into quietness of the scene and its contemplative nature.

This wide shot lingers a bit longer than usual. The longer take allows the audience to absorb the brief pauses where Kageyama and Hinata are lost for words. This is a subdued moment of two young men wordless in their moroseness taking in the words of wisdom of someone they respect.

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The sequence above is another shot that holds a bit longer. Takeda in the middle of the shot framed by Kageyama and Hinata was another way to show his mentorship and stabilizing presence. We then see Kageyama and Hinata stand up, responding to Takeda’s words of encouragement. The camera zooms out for a full shot of Kageyama and Hinata. The change in posture and scale (from wide shot to full shot) are a visual of growth of the two characters.

Space Dandy S2 Episode 11

I really liked the moodiness of the cold intro to this episode and how it uses color and scale to emphasize certain things.

I think the most noticeable thing about this intro was everything is desaturated except for the neon lights outside and the glass of drink. Desaturation combined with strong shadows has a gloomy and somber effect. The use of a few colorful elements for contrast makes this mood even more potent.

In the three images above there’s a slight shallow focus. The glass is slightly out of focus while Dandy is in focus. This helps maintain Dandy as the primary subject of the shot even though the more colorful glass of drink pops more visually.

You’ll notice in the second image that the camera moved in closer to make the glass of drink appear larger. In this intro we never saw the woman Dandy was talking to but by emphasizing the glass of drink we start attaching her voice to it and it becomes her analogue. In the third image (from the same shot as the second), she finishes her drink. The lost of color that took up half of the shot has a certain sadness to it and a clear indication that she’s leaving Dandy.

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Camera movements in the z-axis (push in, pull out and rotational shots) were done to emphasize Dandy and crew’s three dimensional existence and to provide a stark contrast to Paul’s 2-D universe.

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The thought of children being harmed would make anyone feel uneasy. This was exactly the feeling the Aoki interview scene evokes as he reveals the harmful effects of the experiments on the orphans. To create this sense of unnerving tension, the scene uses frame within frame shots and some really odd and unconventional framing to isolate Aoki. This visual isolation was a way to contrast his extremely skewed and inhumane moral values with the more balanced morals of Shibazaki and Hamura.

The first three images break the Rule of Thirds by having Aoki way off to the side of the frame. The unbalanced composition fits the sense of unease the scene was going for. There’s also a sense of isolation and soullessness by having all that empty space in the frame. What makes these shots even more effective is how they contrast with the more balanced framing of Shibazaki.

The last image doesn’t really break the rule but what makes it odd is the lack of nose room. Again, the unbalanced composition reinforces the unnerving content of this interview.

Here’s a couple of frame within frame shots that isolate Aoki. The first one provides the strongest visual of isolation. Aoki is first detached from the other two characters by using the door frame as a line of separation. Then framing him with that little opening completely separates him. Also, notice how this shot only shows Aoki’s side of the patterned door. The way the patterns contrast with everything else draws the audience’s attention to his isolation.

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The Ferris wheel scene uses cool colors (green and blue) to establish a calming intimate moment despite a rather dire situation. Red is usually associated with romance but in this situation it would’ve overly romanticized the scene in an off putting way. The usage of cool colors in an extreme circumstance gives a feeling of emotional and visual balance that complements the way Twelve and Lisa have come into terms with their feelings.