Rec: Once Upon a Time picspams + analysis
Oct. 3rd, 2012 10:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marycrawfordSo, I don't know the show Once Upon a Time at all, because I seriously suck at watching things with a plot these days.
But: it's about fairytale people who live in the modern world, in a town called Storybrooke. I know that much because of this fabulous vid thatarduinna and therienne made.
And I am fascinated by the picspamsarduinna is now putting up: They are not hugely spoilery, I think, because they deal with scenery and background things, not so much the plot.
And it turns out that the OUaT crew have been doing amazing things with scenery.
The kind of things that you don't even notice, until you are vidding the show, and pausing endlessly, and running clips at low speeds, and rewatching clips 100 times. Which...normal viewers probably don't do, and yet the showmakers put this coherent, subtle, beautiful motif of trees and flowers and forests in the background of the modern town, in ways that make particular sense for each character. It's stunning when you see it all together like this.
Another favorite fannish analysis of mine is Tom & Lorenzo's thoughts about the period wardrobe in Mad Men, and how it ties in to the character arcs, starting with season two. I haven't been reading that recently, as, guess what, I'm not caught up to Mad Men's current season at all, but I loved their posts on earlier seasons.
(Side note re not being caught up: I am still debating whether to ask for Burn Notice fic for Yuletide or not. I love the show just as much as I did last year. I just, um, haven't caught up at all, as far as I can remember, since last year, which means I'm somewhere in season...three? That might make things awkward for my writer, I fear.)
I wish more shows were this careful and thoughtful about their entire background, wardrobe and styling choices. It's like they are giving the viewer presents to reward them for investing time in the show.
It's a huge contrast to the more usual elements you pick up as a vidder -- shows reusing footage, for example (Granada Sherlock Holmes, as lovely as your street scenery shots are, I'm looking at you).
Or the stunt guys who are so very obviously not the hero, once you pause them.
Or that really very charming shot I found in ST:TOS, I can't remember the episode, but it was one with explosions in it -- and at one point you can see Kirk come in running, sort of come to a stop and then deliberately throw himself on the ground, with the explosion happening just a tad later.
Or shows that reuse scenery elements in ways that are incredibly distracting once you notice them. (Hercules: the Legendary Journeys, not having a huge budget, did this all the damn time, to the point where I started greeting a certain stretch of beach like an old friend. Probably worst of all was the decision to reuse the Sumerian tomb Iolaus was buried in as set dressing for the catwalk in a Widow Twanky episode. Well, worst or most audacious, I'm not sure.)
But: it's about fairytale people who live in the modern world, in a town called Storybrooke. I know that much because of this fabulous vid that
arduinna and therienne made.And I am fascinated by the picspams
arduinna is now putting up: They are not hugely spoilery, I think, because they deal with scenery and background things, not so much the plot. And it turns out that the OUaT crew have been doing amazing things with scenery.
The kind of things that you don't even notice, until you are vidding the show, and pausing endlessly, and running clips at low speeds, and rewatching clips 100 times. Which...normal viewers probably don't do, and yet the showmakers put this coherent, subtle, beautiful motif of trees and flowers and forests in the background of the modern town, in ways that make particular sense for each character. It's stunning when you see it all together like this.
Another favorite fannish analysis of mine is Tom & Lorenzo's thoughts about the period wardrobe in Mad Men, and how it ties in to the character arcs, starting with season two. I haven't been reading that recently, as, guess what, I'm not caught up to Mad Men's current season at all, but I loved their posts on earlier seasons.
(Side note re not being caught up: I am still debating whether to ask for Burn Notice fic for Yuletide or not. I love the show just as much as I did last year. I just, um, haven't caught up at all, as far as I can remember, since last year, which means I'm somewhere in season...three? That might make things awkward for my writer, I fear.)
I wish more shows were this careful and thoughtful about their entire background, wardrobe and styling choices. It's like they are giving the viewer presents to reward them for investing time in the show.
It's a huge contrast to the more usual elements you pick up as a vidder -- shows reusing footage, for example (Granada Sherlock Holmes, as lovely as your street scenery shots are, I'm looking at you).
Or the stunt guys who are so very obviously not the hero, once you pause them.
Or that really very charming shot I found in ST:TOS, I can't remember the episode, but it was one with explosions in it -- and at one point you can see Kirk come in running, sort of come to a stop and then deliberately throw himself on the ground, with the explosion happening just a tad later.
Or shows that reuse scenery elements in ways that are incredibly distracting once you notice them. (Hercules: the Legendary Journeys, not having a huge budget, did this all the damn time, to the point where I started greeting a certain stretch of beach like an old friend. Probably worst of all was the decision to reuse the Sumerian tomb Iolaus was buried in as set dressing for the catwalk in a Widow Twanky episode. Well, worst or most audacious, I'm not sure.)