Mushishi Zoku Shou 2nd Season - Episode 10

This episode of Mushishi told a story of a man whose memories and physical being merged with a supernatural tree. The visual narrative sets up the fusion between man and tree with the use of color, tone and space.

These wide shots of Kanta blend him with the color and tone of the woods as if he’s almost part of it. Kanta’s clothing share the same brown color and moderately grey tone that dominate his surroundings. The limited color and tonal separation between Kanta and the woods served as visual foreshadowing of his eventual transformation.

Another thing to note is the use of shafts of light as leading lines. Even though Kanta blends with the environment the leading lines keep the audience’s attention on him

In the scene leading up to Kanta’s fusion with the tree, regression in spatial depth were used in the wide shots to reflect his transformation. The first two wide shots use deep space composition to emulate a three dimensional world. The first accomplishes deep space by having Kanta moving in the z-axis (away from the camera) and the second shot does it differently by using a high camera angle that creates perspective lines (tree stump). As the scene approaches his transformation the sense of depth decreases as evident by the last two shots. These shots have limited spatial depth; strong depth cues that are perspective lines and z-axis movement are gone. Frontal planes (background, mid-ground and foreground) become the main but weaker depth cues. By limiting depth the spatial separation between the tree stump and Kanta decreases and helps create a visual build up of his transformation.

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Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis - The Temptation of Jeanne d'Arc

The temptation of Jeanne d'Arc was strongly told through visual storytelling. The use of light, shadow and other compositional elements painted a picture of a character whose core beliefs are about to be shaken.

In Episode 9 Jeanne was accused of being a witch and imprisoned. In her prison cell she prays to a carving of an angel. The scene then cuts to a canted angle of the angel carving (image above). The canted angle was not only used to produce a sense of unease befitting the scene but also to visually portray Martinet’s attempt to shake her beliefs.

The shot above is the strongest compositional representation of Jeanne’s predicament. In a show about demons and gods, a ray of light can be strongly associated with heavenly beings and a way to portray one as holy and ethereal. Jeanne praying in the dark, separated from the ray of light, conveys the lost of her saintly image and a sense of abandonment by the gods. Of course this imagery reinforces the belief Martinet want to instill into Jeanne.

After Martinet tried to convince Jeanne that she has been betrayed by her fellow humans, the scene goes back to an insert of the angel carving. This was to reinforce her dedication to the gods as a holy knight. Later on this image is used for an opposite effect.

The first picture is another strong composition. Jeanne continues to only face the angel carving as a show of resolve against Martinet’s temptation. The ray of light is acting as a separation between her and Martinet’s darkness. However, the smoke from the transformation spell is distorting the light as if to suggest that her separation from temptation is fragile.  The second image is a low angle and shallow focus shot of the spell bottle. The increase in scale and focus stresses out its importance.

In another attempt to sway Jeanne (by suggesting the angels have abandoned her), the ray of light is further distorted with the use of some spooky shadow puppetry. In the second picture, the scene again goes back to an insert of the angel carving but this time to emphasize Martinet’s insistence that Jeanne has been forsaken by the angels.

This last shot greatly sums up Jeanne’s situation. She has remained resolute in her beliefs but she is shaken and the light separating her from the leering temptation (spell bottle) is faint.

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Episode 10 didn’t quite offer composition and imagery as strong as Episode 9 but continued to use light for visual storytelling

In the scene where Jeanne communicates with the angels (perhaps Martinet’s imitation of them), much of the frame was dominated by the angels in the shape of a fire. This dominance of warm color when removed, as shown in the third picture, creates a contrast that accentuates Jeanne’s feeling of abandonment and betrayal.

Abandoned and cornered, Jeanne finally gives in to Martinet’s temptation and accepts his offer.

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Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) Episode 10

The cold intro was my favorite moment of this episode. As beautiful as the aesthetics of this show can be a times with its vivid imagery and stylistic close-ups, the constant usage can dilute their effect. Low key moments like this cold intro function as a breather from both a visual and pacing standpoint. It’s just a plain scene of two friends having a conversation while walking home from school. This simplicity allows the characters’ actions and dialogue to speak for themselves, such moments can even provide a purer sense of sincerity.

The scene starts with a tracking shot of electric lines as Watari laments his delayed journey to stardom. Then it cuts to panning cutaways of the street. Without even showing the characters the scene establishes what’s happening. We know they’re walking due to the tracking shot and we know their surroundings due to the cutaways. Also, by not showing the characters it slows the scene down for the intended subdued effect.

The characters are finally presented with a use of a tracking shot. A good portion of the dialogue was done with a tracking shot at medium close-up or close-up. I think the intention was to make the audience feel like they’re walking along with the characters, which puts more attention to the dialogue. By engaging the audience this way, the simple act of Watari asking “You still can’t hear?” and Kousei lightly squeezing the music sheet results in a genuine expression of pain.  As we continue to follow these characters, Kousei then stops and expresses his fear of not being able to hear music again. Stopping the tracking shot as the audience follows along is a simple dramatic effect that becomes more impactful when actions and dialogue are the main focus.

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The performance scene was filled with unbalanced shots of characters’ lacking nose/lead room. This type of shot is uncomfortable to look at. When intentionally used, it’s to visually unsettle the audience to complement a distressing scene. The show has used lack of nose/lead room before for this intended effect but the difference in this scene is it was also used in the uplifting part of the performance. I think the use of unbalanced framing throughout the scene was done to reflect Kousei’s sporadic and unsteady performance. I’m not sure if I like this usage, especially during the uplifting part but it’s definitely an interesting take on it.

Unbalanced shots when Kousei’s was struggling with his performance.

Unbalanced shots during the tender and heartfelt part of the performance.

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Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) Episode 8

The camera work used for Takeshi’s and Emi’s performances differed from each other in order to present their differing play style and motives. Even though both share a similar desire to overcome Kousei, their approach was different and the camera work reflected that.

Takeshi’s performance was an exhibition of technical excellence and skill; facets where he’s trying to surpass Kousei. The performance had a confrontational and competitive feel to it. To convey Takeshi’s competitive spirit, much of the camera work were zoom in/push in shots that put more focus and attention on his intense performance.

While Emi’s is also trying to surpass Kousei, her performance was less about competing but more about reaching out to Kousei. She wants the old Kousei back, the one who played with emotions and inspired her to become a performer. Emi is a performer that wears her heart on her sleeves and through this she uses music to send an emotional message to Kousei. This is reflected by the tracking shots used in her performance. The lateral and forward movements of the camera felt like an emulation of Emi’s message travelling through her music. Just like her message to Kousei, her emotions travel and flow and this is expressed by the travelling movement of tracking shots.

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Mushishi Zoku Shou 2nd Season - Episode 5

Mushishi just does simple and subtle composition so well. Upon first viewing it’s unnoticeable but nonetheless effective in telling the story and quite fitting for the understated drama the show is going for.

The shots above are from the dialogue between Ginko and Gen’s father prior to the flashback about the mother. The first shot is a simple off center shot of the two. The camera is angled on them from the right side. This angle conceals the right side of the room and tells the audience to ignore that area. The dialogue progresses to the second shot, where Ginko looks off screen to his right, suggesting that there’s actually something of interest there. It then cuts to a shot of Gen, showing that Ginko knew all along that he was listening from behind that side of room and he means to reveal the truth to him unbeknownst to his father. This sequence is a good example of misdirection (concealing the right side) and redirection (shifting Ginko’s eyeline to the right) to build drama in a subdued manner.

These shots are after the flashback. As you’ll notice in the first shot, the camera is now angled on them from the left side, effectively showing the right side of room (sliding door). By doing so, it now includes Gen into the conversation from behind the sliding door. This also sets up the emotional part of the scene when Gen finally opens that door and pleads his desire to see his mother.

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The intro to this episode was beautifully done. Not only does it build interest in a key story element but also uses it for an elegant wipe transition.

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Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) Episode 6

This show continues to use lateral tracking in interesting ways. There was the Kousei tracking shot in Episode 2. Then, there’s the tracking shot of Tsubaki in Episode 5 that made use of the lateral movement as a wipe transition to a brief flashback.

In these tracking shots both characters lack nose/lead room and the framing is obviously unbalanced. The lack of balance is uncomfortable to look at. For this scene it was meant to be that way in order to convey Tsubaki’s uncomfortable realization that Kaori’s usage of “we” did not include her with Kousei.

Also, notice how the two are framed at opposite sides to each other and in the overlay (third image) of the two shots they’re facing away from each other. The mismatched visuals of the two reflect their incompatibility and Tsubaki’s lack of feelings for him.

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This a more conventional tracking shot but what makes it interesting is the dissolve to a graphic match of the older and younger versions of the characters.  It’s a very pleasing way to create a parallel between the present and past. What I really liked is the contrast between the sunset colors of the “past” shot and the night colors of the “present” shot. As if to suggest that just like the sunset growing to a night, Kousei has grown stronger as a person.

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Blackening most of the background served to put more focus on Tsubaki’s feelings and provided a visual that she’s in a dark and painful place. Keeping the baseline not only functioned as a leading line but it maintained a sense of movement. The single line could also be interpreted as an imagery of Tsubaki’s emotional single-minded thought process, as she repeats “I don’t like this” and “look at me.”

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Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) Episode 5

This episode had many captivating moments that pull you into investing yourself into these characters. These moments were primarily constituted of effective use of unbalanced framing, tight/extreme close ups and timely insert shots.

The Hospital Scene

The mini-flashback starts with an insert shot of Kousei pressing the piano key. This drives the point that he did try playing but still unable to hear his own music. The extreme close up of his eyes is to show him envisioning his performance with Kaori that he wants to recreate. Another insert shot of his finger hitting the key shows how out of reach that moment is. Seeing him repeatedly hitting the key only to just hear a thud adds so much melancholy to this sequence. The extreme close up of his ear is a visual of the sound of the piano not reaching him. All of these insert shots and close ups serve as emotional build up to when it finally cuts to an evocatively sad full-shot of him covering his ears. This last shot is also an unbalanced one (small lead room), which creates a visual of his seclusion from his music.

Also, the camera was shaky and was shifting in and out of focus. The combination of these effects, created an unnerving feeling that emphasized Kousei’s struggle and pain.

The dialogue after the flashback refrained from showing the characters’ full face until the end of scene. This made the dialogue, voice acting and the body language of the characters the main focus. With just the body in view the movements become more expressive. Kaori slightly shifting shows her interest on why Kousei isn’t playing the piano, and Kousei responding with that little shrug expresses discouragement. Again, everything serves as an emotional set-up for the full shot when Kaori asks Kousei if he will be able to forget their performance.

"I won’t forget"

In this sequence insert shots are used in conjunction with a POV tracking shot. This time the shaky cam and shifting of focus worked together to simulate not only Kousei’s running motion but also his excitement. The running footsteps with rainwater splashing, the door bursting open, and the turning of the door knob all culminate to the moment when he looks at his piano with passion in his eyes.

This part of the scene strongly broke the rule of thirds but it worked quite well. The shots framing the characters at the far side provided contrast for the last shot, which is centered. This contrast augmented the importance of the centered shot, where Kaori faints. The use of rays of light as diagonal leading lines also made the far sided shots feel less unbalanced by directing the viewers’ eyes to the subject. Diagonal lines also tend to make a shot feel more dynamic, which fits uplifting feeling of this sequence.

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