[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

EDIT: Having initially said I agree with el symbols, that reads like a total dismissal of his points. I wasn't trying to undermine technique so much as priorities the areas I think really count at this stage.

i am in a bit of a hurry this morning so i'll just answer quickly

i think we concur for the most part on what the goals are and what's important for this, and we have a similar vision of a desired end result, but we're just approaching it from different points of departure. i think too technique has to be transparent/invisible/out of the way (unless it wants to be visible for a reason) and this show doesn't require vilmos zsigmond or thx sound.

my concern with episode 1 was that i couldn't follow the story "due to technical reasons"-- scenes too dark or muffled audio, for example. there has been a huge improvement on that so now the story comes out much clear and you can watch.

the instances i've pointed out here also interfere with the goal of "transparency"-- when the audio is out of sync you don't hear what the characters say, you hear in your head "oh look, his mouth is moving different".

same thing with shots that aren't eye level. eye level is "invisible." shooting people from above calls attention to the camera angle, so if it the angle has no dramatic purpose it gets on the way.

but there are instances also when simple good technique contributes to the story and that can't be discounted. the over the shoulder shot is a simple basic shot that is not meant to dazzle or astound but simply say "look, these two people are talking", and it's been used well here.

similarly, the low angle on the jerkoff scene puts the plastic dick at the forefront-- that's the right angle for it, of course! that and the closeups of its plastic hole-- sure teh story of "there's this chick jerking off this dude and she points his dick at his face in spite of his warming" has the potentioal for humor but the right shots are what makes this actually hilarious-- the story is told in pictures after all.

i'll get to the writing later though... now i gotta run!