Week 25.07 - Socials Roundup
Posts from 10 Feb - 16 Feb 2025
Week 25.07 posts include shots from Arcane (2021-2024) using split diopters and making heart shapes; Dr. No (1962); Severance (2022-current); and Nope (2022).
Dr. No
H/T to Damon for this scene, which reminds us how important sound mixing is to every shot . . . which is to say, some more important than others.
When Professor Dent (Anthony Dawson) arrives at Dr. No's island, there are boat engine noises, then industrial and construction noises, all around. But when he walks into a waiting room suddenly . . . nothing. Instead of silence seeming peaceful, the contrast — along with the 'unknown' and a wide looming shot of a room empty of all but a single chair — is ominous.
More lovely details include the orange-and-teal contrasting industrial piping and natural ocean and sky, then Dent's white suit which 'pops' him against both; how the motion tracks Dent left, left, left, when he's in the open then right once he starts heading inside; the slow dolly in (which goes on for the whole conversation, creeping closer and closer!); and the spider-web-looking shadows which foreshadow the deadly spider Dent will be 'assigned' at the scene's end.
Arcane
Arcane 2.04 "Paint the Town Blue" and 2.05 "Blisters and Bedrock" use a split diopter effect to show us one character in the foreground and one (or two) far behind them. It even draws in the 'blur' which comes with a physical split-focus-lens!
Severance
Longer practical breakdown coming soon (haaaaave you subscribed to our Substack?) but for now enjoy the spoiler-less majesty of this 70 second opening of Severance 2.03 "Who Is Alive?"
A wonderful cut-on-action from ultra-wide to closeup, eight never-reused angles, and great use of one (huge) key light source.
Arcane
We continue our Valentines Day tradition of 'characters making the shape of hearts with their bodies' with this series of Viktor and Jayce from the Arcane finale:
Nope
Nope uses a "hiding in plain sight" technique in its creepy barn sequence.
The hiding spot of [REDACTED] is shown *twice* before its slow reveal, with movement drawing our eye. It’s dark, shadowy, and — importantly — the silhouettes are indistinct, as dark fur obscures their exact shapes. Meanwhile, the proportions of their heads are familiar but also . . . not.
Like Otis Jr, we have to strain our eyes to make them out, and it keeps us riveted. Creepy, creepy horror magic.