Week 78: DC's Socials Roundup LEGENDS Edition
Posts from 1 July - 7 July 2024
Week 78 posts were all about Legends of Tomorrow. We looked at a P-POV from “I am Legends” (5.12); a oner and a dolly zoom from “I, Ava” (3.16); and a bit of physical + audio comedy in "A Head of Her Time" (5.04).
If you’re looking for our Homage Smashups (including Mean Girls, The Matrix, Star Wars: A New Hope., and Everything Everywhere All At Once) we gave homages their own roundup — through the magic of time travel, that link will be live tomorrow!
A Head of Her Time
I get not a kick but four of ‘em from this delightfully choreographed moment which uses characters actions and camera move together perfectly, then adds sound effects to drive home that delightful 60s-sitcom energy.
I, Ava
or, Legends of Tomorrow and the Invisible Oner.
This fluid, continuous shot moves from a closeup single, to medium two shot, to a different up-angled two shot, to a brief four-shot as the first two barge through frame, back to a single, all so smoothly you barely clock it as a oner you're still processing everything delivered in that oner when BAM!
the scene transitions (0:55) into a shot where all four characters stack into frame, see an empty portent of doom, then leave just as quickly with a comedy "cane creeps onto stage and pulls off the performer" bit.
Bravisima.
I, Ava
Legends of Tomorrow pulls a delightful dolly-zoom!
The word "bitch" crops up now and again on Legends. Waverider-corporeal-essence Gideon says "we don't use that word on this ship," Ava declares it not-reclaimed, and Spooner finds creative ways and reasons to say it.
When Rory hurls the word at Zari 1.0 . . . well! It justifies a super-dramatic camera move to show JUST how righteously perturbed she is. And what's more dramatic than a dolly zoom?
Especially when accompanying by a sliiiiiiiiiiiding musical sound effect.
I Am Legends
Legends of Tomorrow 5.12 has fun with sideways-framing and canted shot-reverse-shots when Astra tries to get information out of Gary, turning him upside-down and the camera sideways as Astra pushes his tilting table upside-down.
None of the sideways shots are exactly a perpendicular-point-of-view [or P-POV]: there's nothing to motivate those because there's nobody else in the room (well, Gideon, but that's a different story) and there's no barrelling even as Gary and Astra make eye contact.
But the sideways / obtuse angle of Astra at 0:22 has a similar effect to most P-POVs (such as #4 from Spike Lee's CLOCKERS) in that we're put in Gary's disoriented headspace as he gets flipped half-upside-down.
They 'unflip' the angles and the camera drifts back with Astra's retreat, then the scene settles into a more typical shot-reverse-shot for the true moment of emotional reveal and Gary's sympathy about Astra's trauma (though him still strapped to the table and little silent 'oooh right' nod are still pretty funny).
Last, keeping the set mostly muted, wardrobe putting Gary in blue and white while dressing Astra in that all all-fire-engine-red-dress, really makes Astra POP and underscores her fury, but also helps keep us oriented exactly who is where, even when the angles go wonky.