Day is Done
It's such a bittersweet time now that the end of filming for QAF has arrived. It seems a natural time for retrospection and so I find myself wanting to discuss a few things. One of the aspects of this show that doesn't seem to get much attention is the art direction or cinematography. Now I'm not totally clear on whether these are one and the same or two separate things - and please feel free to enlighten me on this - but there have been some scenes over the course of the past four seasons that are absolutely beautiful from a purely visual perspective.
My all time favourite is the entire pre-scarfing scene from 122, the part underscored with 'Happy Feet' and intercut with Michael's going away party. The beautiful honeyed tones of the shots with Brian lying on the floor and opening the scarf box are absolutely delicious. Gale seems to glow from within.
Another is the opening scene from 313 which has Brian in silhouette against the livingroom window. The interaction of the soft blues with the hard lines of the martini glass and gah! it's everything about it. The lighting and the enhanced sound effect of the cigarette burning and the sirens in the background. Pure magic.
The third one that I can think of off the top of my head is from 401. It's a brief distance shot through the rain of Michael framed in the doorway of the motel he and Hunter are staying at. Beautiful.
Not only will I miss these characters that I have come to care so much about, I will miss the excellence we have seen in the actual fabric of the show itself. Never before have I really paid attention to the 'behind the scenes' people associated with a TV show but I will rememeber the names of Michael Perlmutter and Patrick Antosh and Ingrid Jurek when I think of QAF. Because of this show I now have a better sense of the impact a director has upon the finished results. Love him or hate him, I will recognise Bruce McDonald's work when I see it again and because I live in Canada I.will.see.it.again.LOL.
In rereading the above I realise I've rambled about, talking about QAF but without a specific point to make but I guess that's in keeping with my feelings about this, what, this end of an era. It's over in one sense and yet we still have an entire season awaiting our viewing and it's left me feeling kind of out of sorts about the whole thing. It's done and yet it's not.
My all time favourite is the entire pre-scarfing scene from 122, the part underscored with 'Happy Feet' and intercut with Michael's going away party. The beautiful honeyed tones of the shots with Brian lying on the floor and opening the scarf box are absolutely delicious. Gale seems to glow from within.
Another is the opening scene from 313 which has Brian in silhouette against the livingroom window. The interaction of the soft blues with the hard lines of the martini glass and gah! it's everything about it. The lighting and the enhanced sound effect of the cigarette burning and the sirens in the background. Pure magic.
The third one that I can think of off the top of my head is from 401. It's a brief distance shot through the rain of Michael framed in the doorway of the motel he and Hunter are staying at. Beautiful.
Not only will I miss these characters that I have come to care so much about, I will miss the excellence we have seen in the actual fabric of the show itself. Never before have I really paid attention to the 'behind the scenes' people associated with a TV show but I will rememeber the names of Michael Perlmutter and Patrick Antosh and Ingrid Jurek when I think of QAF. Because of this show I now have a better sense of the impact a director has upon the finished results. Love him or hate him, I will recognise Bruce McDonald's work when I see it again and because I live in Canada I.will.see.it.again.LOL.
In rereading the above I realise I've rambled about, talking about QAF but without a specific point to make but I guess that's in keeping with my feelings about this, what, this end of an era. It's over in one sense and yet we still have an entire season awaiting our viewing and it's left me feeling kind of out of sorts about the whole thing. It's done and yet it's not.