The Transcribing of the Traumatic Adventures of Dr. John, Doorkicker, Smiley, and The Redshirt.
As you may or may not know, I'm kind of obsessive about backstory. And, as you may also know, all we really learn about John's military service is given to us in a grand total of twenty seconds of montage. Well, that and him getting shot and stuff. So, I did the same thing that I did when I was trying to figure out how much it hurts when Azkadellia's magical breast bats fly out and made a vid just to try and figure out the motivation for putting mobats in your boobs, aka I GOT KIND OF OBSESSIVE.
What did I do this time? Why, I went and watched the montage as close to frame-by-frame that I could get! I went through 20 seconds of footage for over half an hour and then spent even more time writing notes and making blocking diagrams and trying to put the scenes together in an understandable sequence! Hooray! What an excellent use of time!
1. Red Shirt has a machine gun, behind a sandbag barricade. By "redshirt" I mean he's wearing a bright red t-shirt beneath his vest. BRIGHT red. Redshirt seems to be shooting at a nearby bunker to the right, but due to being one of the VERY few desert scenes it's very difficult to make out. Viewpoint suggests John's directly behind him.
2. Man using a rocket launcher! Again, greenery. Viewpoint suggests John's pretty far off. Too fast and blurry to tell if the man's for or against the dear doctor.
3. In a tight opening, dirt walls on either side (possibly cave, possibly between mudpack buildings, possibly carved crevice in a hill or something?) behind a soldier, possibly with a radio on his back (antennae backpack). Viewpoint makes it pretty clear that John's being protected.
4. Battle with a definite distant explosion, probably planted explosion; past a treeline. Multiple soldiers shown in front of John!camera, the two furthest from John!camera seem to have a not-completely-normal uniform?
5. Doorkicking! Redshirt is behind Doorkicker, who seems pretty badass when he kicks down the bright green door which has some metal inlay that looks a bit like a horizontal ladder. John!camera is to Mr. Doorkicker's left.
6. This is the first glimpse of The Big Battle. Six soldiers shown situated behind a wall. NOW WITH EXTRA BLOCKING DIAGRAM!
"?" seems to be trying to get John's head back in the game, but that's just my interpretation. Also, the "medic?" could just be a soldier trying to talk about his feelings or something.
7. Attacked by another guy with a rocket launcher! Hooray for loud explosives!
8. A gun of some kind is firing; only see barrel.
9. Soldier immediately in front of John!camera is sitting in the brush, signaling first forward and then back. John!camera looks to the side to see two other soldiers. The one furthest from John!camera (to the right of the soldier to J!c's right) is firing a (you guessed it!) machine gun, while the soldier to J!c's right smiles at J!c. Smiley then begins shooting. Smiley then gets shot and falls in front of J!c. Aww, Smiley. :(
10. RUNNING!!1! Men are attacking from behind walls to the right. John!camera and the soldier in front of him are running around/out of/away from some kind of earth wall. This is probably the sequence which follows #3.
11. More shooting in the grass! The soldier John!camera is looking at is situated above him (as if John!camera fell down), and possibly has a moustache, huzzah!
12. Why look, it's the face of John Watson in his helmet, eyes shut and breathing hard with his hands over his ears! That, or he's really really bad at removing his helmet. Looks pretty freaked out. NOT John! Communications guy with a radio he is using! Still looks pretty freaked out and breathing hard, though. Thank you, sunnyringo!
13. Shooting in the grass with such terrible cover that it makes me wince, augh. Soldier to the front-left of John!camera, with no visible enemy.
14. The blur of John!camera providing medical assistance! Very blurry.
15. Dead man on the other side of a machine gun. Possibly Smiley. :(
16. Once again, The Big Battle. I need someone else's opinion and ability to headcount on this bit since everyone moves around so much and John!camera's awfully unsteady; I got everything between 10 and 13 soldiers not including John!camera. AGAIN WITH THE BLOCKING:
The blocking only shows where they are when the character is first seen via John!camera. With the rate of movement in both camera and characters, it's probably really really inaccurate for that thin sliver of time we get. Stupid shaky-cam. :/
17. Running through grass! The guy in front of John!camera goes down, assumably shot. John!camera's helmet is askew (you get to see that little bit of his helmet that is meant to go over his ear on the left side of the camera). It looks like John!camera tries to save the soldier who was in front of him; John!camera definitely crouches down, at least. Helmet askew suggests this is after Watson's helmet panic in 12.
18. WAKING UP, GASP!
Also, everyone's white.
ETA: #12 is NOT John, and is in fact a radio guy (probably the same one seen in #3 and therefore probably #10 as well), but because this took me a hell of a long time, I am keeping it as the same sequences.
SEQUENCES THAT MAKE SENSE TO ME:
5 -> 6 -> 16 (doorkick -> Big Battle Sequence #1, since I think it might be on top of the building or the door seen in -> Big Battle Sequence #2 might lead from the building.)
9 -> 15 -> 11 -> 12 -> 13 -> 17 -> 14 (Brush signalling and The Death of Smiley -> Dead Smiley frames -> guy with a moustache shooting above John!camera -> John freaking out on the ground, since he fell down in the previous sceneRADIOMAN -> horrible horrible cover while shooting in the grass some more -> running through the grass when the soldier in front of him (assumably moustache man) is shot -> the blur of medical assistance!)
So, this gives me 1-> 2-> 5-> (3 -> 10; assuming John came in another way and the rough dirt walls are the house, which explains Redshirt's disappearance and the lack of indoor footage)6 -> 16 -> 8 -> 7 -> (unseen evacuation of Big Battle Place, with it assumably blowing up in 4, leads to) 9-> 15 -> 11 -> 12 -> 13 -> 17 -> 14.
...I would transcribe all of that but that'd take a while and it's nearly 1AM.
Anyway, that is my interpretation of Dr. John's Traumatic Military Adventure Montage. The end.
What did I do this time? Why, I went and watched the montage as close to frame-by-frame that I could get! I went through 20 seconds of footage for over half an hour and then spent even more time writing notes and making blocking diagrams and trying to put the scenes together in an understandable sequence! Hooray! What an excellent use of time!
1. Red Shirt has a machine gun, behind a sandbag barricade. By "redshirt" I mean he's wearing a bright red t-shirt beneath his vest. BRIGHT red. Redshirt seems to be shooting at a nearby bunker to the right, but due to being one of the VERY few desert scenes it's very difficult to make out. Viewpoint suggests John's directly behind him.
2. Man using a rocket launcher! Again, greenery. Viewpoint suggests John's pretty far off. Too fast and blurry to tell if the man's for or against the dear doctor.
3. In a tight opening, dirt walls on either side (possibly cave, possibly between mudpack buildings, possibly carved crevice in a hill or something?) behind a soldier, possibly with a radio on his back (antennae backpack). Viewpoint makes it pretty clear that John's being protected.
4. Battle with a definite distant explosion, probably planted explosion; past a treeline. Multiple soldiers shown in front of John!camera, the two furthest from John!camera seem to have a not-completely-normal uniform?
5. Doorkicking! Redshirt is behind Doorkicker, who seems pretty badass when he kicks down the bright green door which has some metal inlay that looks a bit like a horizontal ladder. John!camera is to Mr. Doorkicker's left.
6. This is the first glimpse of The Big Battle. Six soldiers shown situated behind a wall. NOW WITH EXTRA BLOCKING DIAGRAM!
"?" seems to be trying to get John's head back in the game, but that's just my interpretation. Also, the "medic?" could just be a soldier trying to talk about his feelings or something.
7. Attacked by another guy with a rocket launcher! Hooray for loud explosives!
8. A gun of some kind is firing; only see barrel.
9. Soldier immediately in front of John!camera is sitting in the brush, signaling first forward and then back. John!camera looks to the side to see two other soldiers. The one furthest from John!camera (to the right of the soldier to J!c's right) is firing a (you guessed it!) machine gun, while the soldier to J!c's right smiles at J!c. Smiley then begins shooting. Smiley then gets shot and falls in front of J!c. Aww, Smiley. :(
10. RUNNING!!1! Men are attacking from behind walls to the right. John!camera and the soldier in front of him are running around/out of/away from some kind of earth wall. This is probably the sequence which follows #3.
11. More shooting in the grass! The soldier John!camera is looking at is situated above him (as if John!camera fell down), and possibly has a moustache, huzzah!
12. Why look, it's the face of John Watson in his helmet, eyes shut and breathing hard with his hands over his ears! That, or he's really really bad at removing his helmet. Looks pretty freaked out. NOT John! Communications guy with a radio he is using! Still looks pretty freaked out and breathing hard, though. Thank you, sunnyringo!
13. Shooting in the grass with such terrible cover that it makes me wince, augh. Soldier to the front-left of John!camera, with no visible enemy.
14. The blur of John!camera providing medical assistance! Very blurry.
15. Dead man on the other side of a machine gun. Possibly Smiley. :(
16. Once again, The Big Battle. I need someone else's opinion and ability to headcount on this bit since everyone moves around so much and John!camera's awfully unsteady; I got everything between 10 and 13 soldiers not including John!camera. AGAIN WITH THE BLOCKING:
The blocking only shows where they are when the character is first seen via John!camera. With the rate of movement in both camera and characters, it's probably really really inaccurate for that thin sliver of time we get. Stupid shaky-cam. :/
17. Running through grass! The guy in front of John!camera goes down, assumably shot. John!camera's helmet is askew (you get to see that little bit of his helmet that is meant to go over his ear on the left side of the camera). It looks like John!camera tries to save the soldier who was in front of him; John!camera definitely crouches down, at least. Helmet askew suggests this is after Watson's helmet panic in 12.
18. WAKING UP, GASP!
Also, everyone's white.
ETA: #12 is NOT John, and is in fact a radio guy (probably the same one seen in #3 and therefore probably #10 as well), but because this took me a hell of a long time, I am keeping it as the same sequences.
SEQUENCES THAT MAKE SENSE TO ME:
5 -> 6 -> 16 (doorkick -> Big Battle Sequence #1, since I think it might be on top of the building or the door seen in -> Big Battle Sequence #2 might lead from the building.)
9 -> 15 -> 11 -> 12 -> 13 -> 17 -> 14 (Brush signalling and The Death of Smiley -> Dead Smiley frames -> guy with a moustache shooting above John!camera -> John freaking out on the ground, since he fell down in the previous sceneRADIOMAN -> horrible horrible cover while shooting in the grass some more -> running through the grass when the soldier in front of him (assumably moustache man) is shot -> the blur of medical assistance!)
So, this gives me 1-> 2-> 5-> (3 -> 10; assuming John came in another way and the rough dirt walls are the house, which explains Redshirt's disappearance and the lack of indoor footage)6 -> 16 -> 8 -> 7 -> (unseen evacuation of Big Battle Place, with it assumably blowing up in 4, leads to) 9-> 15 -> 11 -> 12 -> 13 -> 17 -> 14.
...I would transcribe all of that but that'd take a while and it's nearly 1AM.
Anyway, that is my interpretation of Dr. John's Traumatic Military Adventure Montage. The end.