1.18 This eyebrow twitch back and forth? Is VERY CLOSE to being my favourite thing in the whole entire vid. The first time I watched it (without subtitles) I was just all squeeeeeeeeeee and I could follow exactly this narrative. It's a great whole sequence, of course, showing how Lee had stored up anger and feelings that explode out of him--both with Sharon and with Kara. 'my heart was in shadow' is PERFECT!
OMG, 'climbing over the walls of this pride isn't easy'!! More flaaaaaaaaaiiiil: AMAZING line for him! And you show us how much it took for him to come back from his anger and jealousy to a place of gentle attempt to connect with Kara and tell her he in fact loved her ...
1.43-1.48 This is a fabulous sequence with Shevon! The shot that makes it all click for me is this one of Lee holding his neck and looking confused ... like 'how did this come about?' and the feeling I get is of him tying his own noose ... it's a great metaphor! Because of course he walks into this mess, he creates it, and he's so blind in it really.
2.13 Beautiful sequence to end in this shot of Lee returning to life! The looks of relief from Roslin (and Lee) are so gorgeous. I'm glad you let us linger on them.
2.20 This line of bad memory and nasty temper is adorable! :) I probably shouldn't find it so but I do. ;) I love the delivery of the singer... as if he is just stating the truth and not apologising, but not defending himself either. It's very very Lee.
2.24 'I don't know anyone who's not right' Hahaha, this again cracks me up!! :) Especially with Gaius's hilarious reaction shot there! :) It's a great line to explore about Lee and it fits perfectly for this time when he defends the rights of 'anyone' (Gaius). Although it is amusing, it's also a reflection of Lee's deep nature--that he can hold opposing truths in his mind at the same time, that he can wrestle with contradictions, and he senses something deeper beneath 'right' and 'wrong', 'black' and 'white'.
2.31 Love the timing on the handclasp!! :) A beautiful shot to use here!
2.39 Another bit that makes me giggle (fondly) is this moment of Lee stuffing his face and Dualla annoyedly trying to get him to move his leg to get some papers. Juxtaposed with this line about being 'aware' it just cracks me up. Yeah, Lee... you're doing your best to stuff yourself full of crap to AVOID being AWARE of ANYTHING. :p :p :p
2.42 FAVOURITE BIT IS FAVOURITE!!!!! :D OMG, his adorable little wince at her falling over!! The Wince of Love!!! :) And the way it's timed to this line of 'no ANGEL' (but it sounds much better in Russian!) just makes little fireworks of joy go off inside me!! And the transition to this very sincere 'he's just the way he is' marvelling at Kara, where we can see Lee's love, acceptance and reverence for her, is delightful and perfect (I will overuse the word perfect!)
2.51 Eee, great visual juxtaposition of the wings and his actual viper. The sense of 'returning' is then so beautiful in the sequence that follows.
I love how you show the whole messy beauty of things in this vid... it shows some of the most painful parts of BSG universe but there's a feeling of reconciling oneself wryly to them... and it fits so well for Lee because that's the journey he's on. Learning to live with the ups and huge downs... his marriage ending, winding up on opposing sides of the courtroom from Laura, for instance.
3.13-3.22 I love these walking shots! Lee walking beside Adama (after having been in opposition) and then panning out to see that Kara also walks beside them... it's gorgeous! And fits with this theme of 'I will be back' (despite 'saying goodbye') and I walk with you in this crazy journey.
1.18 This eyebrow twitch back and forth? Is VERY CLOSE to being my favourite
Hee. Glad you approve! It was a pleasure to show and _feel_ this confusion and anger in his physical threatening directed at Sharon and Kara. And yeah... I love that close-up, playing with it seemed appropriate with this "Well, I'm sorry!"(but you brought this on yourself!" kind of line)).
OMG, 'climbing over the walls of this pride isn't easy'!! More flaaaaaaaaaiiiil
Bring on the sarcasm! :) :) :) That's what those lyrics begged to make of them. It's an interesting compromise between the seriousness of the claim and the biting humor.
The shot that makes it all click for me is this one of Lee holding his neck and looking confused ...
Thanks for reading this! As I mentioned before - the shot of Lee touching his neck with an "I don't know why it hurts and why I'm suddenly in the middle of all this shit" expression is key to the whole sequence...) I don't have to show how he was being strangled for us to _feel_ it through the shot you know? The disorientation and all. And yeah I wanna shake him and say: "I'm sorry sweetie but this shouldn't be THIS surprising to you!")))) He's such a fool there. Trying desperately to make sense of things and still not quite reaching that level of awareness yet. I love it! So human! :)
I love the delivery of the singer... as if he is just stating the truth and not apologising, but not defending himself either. It's very very Lee.
Exactly. This is very Lee :) The "bad memory" ting cracks me up!)))
Although it is amusing, it's also a reflection of Lee's deep nature--that he can hold opposing truths in his mind at the same time, that he can wrestle with contradictions, and he senses something deeper
The amusing thing for me is how Baltar just physically can't stand the freedom and outward nonchalance with which Lee's talking about his life and death, him being guilty or not. He just jumps, off his seat and away... to the other corner of the room. Literally! It's sooo showing!)) Of his reaction... and people's in general. Love it!
You know even in the third episode of S1 some viewers were accusing Lee of not having his own opinion or a firm position to defend and argue in defense for. To me this "anyone who isn't right" line is probably the deepest truths of all in the whole video when I start thinking of it seriously. What's "being right" as a concept, as an idea anyway??? Who is this person or group of people who define what is legitemately wrong or right? It tackles how much people identify themselves with some dead fixated "truths" and fight for them madly like it's a matter of honor whereas the whole thing is just bullshit inside their heads anyway. They give it importance and it GETS important. And real. For them. Lee is a very uncomfortable person to be around or just watch because he's flexible and he questions things. From the first sight it may seem like there's lack of character strength in it, but actually it's a sign of some innate wisdom, readiness to experiment and see what comes of it. And people are genearallly uncomfortable when they see some character who's not rigidly defined in his or her beliefs and more than that - starts asking "stupid" questions. It gets interpreted as weakness or conformism, spinelessness. I associate this trait with "transparency" so to speak... he has moments when he's not directly opposed to anything or fighting FOR anything, he's kind of floating... and in those - tuth has a tendency to come out and surprise even him. And it's so vibrant and life-like!.. even if unpleasant sometimes. :)
playing with it seemed appropriate with this "Well, I'm sorry!"(but you brought this on yourself!" kind of line)). Hahaha, yeah that's it exactly! it's one of those 'sorry's that immediately get undermined by explaining WHY. ;p There's that edge of defiance in it!
"I'm sorry sweetie but this shouldn't be THIS surprising to you!")))) Yeah, that's the feeling I get in response EXACTLY and it totally charms me. Actually makes me love him even more while also really seeing this quite extreme blindness and naivety here. Very very human. That's the thing, he WAS trying to find meaning and sort through things in Black Market... he was just really deep in confusion. And I still struggle to understand why more people can't see and relate to that--after all, aren't so many of us pretty blind but wellmeaning in life?
The delivery of the singer is AMAZING. It makes me want to learn the Russian so I can sing along because the intonation is soooo addictively good. I can feel his biting humour (with deep truth underneath) so strongly.
how Baltar just physically can't stand the freedom and outward nonchalance with which Lee's talking about his life and death Hahaha, yeah... they were the hugest contrast to each other. And it makes me remember how much I loved another shot of Baltar from that period, in the courtroom when he just stares TOTALLY AGHAST and DESPAIRING at Lee. Like 'who the fuck is this lunatic defending me?' When I was all 'no youuuuuuu're the madman here!!' But yeah, it's such a classic reaction of recoiling! :D :D
"anyone who isn't right" line is probably the deepest truths of all in the whole video *nods* It was the line that REALLY got me thinking a lot in response to it ... Others like the 'God' line were just a total recognition and JOY at seeing it expressed and then joyfully feeling its different layers of resonance. But this one made me really start thinking--and I think it's so rare to find a lyric that can express something like this, about this subtle but fundamental nature of Lee's. And you uncover something critical about him. Then, as you say, it really changes us to ask 'well how DO we determine who is right?' And suddenly from being a joke it starts to seem like maybe Lee is the one who has hit the nail on the head instead. What's amazing though is that although he DOES feel that--is able to see multiple sides of situations--it doesn't paralyse him: at least not most of the time ;). He does listen to his own internal wisdom. But even when he argues for a certain viewpoint, I always feel like if someone proved to him that something else was right and he really felt that, he would change his mind. We SEE him change his mind sometimes. We see him listen to things and be swayed... and I like seeing it! Because I hate, hate, hate that human trait of clinging to some belief at all costs out of ego. What's so bad about expanding or changing your mind? And saying 'hey maybe I was wrong after this, or you are more right here'?
But those floating moments you discuss--yeah... I hadn't thought of it exactly like that but it's true and very rare to have portrayed in television where writers like to have characters neatly opposed to each other so viewers can follow. :p But to broaden out from television those 'floating' moments of suspending our previously held beliefs and opening to different possibilities are so beautiful and important... what makes personal and collective transformation possible. AMAZING!!! I just revel in your ability to show such a subtlety in a vid. It renews my faith in vids as a medium for expressing truths and beauty and something original!
When Lee eats himself silly and keeps complaining about stuff which annoys Dee to no end?)))... it makes me laugh too every time!))) But then there's a shot with Doral who puts a bottle of juice in front of this guy they're trying to force to cooperate in a detention center by pointing out how humans and cylons could work together on plantations to produce this very juice etc etc. And the contrast is so huge... that it kind of makes me stop for a second and go - It's not funny at all, Lee... you're just totally clueless right now what it's like for them down there... but your inner drama is so huge that of course it's more important right now. All consuming. So much that in physically manifests itself). Again - human nature in this "scenery" slays and captivates me.
Ed also pointed out that the juice shot and the shot of Lee eating reflect that both are forms of deception, one internal, one external coming from the literal enemy and I think it's what I was aiming for to show too.
The "awareness" bit is where I tried to visually think of this irony that Lee tends to always be the last one to find out the news you know? And there's some simmetry to his character traits in it too. Like a test. You get blunt facts as the last person in line and it kind of challenges you to deal with new information in a shorter amount of time. Not just when Adama plans to kill Cain... but in this amazing "Kara got married" scene too)). And then it's also a sign of Lee's blindness when it comes to closest people. His own desires blind him... with Roslin... and even in Maelstrom. And he's unable to sense some extra anxiety or some unpleasant reality that has always been there he just prefered to ignore (with Laura)... or it just takes him a long time to start trusting his intuitive feeling that something's seriously wrong with this other person he cares so much about (Kara). But he's a step too late. And then he gets offended like a kid that nobody warned him... but part of the truth is he also played a role in paving a way to this "unfairness". :) Oh Lee! :)
"God is not an Angel"... yeah. I'll spare you having to listen to me rambling about this one. I could talk about it for ages I think. It's a personal favorite in the song for me too. And it rings true on too many levels to name! I'm very glad you enjoy seeing this bit as it turned out to be in the finale version! :) It's actually the first scene I had a clear vision for in the whole video from the get-go. The vid was basically born out of it :)
When Lee eats himself silly and keeps complaining about stuff which annoys Dee to no end?)))... it makes me laugh too every time!))) Haha, yeah! That bit! It really cracks me up. :) But omg, what a great insight from Ed about the internal and external threat, and yeah, you twist the knife reminding us of the reality Lee is ignoring. It also shows what it takes to block so much--he can't just do it mentally, he has to really use something (food) to keep numbing himself.
I'd thought of Lee's blindness about people closest to him, but yes... you're right, he often falls into this 'last to know' trap too. And it's very painful but he doesn't see how much of it is self-created also. A step too late ... yes, that's it exactly.
I'll spare you having to listen to me rambling about this one. BUT THIS IS THE ONE I LOVE BEST!!!! I'll just pester you about it elsewhere. :p
In the final version I can *feel* how it is the central kernel. At least it works that way for me also. (and come to think about it as the last 'gem' we receive from the singer before the final refrain it is also framed that way in the original song) So yeah... I can feel the vid being born out of it.
OMG, 'climbing over the walls of this pride isn't easy'!! More flaaaaaaaaaiiiil: AMAZING line for him! And you show us how much it took for him to come back from his anger and jealousy to a place of gentle attempt to connect with Kara and tell her he in fact loved her ...
1.43-1.48
This is a fabulous sequence with Shevon! The shot that makes it all click for me is this one of Lee holding his neck and looking confused ... like 'how did this come about?' and the feeling I get is of him tying his own noose ... it's a great metaphor! Because of course he walks into this mess, he creates it, and he's so blind in it really.
2.13
Beautiful sequence to end in this shot of Lee returning to life! The looks of relief from Roslin (and Lee) are so gorgeous. I'm glad you let us linger on them.
2.20 This line of bad memory and nasty temper is adorable! :) I probably shouldn't find it so but I do. ;) I love the delivery of the singer... as if he is just stating the truth and not apologising, but not defending himself either. It's very very Lee.
2.24 'I don't know anyone who's not right'
Hahaha, this again cracks me up!! :) Especially with Gaius's hilarious reaction shot there! :) It's a great line to explore about Lee and it fits perfectly for this time when he defends the rights of 'anyone' (Gaius). Although it is amusing, it's also a reflection of Lee's deep nature--that he can hold opposing truths in his mind at the same time, that he can wrestle with contradictions, and he senses something deeper beneath 'right' and 'wrong', 'black' and 'white'.
2.31 Love the timing on the handclasp!! :) A beautiful shot to use here!
2.39 Another bit that makes me giggle (fondly) is this moment of Lee stuffing his face and Dualla annoyedly trying to get him to move his leg to get some papers. Juxtaposed with this line about being 'aware' it just cracks me up. Yeah, Lee... you're doing your best to stuff yourself full of crap to AVOID being AWARE of ANYTHING. :p :p :p
2.42 FAVOURITE BIT IS FAVOURITE!!!!! :D
OMG, his adorable little wince at her falling over!! The Wince of Love!!! :) And the way it's timed to this line of 'no ANGEL' (but it sounds much better in Russian!) just makes little fireworks of joy go off inside me!! And the transition to this very sincere 'he's just the way he is' marvelling at Kara, where we can see Lee's love, acceptance and reverence for her, is delightful and perfect (I will overuse the word perfect!)
2.51 Eee, great visual juxtaposition of the wings and his actual viper. The sense of 'returning' is then so beautiful in the sequence that follows.
I love how you show the whole messy beauty of things in this vid... it shows some of the most painful parts of BSG universe but there's a feeling of reconciling oneself wryly to them... and it fits so well for Lee because that's the journey he's on. Learning to live with the ups and huge downs... his marriage ending, winding up on opposing sides of the courtroom from Laura, for instance.
3.13-3.22
I love these walking shots! Lee walking beside Adama (after having been in opposition) and then panning out to see that Kara also walks beside them... it's gorgeous! And fits with this theme of 'I will be back' (despite 'saying goodbye') and I walk with you in this crazy journey.
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Hee. Glad you approve! It was a pleasure to show and _feel_ this confusion and anger in his physical threatening directed at Sharon and Kara. And yeah... I love that close-up, playing with it seemed appropriate with this "Well, I'm sorry!"(but you brought this on yourself!" kind of line)).
OMG, 'climbing over the walls of this pride isn't easy'!! More flaaaaaaaaaiiiil
Bring on the sarcasm! :) :) :) That's what those lyrics begged to make of them. It's an interesting compromise between the seriousness of the claim and the biting humor.
The shot that makes it all click for me is this one of Lee holding his neck and looking confused ...
Thanks for reading this! As I mentioned before - the shot of Lee touching his neck with an "I don't know why it hurts and why I'm suddenly in the middle of all this shit" expression is key to the whole sequence...) I don't have to show how he was being strangled for us to _feel_ it through the shot you know? The disorientation and all. And yeah I wanna shake him and say: "I'm sorry sweetie but this shouldn't be THIS surprising to you!")))) He's such a fool there. Trying desperately to make sense of things and still not quite reaching that level of awareness yet. I love it! So human! :)
I love the delivery of the singer... as if he is just stating the truth and not apologising, but not defending himself either. It's very very Lee.
Exactly. This is very Lee :) The "bad memory" ting cracks me up!)))
Although it is amusing, it's also a reflection of Lee's deep nature--that he can hold opposing truths in his mind at the same time, that he can wrestle with contradictions, and he senses something deeper
The amusing thing for me is how Baltar just physically can't stand the freedom and outward nonchalance with which Lee's talking about his life and death, him being guilty or not. He just jumps, off his seat and away... to the other corner of the room. Literally! It's sooo showing!)) Of his reaction... and people's in general. Love it!
You know even in the third episode of S1 some viewers were accusing Lee of not having his own opinion or a firm position to defend and argue in defense for. To me this "anyone who isn't right" line is probably the deepest truths of all in the whole video when I start thinking of it seriously. What's "being right" as a concept, as an idea anyway??? Who is this person or group of people who define what is legitemately wrong or right? It tackles how much people identify themselves with some dead fixated "truths" and fight for them madly like it's a matter of honor whereas the whole thing is just bullshit inside their heads anyway. They give it importance and it GETS important. And real. For them. Lee is a very uncomfortable person to be around or just watch because he's flexible and he questions things. From the first sight it may seem like there's lack of character strength in it, but actually it's a sign of some innate wisdom, readiness to experiment and see what comes of it. And people are genearallly uncomfortable when they see some character who's not rigidly defined in his or her beliefs and more than that - starts asking "stupid" questions. It gets interpreted as weakness or conformism, spinelessness. I associate this trait with "transparency" so to speak... he has moments when he's not directly opposed to anything or fighting FOR anything, he's kind of floating... and in those - tuth has a tendency to come out and surprise even him. And it's so vibrant and life-like!.. even if unpleasant sometimes. :)
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Hahaha, yeah that's it exactly! it's one of those 'sorry's that immediately get undermined by explaining WHY. ;p There's that edge of defiance in it!
"I'm sorry sweetie but this shouldn't be THIS surprising to you!"))))
Yeah, that's the feeling I get in response EXACTLY and it totally charms me. Actually makes me love him even more while also really seeing this quite extreme blindness and naivety here. Very very human. That's the thing, he WAS trying to find meaning and sort through things in Black Market... he was just really deep in confusion. And I still struggle to understand why more people can't see and relate to that--after all, aren't so many of us pretty blind but wellmeaning in life?
The delivery of the singer is AMAZING. It makes me want to learn the Russian so I can sing along because the intonation is soooo addictively good. I can feel his biting humour (with deep truth underneath) so strongly.
how Baltar just physically can't stand the freedom and outward nonchalance with which Lee's talking about his life and death
Hahaha, yeah... they were the hugest contrast to each other. And it makes me remember how much I loved another shot of Baltar from that period, in the courtroom when he just stares TOTALLY AGHAST and DESPAIRING at Lee. Like 'who the fuck is this lunatic defending me?' When I was all 'no youuuuuuu're the madman here!!' But yeah, it's such a classic reaction of recoiling! :D :D
"anyone who isn't right" line is probably the deepest truths of all in the whole video
*nods* It was the line that REALLY got me thinking a lot in response to it ... Others like the 'God' line were just a total recognition and JOY at seeing it expressed and then joyfully feeling its different layers of resonance. But this one made me really start thinking--and I think it's so rare to find a lyric that can express something like this, about this subtle but fundamental nature of Lee's. And you uncover something critical about him. Then, as you say, it really changes us to ask 'well how DO we determine who is right?' And suddenly from being a joke it starts to seem like maybe Lee is the one who has hit the nail on the head instead. What's amazing though is that although he DOES feel that--is able to see multiple sides of situations--it doesn't paralyse him: at least not most of the time ;). He does listen to his own internal wisdom. But even when he argues for a certain viewpoint, I always feel like if someone proved to him that something else was right and he really felt that, he would change his mind. We SEE him change his mind sometimes. We see him listen to things and be swayed... and I like seeing it! Because I hate, hate, hate that human trait of clinging to some belief at all costs out of ego. What's so bad about expanding or changing your mind? And saying 'hey maybe I was wrong after this, or you are more right here'?
But those floating moments you discuss--yeah... I hadn't thought of it exactly like that but it's true and very rare to have portrayed in television where writers like to have characters neatly opposed to each other so viewers can follow. :p But to broaden out from television those 'floating' moments of suspending our previously held beliefs and opening to different possibilities are so beautiful and important... what makes personal and collective transformation possible. AMAZING!!! I just revel in your ability to show such a subtlety in a vid. It renews my faith in vids as a medium for expressing truths and beauty and something original!
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Ed also pointed out that the juice shot and the shot of Lee eating reflect that both are forms of deception, one internal, one external coming from the literal enemy and I think it's what I was aiming for to show too.
The "awareness" bit is where I tried to visually think of this irony that Lee tends to always be the last one to find out the news you know? And there's some simmetry to his character traits in it too. Like a test. You get blunt facts as the last person in line and it kind of challenges you to deal with new information in a shorter amount of time. Not just when Adama plans to kill Cain... but in this amazing "Kara got married" scene too)). And then it's also a sign of Lee's blindness when it comes to closest people. His own desires blind him... with Roslin... and even in Maelstrom. And he's unable to sense some extra anxiety or some unpleasant reality that has always been there he just prefered to ignore (with Laura)... or it just takes him a long time to start trusting his intuitive feeling that something's seriously wrong with this other person he cares so much about (Kara). But he's a step too late. And then he gets offended like a kid that nobody warned him... but part of the truth is he also played a role in paving a way to this "unfairness". :) Oh Lee! :)
"God is not an Angel"... yeah. I'll spare you having to listen to me rambling about this one. I could talk about it for ages I think. It's a personal favorite in the song for me too. And it rings true on too many levels to name! I'm very glad you enjoy seeing this bit as it turned out to be in the finale version! :) It's actually the first scene I had a clear vision for in the whole video from the get-go. The vid was basically born out of it :)
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Haha, yeah! That bit! It really cracks me up. :) But omg, what a great insight from Ed about the internal and external threat, and yeah, you twist the knife reminding us of the reality Lee is ignoring. It also shows what it takes to block so much--he can't just do it mentally, he has to really use something (food) to keep numbing himself.
I'd thought of Lee's blindness about people closest to him, but yes... you're right, he often falls into this 'last to know' trap too. And it's very painful but he doesn't see how much of it is self-created also. A step too late ... yes, that's it exactly.
I'll spare you having to listen to me rambling about this one.
BUT THIS IS THE ONE I LOVE BEST!!!! I'll just pester you about it elsewhere. :p
In the final version I can *feel* how it is the central kernel. At least it works that way for me also. (and come to think about it as the last 'gem' we receive from the singer before the final refrain it is also framed that way in the original song) So yeah... I can feel the vid being born out of it.
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