30 Days with BTR: Day 3
[mood: 
Having fun creating the perfect screencap for today's meme answer]
[music: Kate Nash - Pumpkin Soup]
Day 3 - Your favorite episode: Big Time Audition
10 Reasons I really, really love it:
1) Greater emotional depth of character. Especially angry, wounded James.
2) Gorgeous, darker cinematography.
3) Great balance of over-the-top and moments that ring true.
4) More focused on interdynamics of the friends, both explicit and implicit feelings/personalities.
5) Quite possibly my favorite Logan face ever ("He's Sataaaan!").
6) James shaking his ass in Logan's face, and Logan smacking his ass. ♥
7) The most amazing old lady to ever beat security in the face with a cane ("I feel so alive!").
8) Boylicious, Red, White, and Boy, and Danger Boy. And the village-people-inspired Boyquake poster.
9) There was notably more rough, physical behavior between them--smashing vases, tackling, pile driving, hitting each other with microphones/pillows/pool noodles, and shoving--that made them far more believable as hockey players. James even mows down a grocery-goer with a shopping cart.
10) Two of my favorite one liners: "Mmm, warm pants" and "We really don't want to sing girl time."
"Big Time Audition" was the one-hour pilot that aired as a precursor to the television series. It is my favorite because I think the pilot had an emotional depth and seriousness that the TV show hasn't allowed the characters to return to, particularly in regard to James's character. We saw genuine pain and anger from him that hasn't shown up since. Out of all of them, Kendall has retained the most of that depth by being the "problem solver," but even Kendall had a greater range of emotion in the pilot. The difference is most obvious with James, but Logan's timidness and role as mediator was hyped more in the pilot as well. Although played for laughs when he first emerged, Logan was genuinely terrified of Gustavo. I also really enjoyed genuinely!peeved Logan in the recording booth.
In my opinion, the friendship dynamics between the guys were also more directly expressed in this episode--they care about each other a great deal, escalating into mayhem just to give James his shot. The more over-the-top reactions were balanced by serious moments, and I really liked having a few serious, realistic moments scattered here and there. My biggest complaint about Just Jordan was that they teetered right on the edge of emotional depth, but always backed away from it--not allowing characters to stay genuinely hurt or become truly angry in a way that would have lasting consequences.
Also, I loved the cinematography of the pilot. The style of the pilot was very different, which makes me think it was shot using different filters, or maybe wasn't straight-up single camera shooting the entire way. I'm not entirely sure, not a film buff. I realize a large part of the difference in color palette was likely to illustrate where the boys came from versus where they are going; at least, that's how I've always interpreted it. The pilot took place largely in Minnesota and was given a darker, cold feel, both indicative of the weather, the type of ordinary activities they are up to (hockey), and winter doldrums. Then, California is introduced, where the sun is "always shining," and there is an explosion of color. Hopes are bright, and their future is looking up; so are the colors. The lighting is saturated to almost animation-like levels of color. The clothing choices echo the film filters. The boys were featured in dark grays, blues, and blacks until arriving in LA, then switched to patterns in neon pinks, greens, and blues.
I understand the decision in hue and lightening, and its aesthetic purpose in the story, but I loved the rich, darker hues. I love the vaudeville wackiness of the television show, but I think it would benefit from remixing in some of its more serious content. I want some darker scenes--literally and figuratively. I'm really hoping the two part concert "movie" returns to that sort of feel. They will be going to New York for at least part of it and have the same time allotment to play with for a greater arc of aesthetics. It would be excellent if those factors contribute to a use of film filters akin to the pilot.
Having fun creating the perfect screencap for today's meme answer]
[music: Kate Nash - Pumpkin Soup]
Day 3 - Your favorite episode: Big Time Audition
10 Reasons I really, really love it:
1) Greater emotional depth of character. Especially angry, wounded James.
2) Gorgeous, darker cinematography.
3) Great balance of over-the-top and moments that ring true.
4) More focused on interdynamics of the friends, both explicit and implicit feelings/personalities.
5) Quite possibly my favorite Logan face ever ("He's Sataaaan!").
6) James shaking his ass in Logan's face, and Logan smacking his ass. ♥
7) The most amazing old lady to ever beat security in the face with a cane ("I feel so alive!").
8) Boylicious, Red, White, and Boy, and Danger Boy. And the village-people-inspired Boyquake poster.
9) There was notably more rough, physical behavior between them--smashing vases, tackling, pile driving, hitting each other with microphones/pillows/pool noodles, and shoving--that made them far more believable as hockey players. James even mows down a grocery-goer with a shopping cart.
10) Two of my favorite one liners: "Mmm, warm pants" and "We really don't want to sing girl time."
"Big Time Audition" was the one-hour pilot that aired as a precursor to the television series. It is my favorite because I think the pilot had an emotional depth and seriousness that the TV show hasn't allowed the characters to return to, particularly in regard to James's character. We saw genuine pain and anger from him that hasn't shown up since. Out of all of them, Kendall has retained the most of that depth by being the "problem solver," but even Kendall had a greater range of emotion in the pilot. The difference is most obvious with James, but Logan's timidness and role as mediator was hyped more in the pilot as well. Although played for laughs when he first emerged, Logan was genuinely terrified of Gustavo. I also really enjoyed genuinely!peeved Logan in the recording booth.
In my opinion, the friendship dynamics between the guys were also more directly expressed in this episode--they care about each other a great deal, escalating into mayhem just to give James his shot. The more over-the-top reactions were balanced by serious moments, and I really liked having a few serious, realistic moments scattered here and there. My biggest complaint about Just Jordan was that they teetered right on the edge of emotional depth, but always backed away from it--not allowing characters to stay genuinely hurt or become truly angry in a way that would have lasting consequences.
Also, I loved the cinematography of the pilot. The style of the pilot was very different, which makes me think it was shot using different filters, or maybe wasn't straight-up single camera shooting the entire way. I'm not entirely sure, not a film buff. I realize a large part of the difference in color palette was likely to illustrate where the boys came from versus where they are going; at least, that's how I've always interpreted it. The pilot took place largely in Minnesota and was given a darker, cold feel, both indicative of the weather, the type of ordinary activities they are up to (hockey), and winter doldrums. Then, California is introduced, where the sun is "always shining," and there is an explosion of color. Hopes are bright, and their future is looking up; so are the colors. The lighting is saturated to almost animation-like levels of color. The clothing choices echo the film filters. The boys were featured in dark grays, blues, and blacks until arriving in LA, then switched to patterns in neon pinks, greens, and blues.
I understand the decision in hue and lightening, and its aesthetic purpose in the story, but I loved the rich, darker hues. I love the vaudeville wackiness of the television show, but I think it would benefit from remixing in some of its more serious content. I want some darker scenes--literally and figuratively. I'm really hoping the two part concert "movie" returns to that sort of feel. They will be going to New York for at least part of it and have the same time allotment to play with for a greater arc of aesthetics. It would be excellent if those factors contribute to a use of film filters akin to the pilot.