Dear Kripke...
Nov. 15th, 2007 11:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icarusDear Kripke,
In season three I've had the chance to see all the things you did right in seasons one and two. You've probably had budget cuts and I know you've lost good technical people to other shows, so I just want to say that I've noticed what you did in prior seasons and appreciate it more now.
First off, I miss the movie-quality camera angles, crane shots, swooping camera work, and first class editing. I now what you meant when you called SPN a "movie quality" television show. The way your camera used to circle around a soon-to-be victim, instead of just sitting there while the car bobs from the off-camera death scene, or sits on a tripod as a hand slides down a shower stall. I miss the way you'd show Sam angry -- with the two of them offset in the frame -- and Dean, you'd show the back of his head. The quick cuts when Dean's on the phone, panicking. And vice versa. I miss how you made use of shadow and light (more shadow than light, I admit) and how you made the sets feel... big. Not like a set at all. Almost like you were using a wider lens, somehow, than what we're used to seeing on TV. I want you to know I notice. I can see the difference between a movie quality show, and one that is more standard TV-fare.
I miss how so much of the show was filmed outside, or at least felt like it was. It gave SPN a texture that steps outside the studio.
I miss how the shots of the Impala were low to the ground and moved around it like lust. How you buffed and shined and lit that car like expensive porn. I miss how the boys were often shown driving, and the backgrounds felt like midwestern America. I miss the car-based action scenes. There's a variety to SPN that we haven't seen in television shows in a long time.
I miss the clever details you put into the filming. The shot of the Impala turning around at an "Ain't that America?" sign. The way you'd pan a line of police tape "Do Not Cross" and slyly glide over to the boys blithely ducking under it. The speed and ease with which they'd break the law. The way you'd film a shot of Dean turning around by a bridge -- but wait until a train was going over that bridge, just for the extra visual interest. That's quality. I want you to know I noticed the attention to detail.
I miss the stunt work. The little segments like showing the boys climbing a fence and flipping over it. The breaking and entering, or breaking a window, or climbing up an elevator shaft. Those little visual scenes did more to tell us about Sam and Dean than any exposition, and I want you to know, I recognize what you were doing.
I miss the wholesale destruction of sets. Yes, I noticed and appreciated the gleeful destruction. The bad guys feel more dangerous if an entire room full of plate glass windows get destroyed.
I miss the scary creatures and the complicated stop motion special effects. Of course I do. Yes, I know those are the special effects people you lost. I hope you can replace them for season four or even the latter half of season three.
I miss the classic rock music that appeared in every episode and how beautifully it fit. How carefully it was crafted into the show. Actually, I started watching when I heard about the car and the music and the American folklore. I couldn't resist something that celebrated gritty blue collar America, I had to check it out.
I miss the excellent Law & Order calibre casting. Yes, I noticed how even the acting from a landlady who appears in one scene was first rate and distinctive, leaving you with a memorable character. You went beyond just picking people who looked the part. You paid the money, took the time to cast the part, and I appreciated it.
I miss the dark filter you had on all the shots. Okay, okay, so I felt your show was a little too... smudgy green. But that wasn't because of the filter. It was because so much of it happened in graveyards, basements, etc. You didn't have the same effect in the episode that took place on an airplane. You needed to balance the dark/light scenes, not remove the filter. I know, that's a tough one.
So. I guess I'm saying that I still love the show, you have me hooked on Sam and Dean. But I notice what's changed. And care. After the strike is over, if you get renewed (cross my fingers) I hope there's a way we can go back to the movie quality work we saw in the first two years. Hey. Maybe you'll get spend the budget of half a season on just five shows.
Yours,
Icarus
In season three I've had the chance to see all the things you did right in seasons one and two. You've probably had budget cuts and I know you've lost good technical people to other shows, so I just want to say that I've noticed what you did in prior seasons and appreciate it more now.
First off, I miss the movie-quality camera angles, crane shots, swooping camera work, and first class editing. I now what you meant when you called SPN a "movie quality" television show. The way your camera used to circle around a soon-to-be victim, instead of just sitting there while the car bobs from the off-camera death scene, or sits on a tripod as a hand slides down a shower stall. I miss the way you'd show Sam angry -- with the two of them offset in the frame -- and Dean, you'd show the back of his head. The quick cuts when Dean's on the phone, panicking. And vice versa. I miss how you made use of shadow and light (more shadow than light, I admit) and how you made the sets feel... big. Not like a set at all. Almost like you were using a wider lens, somehow, than what we're used to seeing on TV. I want you to know I notice. I can see the difference between a movie quality show, and one that is more standard TV-fare.
I miss how so much of the show was filmed outside, or at least felt like it was. It gave SPN a texture that steps outside the studio.
I miss how the shots of the Impala were low to the ground and moved around it like lust. How you buffed and shined and lit that car like expensive porn. I miss how the boys were often shown driving, and the backgrounds felt like midwestern America. I miss the car-based action scenes. There's a variety to SPN that we haven't seen in television shows in a long time.
I miss the clever details you put into the filming. The shot of the Impala turning around at an "Ain't that America?" sign. The way you'd pan a line of police tape "Do Not Cross" and slyly glide over to the boys blithely ducking under it. The speed and ease with which they'd break the law. The way you'd film a shot of Dean turning around by a bridge -- but wait until a train was going over that bridge, just for the extra visual interest. That's quality. I want you to know I noticed the attention to detail.
I miss the stunt work. The little segments like showing the boys climbing a fence and flipping over it. The breaking and entering, or breaking a window, or climbing up an elevator shaft. Those little visual scenes did more to tell us about Sam and Dean than any exposition, and I want you to know, I recognize what you were doing.
I miss the wholesale destruction of sets. Yes, I noticed and appreciated the gleeful destruction. The bad guys feel more dangerous if an entire room full of plate glass windows get destroyed.
I miss the scary creatures and the complicated stop motion special effects. Of course I do. Yes, I know those are the special effects people you lost. I hope you can replace them for season four or even the latter half of season three.
I miss the classic rock music that appeared in every episode and how beautifully it fit. How carefully it was crafted into the show. Actually, I started watching when I heard about the car and the music and the American folklore. I couldn't resist something that celebrated gritty blue collar America, I had to check it out.
I miss the excellent Law & Order calibre casting. Yes, I noticed how even the acting from a landlady who appears in one scene was first rate and distinctive, leaving you with a memorable character. You went beyond just picking people who looked the part. You paid the money, took the time to cast the part, and I appreciated it.
I miss the dark filter you had on all the shots. Okay, okay, so I felt your show was a little too... smudgy green. But that wasn't because of the filter. It was because so much of it happened in graveyards, basements, etc. You didn't have the same effect in the episode that took place on an airplane. You needed to balance the dark/light scenes, not remove the filter. I know, that's a tough one.
So. I guess I'm saying that I still love the show, you have me hooked on Sam and Dean. But I notice what's changed. And care. After the strike is over, if you get renewed (cross my fingers) I hope there's a way we can go back to the movie quality work we saw in the first two years. Hey. Maybe you'll get spend the budget of half a season on just five shows.
Yours,
Icarus
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no subject
Date: 2007-11-16 07:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-16 07:42 am (UTC)What I see are budget cuts and the loss of very good technical people in the face of a feared cancellation, plus a demand to add more women to deliver promised male viewers. There have been some very weak episodes as a whole this season (not just Dean, but the entire ep) but what I'm seeing doesn't strike me as a problem with the choice of direction of the show. I'm seeing money problems.
Icarus
no subject
Date: 2007-11-16 07:33 pm (UTC)It's just a matter of personal opinion and what I like or don't like, not necessarily a reflection of the quality of the show. OTOH, what I loved about this show was what made it unique and different from every other show out there, and I feel like now it's becoming more like so many other shows, more like Smallville. *g* I love Smallville, too, but not like that.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-16 11:47 am (UTC)I haven't minded the plot so far. I'm totally enjoying it as usual, (yet to see tonight's ep, so please don't spoil me), although I hope they don't end up making Sam too much like Dean. I think it's that with Sam being more pro-active, Dean is taking a bit of a back seat, which is fine for a while, but it's left us with a bit of a gap in the brotherly banter I love.
Still, in Kripke I trust. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-11-16 04:05 pm (UTC)I happen to like Bella, I think the actress is doing a great job with the character. I enojy the angle of someone profiting off the supernatural.
I'm cool with the idea of Ruby, but that actress can't do action scenes. She's too limp-wrist and is miscast. Kripke did not have a choice about adding women to the show, so adding them as bad guys (or at least neutral) is the only way he could have. Adding two characters out of left field will make the arc of the show wobble while the writers deal.
I'm not having a problem with the characterization of Sam and Dean. They will have to change with the pressures they're under.
In truth, I'm not even having a... problem... with the drop from movie-quality filming. I now notice what they were doing before and appreciate it more. But I miss it. Oh, definitely.
Icarus
no subject
Date: 2007-11-16 11:01 pm (UTC)I like bella too and I actually love that Sam is getting to be something other than a protected little puppy.
I'm also delighted that he might actually be pushed toward the "evil-side" that they hinted at all last season and ironically it's after yellow-eyes is gone. Wonderful!
I mostly stay away from wank, but what I was referring to in my very unclear way, is that others have been wanking about "Dean out of character" and I only would have agreed for a few moments in episode one. Their characters are definitely changing, but in an enjoyable fashion so far and I trust 'em to know when to pull back...or slap us in the face with it! :)
Now, I will shut up and wander back to my happy corner, because I can't meta for anything. Hee!
no subject
Date: 2007-11-16 12:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-22 02:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-21 08:00 pm (UTC)http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3161261&view=getnewpost
it's the thread for All Seasons.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-21 08:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-21 08:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-22 02:40 am (UTC)Sorry I had to bail out of chat. I have Thanksgiving dinner to make and I desperately needed to get rid of this headache first. Big difference between my reading fanfic until 3am and writing a paper until 3am.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-22 04:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-22 05:18 am (UTC)I've decided to single-handedly reform the SPN fandom when it comes to reviews, one fic at a time. *raises right hand* I solemnly swear to review every SPN fic I read -- if I happen like it. So there.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-22 05:33 am (UTC)But I think it's possible depending on how many stories you read.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-22 07:42 am (UTC)Leaving intelligent feedback now, that's another matter. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-11-22 07:48 am (UTC)