Emmanuel's Blog

  One of the most iconic shots of modern animation.  From Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman. This masterpiece of a visual -- the Leap of Faith shot was beautifully to depict Miles Morales' receiving of the torch as the next Spider-Man. Miles, hesitant and afraid of what's to come of accepting the role of his universe's Spider-Man finally comes to the decision to jump down and "rise" up to the occasion. This dynamic shot flipped on its horizontal axis gives the impression that Miles - despite falling (feeling stressed and anxious before), is ascending to his newfound responsibility as a hero. The creative decision of flipping the perspective on its head from falling to rising is genius in a coming-of-age moment like this one. This shot could have taken a different route, i.e. not flipping the up-down perspective and it would have dulled the moment significantly. If I were to shoot this shot, noth...

  What is the essential story? Essentially, the story is a murder mystery about a man named Franzis and his friend Alan who visit a show displaying a man named Dr. Caligari and his somnambulist Cesare. Cesare has the ability to read one's past and future. Alan asks Cesare when he will die, Cesare exclaims at dawn, and soon enough (at dawn) he is murdered. The story then follows Franzis attempting to solve and catch who murdered his friend, with heavy suspicions towards Cesare and Dr. Caligari. How does the film tell its story? The story is told as a flashback. The film tells its story through exaggerated movement and expression on the characters' faces. There are also text screens that come after the visuals to show what the characters are saying. What conventions of cinematic storytelling does it use? The setting plays a pivotal role in storytelling. The environment we are set in as an audience is very jagged and sharp and even in scenes with light, it looks very dim and dark....