Next Level Magic

PC: HobbyLark.com

NOTE: The following is from an essay I wrote in April 2013. 

Those who participate heavily in the culture of Magic: The Gathering have one thing in common. They need somewhere to go. Zeke Van Etten, an incoming college freshman said about playing the game, “it feels like we don’t belong anywhere else.” They find a place to belong at the game table, sitting across from other individuals like themselves. Those who become part of this subculture are outsiders in one way or another. The game allows them to literally gather together, in a way they would not be able to without the game to break the ice. As Zeke said, “I probably wouldn’t have as many friends if I didn’t play Magic, because I’m not that social.” Playing the game gives them a shield to protect themselves as they meet and interact with others, as well as providing them with an instant, immediate commonality.

Magic: The Gathering will celebrate its twentieth anniversary in August 2013 and is “the most successful game most Americans have never heard of.” (Slavin, 2004 , para 3).  A collectable fantasy-based role-playing game played with, and based on trading cards, it deals with powerful wizards who can cross between universes, called “Planeswalkers.” The players war against each other acting as the Planeswalkers. Each player begins with 20 lifepoints, and through playing different cards, attempt to kill the other Planeswalker. It is an imaginative game, wherein the player participates in the story as if they are one of the characters. It has been called “Cardboard Crack” and can become highly addictive (Slavin, 2004, para 6). The game is produced by Wizards of the Coast, who also produce Dungeons and Dragons.

Zeke began playing the game on a Boy Scout trip when fellow Scouts taught him how to play. Usually players are inducted into playing by friends who teach them how to play. It is rare that people get into the game by themselves. One may suppose that the artifacts of this subculture would be the cards themselves, but Steve Barnes, a twenty-one year old combat veteran, and aspiring Magic Professional (Magic Pro), would disagree. To him the artifact that members gather around, (or more accurately, in) is the LGS, or Local Game Shop. He went so far to describe the shops as temples. He hopes to own his own shop one day and is already on track to do so. He works at a LGS that has plans to expand, and he will own one of the franchises. Steve played another popular card game called Yi-Gi-Oh when he was younger, but transitioned to Magic in 2006.  He joined the Navy after graduating high school, and upon his discharge in 2012 found himself at a crossroads. “I went to a war and that changes you drastically when you come back, and I [didn’t] want to hang out with …twenty year olds that [were] immature anymore.” Finding himself without friends, he started going to the LGS and playing Magic with the people he met there. Now all of his best friends come from playing Magic. As Zeke said of himself, he was “Looking for people to have fun with,” and he, just like Steve, found them at the LGS playing Magic.

The social aspect of the game is the single biggest factor drawing people to gather together to play. Steve said that for “People without a social outlet, if you have an interest in things like this, it can become the most powerful thing in your life.” This is evident when speaking to him about the game. His eyes light up, and his speech becomes almost evangelical as he waxes eloquent about the virtues of the game and the community that surrounds it. For Steve, the community of Magic: The Gathering players is of paramount importance. It’s given him a place to belong and a purpose to his life after his honorable discharge from the military. As he said, “I’m all about expanding the Magic community as a whole.”  He’s concerned about ensuring the transmission of the culture to the future. Some LGSs are not what one would call warm and inviting, let alone family-friendly enough for a mother or father to feel comfortable dropping their son or daughter off for a few hours to participate in or watch a tournament. This is a problem for the continuity of the culture. If new blood isn’t constantly being added to the “gene pool” of players, how will the game, and by extension, the community, survive?

There are three categories of people who play Magic: The Gathering: 1) Timmy’s. 2) Johnny’s, and 3) Spike’s. Timmy is what Zeke calls a “Nube.” They are the newest, most inexperienced players who are just staring out, or those who are simply superficially dabbling in the game.  Johnny’s are the in-betweeners. They are quite above average in game play, and they are typically good at building decks of cards and being what Steve called “Brewmasters.” They experiment to find better and unexpected combinations of cards. Spike’s are the tournament players. They play to win, and if they win 9 times out of 10, but think they should have won the 10^th game, they don’t walk away happy.  All three categories of player are needed for the game, culture, and community to remain a success. 

Ideally, all Magic players would progress from one category to the next. Steve is a mix between a Johnny and a Spike. “I want to win the tournament but I also don’t have a problem with the 8 year kid who doesn’t really know how to play. I don’t mind sitting there teaching him how to play,” he said. “This game is 20 years old for a reason. Eventually that 8 year old kid needs to be me 10 years from now, and Magic will be 30, and that’s how magic won’t die.” Steve described his playing philosophy as “Have some fun, get some wins, [and] maybe make some money.” Some players play because they just plain love the game. According to Steve, Reid Duke, a Pro Magic player says his first favorite thing about Magic is winning, and his second favorite thing about Magic is losing. These are the players who would play even if the world as we know it ended. Steve joked that if the zombies were storming his house, the first thing he’d grab would be his Magic cards.

To some players, teaching others to play is just as, if not more rewarding than playing for themselves. “I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I hadn’t taught others to be as good as me, or [even] better [than me].” Some LGS aren’t friendly toward new and beginning players, because of the atmosphere and culture perpetuated by the owners, and to a lesser extent, the shop patrons. The reason for this is simply the temperament of the owners and consumers. The stereotypes of Magic: The Gathering players as basement-dwelling nerds who like wizards and dragons (Steve referred to them as “Doritos Eaters”) does have some basis in fact, and when some of those people find their way into a position of power, they do not automatically lose their mistrust of people, or suddenly become extremely social. Some shops' demeanor and behavior is not socially inviting to the average person, which is why Steve and Zeke’s outlook on new and young players is so refreshing. 

On the flipside of the coldness from some owners and players are the individuals who mock Magic players. In high school, Zeke would play with his friends during lunch, and kids would go out of their way to make fun of him and his friend, even picking up the cards without permission. “They can’t understand [Magic] the same way I can’t understand why they like sports.” He would usually try to come up with a witty retort to the mockers, which wasn’t hard, since they were not that intelligent to begin with. He learned to ignore them, but laments their behavior. “If you don’t care about it, why do you insist on making fun of those who do?”

There is a significant time and financial investment to become and remain a part of the Magic culture. At one point Zeke would wake up in the morning, go to the LGS, and spend all day there. That’s simply not sustainable for most people. That’s why a player like Steve gets a job at a shop, so that they can sustain that connection even while working. The game also inspires dedication, and in the case of Zeke, bodily modification through tattooing symbols from the world of the game on his arm. Players like Steve are convinced the time one puts into Magic will always pay off eventually one way or another.

There are many stereotypes about the game of Magic itself, but Steve says it’s intellectually stimulating, even if you don’t like dragons, dwarfs, and dryads. “The game itself appeals to me. I like puzzles, I like complicated things. I like the strategy. This game is like chess on crack.” In fact, many chess and poker players cross train by playing Magic to improve the skills they need in order to compete in the games they play. As Steve said, “Poker and Magic are [both] Romance languages. If you like chess or poker, you’ll love Magic. ” One former chess and poker player, Stanilav Cifka, recently won $40,000 in a Magic tournament and is now exclusively a Magic Pro. He said, 

“The principle of every game [chess, poker, Magic are] different, but some things like managing stress, being able to keep concentration for a whole day, coping with losses, time management before the tournament etc., are the same for every game. And for all these games, you need to calculate the variations, so playing one of these games improves you in the others (Reinderman, 2012, para 19).

Playing Magic encourages next level thinking, and linear thinkers will not do well. From a mental preparation standpoint, if a fifteen year old gets to next level thinking, “He will crush high school and college,” according to Steve. “This game makes you smarter.”

The good fruits of this culture can be seen in the lives of those like Steve who it has helped tremendously. Steve suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Being involved in the community has helped him cope with the things he experienced during his military service. And so he is loyal to Magic. “Whenever good things, [or] bad things happen, I’m gonna roll with the cards,” he said. He’s not the only one who the game has helped. “Most parents [of Magic players]… say the game has sharpened their kids' mental skills, kept them away from drugs and gangs, helped shy children make friends and, like other sports, taught them how to win and lose gracefully” (Slavin, 2004, para 11). As Steve says, “The community is wonderful. It’s a fantastic support structure…My life is completely positively impacted by this game.” 

 References

Reinderman, D. (2012, November 22). FM Stanislav Cifka turns to magic, wins US $40,000. Chessvibes.com. 1-1. Retrieved from http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/fm-stanislav-cifka-turns-to-magic-wins-us-40000

Slavin, B. (2004, June 20). Magic the gathering casts its spell. USATODAY.com. 1-1. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2004-06-20-magic_x.htm

(All references to Zeke Van Etten, and Steve Barnes are from interviews conducted between April 5, 2013 and April 13, 2013. Their names have been changed.)

Wes Dean's Social Media Rules

A picture of a brick wall. This has nothing to do with the post. Or does it?

"Rules" to live by:

1.) If you post a lot, don't cross post. Instagram and Facebook and Twitter are different. Post to them differently. I know you took more then one photo of your kid, post one to Facebook and one to Instagram. You're (probably) not Annie Leibowitz. Your second best picture is good enough, too. Facebook owns Instagram, and they're basically turning into the same thing. Fight this by treating them differently. 

2.) Put a cap on how much you post. Maybe only post once a day? Be intentional. Plan it out if you have to. 

3.) Don't post stuff you don't want your grandkids seeing, or that you'll have to justify to God someday. 

4.) Don't lie. It is lame. And somebody always knows the truth, whether they call you out on it or not. 

5.) If you see it's someone's birthday and you have their phone number, text them! Don't just post on their wall. 

6.) It's called social media. Don't waste people's time by posting crap. You are the media in this arena. That's a responsibility whether you want it or not. Make people's life better for having seen your stuff. 

7.) If social media isn't contributing to your happiness and delight in life, delete your accounts and walk off into the sunset.  

Are there "rules" I missed? Do these need to be modified? What do you think?

Did I Like This Movie?

White God is a film about dogs running around and killing those who’ve mistreated them. Ironically the dogs use the skills those who have tormented them instilled in them to get their revenge. The sight of a hundred dogs running through the streets of Budapest is something to behold. I just wish the rest of the movie were as compelling. 

The story begins when a thirteen-year-old girl, Lili, is dropped off with her father for three months while her mother goes to an academic conference in Australia. A talented trumpeter, Lili brings along her pet dog Hagen. Her father wasn’t informed the dog would be coming and treats the animal like garbage. It doesn’t help that his relationship with his daughter is fractured by prior unseen and unmentioned events. Another complication ensues when a law restricting non-Hungarian dog breeds is put into effect and Animal Control come sniffing around. After a few misunderstood teen/jerk dad father scenes Lili runs away with Hagen. Once the father finds her, he’s so angry he makes her abandon Hagen. 

Once he’s abandoned we switch to following Hagen for a while and bear witness to his sad-dog adventures. He befriends a little mutt, and cycles through a series of owners, such as a homeless man who sells him to a dog-fight trainer, who sharpens his teeth to a razor-fine points and taunts him until he learns to lash out. Hagen becomes a great dog-fighter. He eventually escapes the compound he’s held in, but is captured by Animal Control and sent to the pound. Hagen then leads a rebellion against the guards and escapes Animal Control with all the other dogs. 

The escaped dogs rampage around the city. The city is forced to go into lockdown. The dogs kill the dog-trainer, the lady from Lili’s apartment who narced about Hagen being in the building, and others. It’s pretty insane. At the very end, Lili manages to calm the wild dogs by playing her trumpet, and they all lay down as the sun rises over the city. As I write this, I think maybe I just need to see it again to appreciate it more. 

The Moon Also Rises: Joe Versus the Volcano Scene Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Joe Versus the Volcano is a fable for our times. It addresses the number one problem in our world that crosses all social, political and religious lines: people don’t follow their hearts, and they don’t live the lives they dream of. Joe Banks is an everyman who’s given in to the systems of the world, sold his soul so to speak, but hasn’t been given the world for it, which is supposed to be part of the deal. He discovers he has a 100% fatal brain disease, quits his job, and is then approached to be a human sacrifice to a volcano. On the voyage to the island to be sacrificed he is stranded at sea with the girl he loves after their sailboat is destroyed by a storm. He saved her life, and now they are drifting in the ocean on Joe’s ever-useful steamer trunks. Shanley is subtly encapsulating the theme of the film in this scene. Joe is beginning to wake up to the wonder of the world, and his place in it. That’s what we all should and can do, and film is a great mechanism to help accomplish it.

 Shot One

Start Frame : 01:17:18

End Frame: 01:17:21

Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1

Duration: Four seconds.

Shot Size: Medium close up.

Sound: Non-diagetic score plays over the shot. It’s a beautiful, gentle, romantic melody that will eventually resolve into almost a lullaby. Chimes tinkle, and a single oboe plays a beckoning call to adventure. The waves lapping against the makeshift raft can be heard diagetically.

Contrast Dominants: Joe (played by Tom Hanks) is the dominant contrast. He is in focus just to the left of center screen, lying on his back atop “the only luggage you’ll ever need to buy.”

Character Movement: Joe lies still as he slowly wakes up and opens his eyes. Joe doesn’t move on his own initiative, but as the trunk he is laying on is floating in the Pacific Ocean, he moves side to side with the waves.

Camera Angle: The camera is angled on Joe’s eyes, with the camera above him. This gives the feeling of standing over him, watching him wake up.

Lens: This shot uses a standard lens.

Depth of Field: The shot is technically in deep focus, because Joe and his trunk are both equally in focus, yet despite this, a sense of selective focus prevails, as the eye naturally focuses on Joe coming awake.

Lighting: A high contrast key light resembling moonlight shimmers on Joe’s face, drawing our attention straight to him while creating a pool of shadows in the upper right of the frame. “Overall, it is low key and magical.” – Dirk Olson.

Color Usage: Joe’s shirt is a light tan color, and his trunks are a dark brown. He has red sunburn on his face and a big splotch on his neck. The cumulative effect is a monochromatic sense of undifferentiated color, except for the moonlight shimmering on the trunks and his neck. The drab and mundanely modest colors of his clothes and trunks give the appearance that he’s not anything special. But what will occur in the next seven shots will prove the lie of that statement.

Screen Composition: Joe is slightly left of center frame, which gives us a sense of intimacy with him. He’s not framed for a perfect portrait, but captured in a candid moment. We feel like we’re standing above him as he wakes.

Editing Style: Classic continuity cutting.

Time: Time is contracted by a dissolve into the shot, and constant (real) in the cut out of the shot.

Subtext: Joe Banks has figuratively been asleep in his life for a very long time. He’s on a voyage to sacrifice himself in a volcano to appease the god of a backwards tribe of Hebrew-Pacific Islanders. He was recruited for this job by a businessman who has interests with the islanders, and an interest in keeping them fat and happy. Joe has already been sacrificing himself for years. He worked a dead end job until he found out he was “dying” from an incurable disease called a brain cloud. Joe has been sacrificing himself for money, comfort, and society’s acceptance. On the voyage to the island he’s fallen in love with Patricia, the businessman’s daughter, and when we meet Joe in this scene, they are the only two survivors of the sailboat that was carrying them to the island. Now that he’s in love, and believes he is dying, and is also going to jump into a volcano, he is waking up to the beauty, majesty, and wonder of life and existence. 

Shot Two

 

Start Frame: 01:17:22

End Frame: 01:17:27

Duration: Five seconds.

Shot Size: Extreme long shot from Joe’s POV.

Sound: Violins join the oboe from Shot One as the moon begins its ascent and there is a faint diagetic sound of the waves that sound almost like footsteps, suggesting forward movement. A very faint sound begins right before the cut that grows in intensity in the following shots and resolves into the nondiagetic sound of the moon rising.

Contrast Dominants: A sliver of light draws our focus to the horizon between the sky and the ocean as the moon rises. As more light is poured into the world (and the frame) by the moon’s rise, we see the subsidiary contrast of the blue sky.

Character Movement: For the sake of this analysis, the moon is a character. The moon enters from beneath the horizon, rising up the y-axis. The sight of the moon rising is beautiful, and we see it from Joe’s perspective as he wakes up from less than ideal circumstances and is confronted with this beautiful sight.

Character Proxemics and Position: The moon is very far away from Joe, but as it rises, it begins to feel like he’s about a hundred feet away from it due to its increase in size. Joe and the moon are at an extreme social, even cosmic distance away, but it feels like they’re about to share an intimate moment.

Camera Movement: The camera is stationary as Joe’s eyes are locked on the beautiful sight he’s glimpsing. The interesting thing about this shot is the feelings and emotions it evokes as we stand in Joe’s place and see the moon rise.

Camera Angle: We’re at Joe’s eye level, which is near ground (or more accurately, sea) level after he’s woken up and begins to sit up.

Lens: A standard lens is used in this shot, so as not to distract too much, since the moon rise effects are done in such a formalist manner.

Depth of Field: The shot is deep focus in order to let us take it all in, as well as it’s Joe’s POV, and he’s looking far out over the ocean.

Lighting: The motivated lighting of the moon as it rises illuminates the ocean and even lightens the sky. In practical terms the moon (though artificial) serves as the key light that illuminates Joe in succeeding shots.

Color Usage: The sea is dark blue, almost black, which ties into the subtext of the movie. The moon first appears as a sliver of white light and slowly rises, reflecting yellow off the water.

Screen Composition: The frame is filled in an elemental way, even though there is sparse texture. It’s full of water, sky, and light as the moon rises in center frame and our eyes follow as it starts its ascent.

Editing Style: Classical Cut from Joe waking up and opening his eyes to what he is seeing: the beginning of moonrise.

Time: This is the beginning of the moonrise, and it appears in this shot and others to be happening in real time, though in reality it would take longer than a minute and forty two seconds.

Subtext: Joe has been struggling to stay alive in the middle of the ocean, and also keep alive his unconscious true love. As he’s become focused on survival, the sun has been beating down on him, and he’s begun hallucinating. Isolated from the rest of the world and its ways, the beauty of the natural world is amplified. So at first he’s awoken by the light from the moon, and as he sees it rising, it becomes impossibly large.

Shot Three

Start Frame: 01:17:27

End Frame: 01:17:31

Duration: Four seconds.

Shot Size: Medium shot that becomes a medium close up.

Sound: The tympani roll representing the moon rising grows louder here as Joe begins sitting up. It blends in with the music very well and could even be a synthesized sound and part of the score if not for what happens later.

Contrast Dominants: Joe’s face is the Dominant Contrast and we’re drawn to his face as he moves his head while sitting up, and also because of the expression on his face of confusion and wonder as he wakes up. The Subsidiary Contrast is the colorful canopy with giant printed goldfish he’s erected to shade Patricia.

Character Movement: Joe sits up as he wakes up and he scans the horizon with his eyes from screen left to screen right along the X-Axis.

Character Proxemics and Character Position: The camera starts at a social distance from Joe but moves into the personal the more he sits up and becomes aware.

Camera Movement: The camera dolly’s in toward Joe’s face as he sits up.

Camera Angle: The camera shoots slightly above Joe’s eye level, representing his lack of understanding and knowledge. This plays into future shots as Joe awakens fully, the camera shoots from below him, making him a more powerful and aware figure.

Lens: A standard lens is used to accentuate Joe’s waking up and sitting up.

Depth of Field: Shallow focus is used to draw us to Joe waking up and seeing the immense moonrise. The trunks Joe and Patricia are floating on are out of focus, as well as the goldfish canopy and the ocean.

Lighting: Low to Moderate Key lighting with high contrast shadows is used to show us Joe’s little world floating on the Pacific Ocean. Joe is being illuminated by the moonrise, and we begin to feel his wonder at the sight.

Color Usage: In contrast to Shot One, more of Joe’s world is visible, and even though he is wearing drab colored clothing, his surrounding are anything but drab. The red umbrella holding up the white canopy festooned with bright orange goldfish, even the “deck” of the trunks and the light shining off the water express the simple beauty and utility of Joe’s terrible situation.

Screen Composition: Joe takes up approximately two thirds of the screen starting from the bottom, as he lies down. When he sits up, the camera rises up and moves closer to him, and we can see more of what’s behind him. There is a sense of imbalance struggling toward balance.

Editing Style: This shot is a cut from the preceding shot of Joe’s POV. The editing emphasis is on telling the story with just enough time to take in the mise en scene.  

Time: The shot is in Real Time, though what is happening in the sequence has the feel of dreamtime, with the moon rising rapidly, yet appearing to move very slowly, while Joe reacts quickly by moving slowly to get up. Sometimes upon waking, everything seems to be going very slowly, yet also quickly, in a sort of timeless now. That is how the entire sequence plays out.

Subtext: Joe is finally awake and beginning to get a glimpse of understanding toward the nature of his world. This motivates him to action, to start to literally get up and stand on his own two feet as will be seen in further shots. 

Shot Four

Start Frame: 01:17:31

End Frame: 01:17:36

Duration: Five Seconds.

Shot Size: Long shot.

Sound: The nondiagetic whirring sound begins to increase in volume as the light from the moon increasingly fills the frame, and faint water splashes can be heard.

Contrast Dominants: The moonlight spilling out from the edge of the frame at first draws our attention, but then we see Joe on his knees illuminated by the moonrise, watching the brilliant light. The light is almost a leading line directing us toward Joe.

Character Movement: Joe looks from screen right to screen left, taking in the sight. His right foot is shaking, possibly because he is still somewhat disoriented from his fever-sleep.

Character Proxemics and Character Position: Joe has his back to the camera and goes into a three-quarter turn as he looks toward the light. He is at public distance from the camera, which prepares us to be drawn in to his realization starting with the next shot. 

Camera Movement: The camera is stationary. The camera is at a new angle from the previous shot. This angle is only used once.

Camera Angle: This is a slight Low Angle shot of Joe, and the first time he’s shown above the camera. This has the effect of giving him power, and since we have identified with him previously by being at eye level with him, as he gains more power in his life, we’re drawn to see things his way, so that when the epiphany comes in the last shot of this sequence, we are right in tune with what Joe feels.

Lens: A wide angle lens is used, to accentuate everything in Joe’s world showing that life doesn’t have to be a complicated tangle of shifting alliances, money-grubbing, and pessimistic plans, but can be simple and straightforward, all while allowing the light from the moonrise to lead us to Joe adrift on the raft.

Depth of Field: This is a deep focus shot and it looks like some kind of primordial creation is taking place with the light from the moon spilling into the frame. It appears more like a sunrise than a moonrise, and perhaps it is. It’s the first day of Joe’s new life.

Lighting: Low Key and Low Contrast lighting is used and is motivated by the moonrise and the stars overhead.

Color Usage: The bright yellow-sun like color coming off the moonrise gives a fairy tale quality to the shot, which refers back to the beginning of the film when the title cards states: “Once upon a time, there was a guy named Joe…”

Screen Composition: The light bursting into the frame from the moonrise acts as a leading line, though not technically one. It leads us to see Joe in the right half of the frame and focus on what he’s doing. This is Closed Form with sparse texture, giving a sense of open frame with the unfolding universe. Since this is a Formalistic piece it’s perfectly appropriate to make a moonrise appear as a sunrise in order to signify a character’s inner illumination and enlightenment.

Editing Style: This shot is cut on action from the previous shot of Joe sitting up. 

Time: Time is slightly contracted in this shot from the previous shot, because the cut on action does not precisely match up seamlessly with what is happening in this shot.

Subtext: Joe is experiencing the dawn of a new era for his life, but it is happening through a moonrise, instead of what one would expect, which would be a sunrise. Shanley’s formalism allows him to use this one, slightly off kilter shot, in an expressionistic way to prime the audience to feel the subtext of what is happening to Joe: He’s waking up.

Shot Five

Start Frame: 01:17:36

End Frame: 01:17:40

Duration: Four seconds.

Shot Size: A full shot is used so that Joe’s entire body is in view as he starts to rise.

Sound: The score and moonrise sound (tympani) continue.

Contrast Dominants: Joe’s face is in center frame, and the shifting moonbeams draw attention to his eyes as he focuses intently on the moon.

Character Movement: Joe struggles and is determined, despite being very shaken up, to stand in the presence of this once in a lifetime sight.

Character Proxemics and Character Position: Joe is at a social distance from the camera and is facing full front giving a sense of intimacy. It’s as though we’re watching someone get up after being wounded and knocked down, such as a boxer, and we’ve become fully sympathetic to Joe.

Camera Movement: The camera is stationary until right before the cut, when it begins to tilt up with Joe. It does this in order to show Joe gaining greater power.

Camera Angle: Eye level with Joe, we’re on the same emotional page as he is.

Lens: Standard. There is nothing stylistic about this shot except for what is occurring in the story. This is done so we focus on what is happening to Joe.

Depth of Field: Fairly deep focus is used to show us Joe and the stars above and around him.

Lighting: High Contrast Lighting with the bright water reflection moving across his face. The light is waking and drawing him up.

Color Usage: The bright, poppy, warm and cool colors of frame left and the dark nothingness on frame right show Joe’s two choices: Life or death. Joe stands in the midst of these two ways with his drab clothing that is made more beautiful by the shimmering moonlight.

Screen Composition: Joe is placed in center frame. In this position he balances the two ways of being.

Editing Style: Cuts get us in and out of this shot, and are used so that we can take in the mise en scene of this beautiful situation.

Time: Time is constant and consistent in this shot from the previous shot.

Subtext: Joe is moved to action and accepts the call to adventure and growth by taking baby steps to stand up and receive the sight of the moon on his feet.

Shot Six

Start Frame: 01:17:40

End Frame: 01:17:44

Duration: Four seconds.

Shot Size: An extreme long shot is used so the enormity of the moonrise can wash over us.

Sound: The nondiagetic tympani roll continues and it’s now clear it belongs to the moon. It sounds like a spaceship humming through space. Perhaps the sound actually comes from the Earth rotating, and not the moon?

Contrast Dominants: The moon grabs our attention and points us to Joe taking it all in and struggling to rise.

Character Movement: Joe has very limited movement here, but the moon grows very big in a very limited amount of time.

Character Proxemics and Character Position: The camera is far away from Joe so we take in the uniqueness of what he’s seeing. If we were in a boat looking down at him as he sees this, we’d wish we were down there with him, too. The distance between the camera and Joe actually draws the viewer in closer emotionally.

Camera Movement: The camera is stationary throughout this shot, as if we are a passenger on a non-rocking boat, riveted on the moonrise.

Camera Angle: We’re slightly above eye level due to the distance between the camera and Joe, so we have feel like we have more power, even though we are slowly being drawn into Joe’s inner world.

Lens: A standard lens is used so we can see what our natural eyes would take in if we were witnessing this in real life.

Depth of Field: We’re in deep focus to take in the sparse yet edifying mise en scene.

Lighting: See Shot Two for technical reasoning. Joe’s whole world is coming alive, and he is encased in a bubble of light with the half circle of the moon above his head and the reflection of the light underneath him, forming a safe cocoon.

Color Usage: Joe’s clothes are being lightened by the moon’s light, and the yellowish reflection on the water brings to mind the beginning of a new day.

Screen Composition: The closed form and composition here indicate increasing balance as the moon rises encompassing Joe within the comforting embrace of its sphere. This is also a good example of open frame. There is a universe to explore.

Editing Style: Cut on action with a match getting into the scene aligns us mentally with Joe and because on the out cut we go to a continuation of the previous shot’s action of Joe facing full front attempting to stand up, we’re now seeing things Joe’s way, since we’ve been given a glimpse of how he is seeing things.

Time: Real time is used. See Editing Style above for details.

Subtext: Life is bigger, and grander, and stranger than we know, as symbolized by the enormous moon rising over the ocean, and we need to experience the reality of the beauty of our lives, even, and maybe especially in the bad times, such as when you believe you have an incurable brain disease while being lost at sea with no hope of rescue with your true love who might be dying.

Shot Seven

Start Frame: 01:17:44

End Frame: 01:17:58

Duration: Fourteen seconds.

Shot Size: Full shot that tilts up into a medium shot that shows Joe’s power shift from weak to strong.

Sound: Score and moon rumble continue. Water splashes, and feet thump as Joe stands fully erect. The score and the roar of the moon seem to trade off being mixed slightly higher than one another. A slight creaking sound is heard while Joe tries to rise, possibly from the strings of the violin, suggesting his body’s resistance to change.

Contrast Dominants: Joe’s face and eyes are the contrast dominant, followed by his body as he rises.

Character Movement: Joe struggles to rise along the Y-Axis. He is now isolated from the raft of trunks and Patricia’s canopy. He now dominates center frame. The only other objects in the shot are the stars in the sky

Character Proxemics and Character Position: Joe faces full front and is at a social distance from the camera. This intrigues us, and makes us want to get closer to him. As he rises he straightens up and the raft which had been slightly uneven, corrects itself due to Joe’s weight.

Camera Movement: As Joe stands up the camera tilts with him, which emotionally changes the whole mood as he is now totally alone in the frame.

Camera Angle: The shot begins with an almost eye level shot and then moves into a slight low angle shot to show Joe’s acceptance of the call to adventure by his rising up.

Lens: See Shot Five.

Depth of Field: See Shot Five.

Lighting: Moderate to High Key light on Joe, with a dark expansive universe behind him. The reflection off the water can now be seen all over the front of Joe’s clothes, which gives the appearance of a current of electricity running through his body, representing a new found source of power for his life.

Color Usage: See Shot Five for an analysis of the first part of the shot. When Joe stands up in center frame, the only color is other than the black night sky and the shining stars is his khaki shirt and pants that through the light of the moon seem to subtly radiant a white light of their own, making them look not like khakis, but like white clothes that have become soiled.

Screen Composition: Joe is in center frame cleaving the two sides of the frame in half, representing again, the two ways of life and the fact that we always have a choice of which path to follow.

Editing Style: The cut into this shot is almost like the moon’s POV of Joe. The natural world may not be aware of us, but we are aware of it, and we should learn its laws for ourselves and act accordingly, so it’s not a stretch to imagine parts of the natural world as having points of view. The cut out is our “safe” observer’s view. Except that how can an observer not be moved by seeing a fellow human opening up to the world and the universe? 

Time: Time is real in this shot and it’s used to bring us right along with Joe’s journey.

Subtext: Much of the subtext of this and the preceding shots can only be understood in the correct context after viewing the complete scene and/or film , for example, the idea of the electrical current running through Joe’s body discussed under the Lighting category above. In this shot Joe is facing full front, finally accepting the wonder of his existence. 

Shot Eight

Start Frame: 01:17:58

End Frame: 01:18:12

Duration: Fourteen seconds.

Shot Size: Extreme long shot

Sound: Nondiagetic score soundtracks the epic nature of what is occurring while the deep sound of the moonrise crescendos as Joe lifts his skinny arms to heaven and a very faint tympani drum roll is heard in the latter part of the shot.

Contrast Dominants: The enormous moon draws our attention and then makes us look right at Joe. And when we see this shot, we’re now on board with Joe.

Character Movement: Joe slowly lifts his arms on the Y-axis as the moon rises in front of him.

Character Proxemics and Character Position: Joe is still at a maddening public distance from the camera. It’s an invitation to the audience to draw closer, but of course we can’t unless the filmmakers themselves bring us closer.

Camera Movement: The camera stays stationary so we can focus on Joe’s character movement.

Camera Angle: We are at an observer’s eye level, preparing us to be drawn in more fully in the final shots of the scene.

Lens: See Shot Six.

Depth of Field: See Shot Six.

Lighting: See Shot Six for previous details. The moon is now much bigger, so the motivated lighting casts more light on Joe.

Color Usage: See Shot Six.

Screen Composition: Joe forms an upside down triangle with his arms. The full moon is a sphere, and the umbrella is circular. The triangle and the circle represent wholeness and perfection.

Editing Style: The in and out cuts are both on matching action to emphasize Joe’s actions while witnessing this special sight. 

Time: The shots play out in real time, drawing us into what we’re seeing on screen.

Subtext: Joe is encased in the safety of the moon’s sphere, and accepts its power and beauty into his life with his prayerful gesture of raising his arms, not in some mystical metaphysical way, but in a metaphorical one. Joe isn’t doing this to please others, or to get ahead in the world, or because it’s what he’s “supposed to do.” He’s doing it in awe of reality. Because of this, he will later be able to accept that his sickness was a lie, and his whole voyage to the island was for nothing. Except… that on the sailboat to the island he did meet the love of his life, and marry her a minute before he jumped to his certain doom into a volcano. And then… he didn’t die. And he now has a beautiful future ahead of him with Patricia. As she asks Joe after the island is destroyed and they find themselves again floating on Joe’s trunks: “It’s always gonna be something with you, isn’t it, Joe?” His response is the only one a sane practitioner of reality would give: “Yeah.”