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the yse of horror cinematography in interlude: shadow - a thread
disclaimer : i am not formally educated in film production. i just really enjoy cinematography, and i learn about it on the side. none of the ss have been edited, they’re all mine. this is only a theory, you don’t have to agree with me.
this will be a bit different than my usual cinematography threads; instead of just focusing on color, i’m going to also talk about lighting and camera work
cw / i will use stills from horror movies to parallel to shots of shadow but i won’t show any images with anything graph
cw / i will use stills from horror movies to parallel to shots of shadow but i won’t show any images with anything graph
shadow uses many classic techniques horror movies use to create this unsettling tension in the audience to solidify the message of the darker sides of fame and yoongi’s identity. he accepts and acknowledges his ‘shadows’ or the dark parts of who he is.
also, jung (the psychologist that came up with the concept of persona, shadow, and ego in relation to one’s unconscious) wrote in “the Archetypes and Collective Unconscious” that people are drawn to to horror movies despite the fear, an emotion people usually deem as something to
avoid. this is because they “tap into primordial archetypes buried deep into our collective subconscious … images like shadow and mother play important roles in horror” and i find it so interesting that jung himself explored how horror movies appeal to one’s subconscious and-
bts made a music video that has horror elements with their song that explores jung’s theories.
ok so here’s a compression of all frames in shadow put side by side. green and red are the two most significant colors used in the music video.
ok so here’s a compression of all frames in shadow put side by side. green and red are the two most significant colors used in the music video.
green and red sit on opposite sides of the color wheel, making them complimentary. red is a color that humans associate with danger or violence, which naturally makes people unnerved.
(still : beyond the rainbow)
(still : beyond the rainbow)
green in film can mean a plethora of things, but in the genre of horror, a hue of green that stands out to me is in the Shape of Water, where the audience was conditioned to associate green with clinics and something unnatural
(still : shape of water)
(still : shape of water)
in the beginning of the mv, during the green shots, yoongi is on stage and while during the red he is surrounded by shadowy figures. that is why i think green is meant to signify yoongi’s persona, the image he presents to others, while red is his shadow, the dark parts of himself
in movies, color is used to get an emotional reaction out of the audience, so the saturation of the red becomes greater and greater; making the movie feel more suffocated. this could mean how he can’t keep his shadow hidden any longer and it’s getting out of control.
in horror movies lighting is used to distort the audience’s perspective to create tension and suspense. this is because with good lighting, one can manipulate the shadows of the shot and shadows are a way filmmakers can instill fear in the audience since shadows conceal beings.
when human brains can’t see something, they automatically fill it in with something, and with the dark ambience that shows shadows, our brains can’t help but fill in that emptiness with things we find horrifying. it is a way filmmakers can individualize fear.
this is used in shadow when the instances when only a silhouette of yoongi is there. also, when the shots are underexposed (has too little light) or spotlighting is used. these techniques hide a character; hiding their identity,
and this could mean how this persona that is on stage is hiding a part of them away, and this returns when shadowy hands are seen from under the stage threatening to come to the surface.
(also there is a moment where he is on stage and he is absolutely bathes in light, which is such a contrast from how dark the whole mv has been… and goes so well with the lyric “my shadow grows in that blasting stark light…)
the camera work in shadow is absolutely brilliant. it has a lot of panning shots that follow yoongi’s movement, tracking shots that reminisce to the famous horror film, The Shining, and shots with the dutch tilt, where the camera has a noticeable angle to its x-axis.
the music video starts with a slow tracking shot in a hallway, that is so reminiscent of The Shining, and tracking and panning shots build suspense because it makes one feel like the subject is being watched and one’s dread builds up as the camera follows them.
(s : the shining)
(s : the shining)
this eerie “watching” feeling that one recieves could mean call upon the downsides of fame, how he feels watched that he has to hide away his shadow
the dutch tilt also puts the audience at unease because it makes one feel like the world is out of balance, and it could mean how one struggles with the balance of one’s persona, shadow, and ego.
(there are also other different angles that add to this skewed perspective on reality : such as a bird’s eye view and shot from below)
(towards the end, there is a part where it yoongi is with the camera and going backwards in the hall the mv started in, and it sort of feels like a conclusion, with the doors closing but the slow traveling of the camera and idk if it’s the suspense of the quiet piano with the-
siren like noises(? idk what to call that, i am so sorry) in the bgm over his soft voice… but it’s almost like those moments in horror movies where i’m waiting for a jump scare)
nd then we do reach the jump scare or the climax of the film when the “i’m you and you’re me” nd this is where everything comes together with dark underexposed lighting blinking in nd out w the blinding lights, mixed w the heavily saturated red, nd the camera switching angles.
(also i’d like to note how the flashes of light from the cameras are tinted with green as if no matter what yoongi does, those cameras will only capture his persona.)
it’s chaotic, suffocating, and the audience just sees yoongi’s shadow break through the glass;` the part of himself that he tried desperately to keep away
shadow is a music video where yoongi is haunted by these shadowy figures and it makes the viewer feel so suffocated. there are scenes where he runs away from his shadows, but in the end, his shadow and persona face each other and yoongi realizes that both can coexist,
and that one has to accept the bad hidden parts of ourselves to feel more whole as a person, not at war with ourselves anymore. #1YearWithShadow
stream !!
