envirOnments

Through their environments, the studio builds a sense of curiosity about the world in which the story takes place. This is accomplished through richly detailed scenes, which can feel cozy and full, often juxtaposed to wide, breathtaking shots which give the viewer an overall sense of the world. This way, the viewer gets both a micro and macro implicit understanding of the world the hero adventures through.

the In-bEtween

I’ve noticed that critical moments of change, transformation, or high drama often happen in spaces framed between two larger environmental elements. This framing compresses the compositional focus and heightens the stakes regarding what is happening in the plot, and symbolically. Again, Totoro exemplifies this brilliantly in the scene where Mae is lost, and no one (including us) knows whether she is alive or dead. There are several beautifully woven juxtapositions here: Is Mae alive or dead? The road Satsuki sprints down is between two fields, at dusk, a charged time between night and day. And when she finds Mae, Mae is sitting on the side of the road where the spirits live, emphasizing her innate connection to the magical world and reinforcing an underlying environmental juxtaposition: the real and the magical.

wide & tight

Delectable Details

Porco Rosso: This and the following shot create a visual metaphor for Porco’s sense of inner isolation and loneliness.

This and the following shot do a great job at using the background to emphasize the difference of No-Face’s emotional state, adding tension to the scene.

unexpEcted frieNdship

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Flashbacks / Legends / Origins