Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis Episode 2

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The highlight of this episode was the beautifully shot, animated and edited dance scene. Before the breakdown, let us again watch that exquisite scene:


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This shot manipulates scale in order to place two elements in different planes side by side. The juxtaposition of Amira’s curious expression with the stage-like framing of the dancers really communicates her playful sense of wonder towards these new experiences
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This a POV shot from Amira’s perspective. The use of follow pan on Favaro produces a dynamic and exciting movement that reflects how Amira feels as she learns about dancing. The panning shot also gives the audience a view of the festive atmosphere, as they get to see the jubilant crowd in the background.
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The dancing scene begins with a full shot. It acts as an establishing shot to present the stage for the performance. The next shot is primarily consisted of a medium close-up of Amira, this tells the audience that she’s the main focus of the scene.

What made this scene so seamless and rhythmic were the really well timed match on action cuts. The two shots above exemplify this. In the first shot we get a quick glimpse of Favaro holding Amira’s hand. It then cuts to a different view, but we still see Favaro holding her hand as he completes a swinging motion. The matching motions between cuts maintain continuity despite the changing camera locations.

 The shots above are another example of match on action cuts. The first shot shows Amira losing control of her body. It then cuts to a low angle shot of Favaro grabbing her and then proceeds to swing her around. This whole dance scene is constituted of exceptionally timed match on action cuts.
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I like how the sequence above emphasizes Amira as the main attraction of the scene. First Favaro gets pushed off frame and then Amira’s gets pushed to the center. It basically turns to a centered shot of Amira without cutting or moving the camera.

There’s repeated switches to low angle shots during this dance scene. The low angle gives the characters a larger than life presence and also brings the audience closer to the enthusiasm of the scene.

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