Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) Episode 18

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This episode’s performance was a terrific coming of age for Nagi as a musician cross cut with Kaori’s bitter sweet violin pantomime. From a cinematography stand point, the performance scene mixes up the camera work in order to match the change in mood.


The beginning moments of the scene were filled with slow pans, tilts, and tracking shots. These languid movements matched Nagi’s feeling of comfort and ease with her performance. For Kousei this wasn’t good enough and looked to push her further as a performer. He shifted the mood and tone of the performance and accordingly the camera work matched up with it. There were less camera movement and more low angle static shots of Kousei that gave him a more commanding presence (as seen below).



This was a nice use of whip-pan to emulate Nagi’s willingness to keep up with Kousei’s pace. It appropriately expressed Nagi’s intensity but it was also brief enough not to be a distraction.
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A simple shot of Kousei, Kaori and the sky. In the right moments the use of negative space can evoke a sense of intimacy. For a small moment all that matters are these two characters on screen and the words and emotions they exchange.


At first I thought it was odd framing an intimate moment way off center. In terms of intimacy it’s a rather unengaging shot but as a whole the composition actually works quite well. Notice how lively everything is on Kousei’s side of the shot; the children playing, the sheets flapping in the wind, and the clouds in full view. It’s an imagery of what Kousei has to offer Kaori, which is to rediscover the joy of music and to feel alive again.

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 22, 2015 at 2:17 PM

    Hello,
    I'm Joshua a full time Film Student, and I love anime. Thank you for your blog and FaceBook about Anime Cinematography. I'm exploring camera movement and cinematic techniques used in anime that's not utilized much in live action narrative Film for a class project (I will be attempting to film these). There is still a lot of anime I haven't seen. Would you help me? I need three or four examples. What comes to your mind. Examples of techniques and movement that either scratches at your curiosity of would it work, or you would simple like to see more of it in narrative Film.
    Here is a link to a DBZ Gohan SS2 that I like(I've attached a clip of the exact sequence). I like the use of jump cuts in many anime action scenes. I'm not sure why anime uses this so much. Perhaps its for budget reasons. I like it non the less, and want to see if and how it would work in narrative live action features. Since you seem versed in anime and cinematography, what are movements and techniques you would like to seem more of from anime to live action? I look forward to your response.
    Thank you so much!,
    Joshua

    ReplyDelete

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