: Last time I watched RvB was when season 5 ended. After that, I felt like RvB
: had run its course and so I wasn't that interested in the new stuff. But
: months ago DHalo said I should catch up, but I still wasn't that
: interested. But all this stuff in this thread made me want to see what it
: was all about, so for the last few days I marathonned through season 6 up
: to the latest episode.
: Now, I really, really liked Season 6. It had a different feel to the previous
: seasons, but I loved how the story was told, and all the twists and
: whatnot. I also really liked Season 7. Then in Season 8, the first time
: they introduced CG, that really threw me off. But I was willing to be open
: to it. And I ended up quite liking Season 8 as well. But there was a lot
: of cognitive dissonance to see these characters doing movements that they
: had never done in the last 8 years or whatever. But whatever. They were
: trying new stuff, and it was cool to see Monty Oum again. But, still, it
: was very jarring. But, by the end of Season 8, I had really, really,
: really started to like it again.
: Then I started on Season 9. Two episodes in, I was so bemused that I had to
: stop for the night. Church and friends were all memories, and this
: side-plot was all CG. As I watched the action scenes, I kept thinking,
: "Am I really watching Red vs Blue?"
: But DHalo urged me to just give it a shot. So I did, and the CG aside, I
: started to enjoy it again.
: Then I saw the latest episode. And now I'm torn. In principle, I'm not
: opposed to the CG. But now it really is getting to the point where there
: seems to be a big action scene just for the sake of it. And I do like
: Monty's choreography, but when it's all big-action-all-the-time, it gets
: boring. The action lacks quiet moments to let things breath. Instead, it
: just hits every single beat, which removes chances for texture. And,
: especially in this episode, his camerawork has gotten to be annoying as
: hell. I'm sick of the fast camera moves, and the time ramping ala 300 .
: And I've talked about my hatred of mocap enough recently, so I won't rant
: about it here. Suffice it to say that the characters don't move with
: distinct character, and there's too much jigglyness that's inherent in
: mocap. I'm sure that's one of the things that made the action scenes so
: dissonant in the first place. The motion is too real (but not believable),
: especially when placed next to the 8 years of RvB's characters'
: hand-animation.
: Cliffs: - When the actions is CONSTANTLY at the highest level, it gets boring
: very, very fast. Having moments to let the action and the audience breathe
: is necessary to maintaining interest. It gives a great contrast to the big
: over-the-top stuff.
: - I'm not against CG at all in RvB. But I am against it when it's noticeable.
: Whenever I notice bad mocap, or a distracting camera move, then it's bad.
: - I'm not just being nostalgic for RvB's minimalism. I think any new way to
: tell their stories can be good. But they should always respect what RvB
: is. I've never associated choreographed action sequences with RvB. Now it
: feels like that stuff is just being thrown in wherever possible to give
: Monty Oum something to do.
: - Dear Rooster Teeth, hire me as an animation consultant
also, think back to these days of yore... soak it in... hi-emotions conveyed with minimalist movement. Music and color and *organic* camera placement can carry very heavy emotions forward. Some of the *strongest* RvB moments are when the soldiers are just standing still, and YOU inject what you're feeling into them.
I don't hate on RvB, I respect their attempt at changing things up... I just don't think this has worked for me much. My emotions can't lie. Intellectually I can think it's super-awesome, but the heart says differently.
