Subverting Wide-Shot Stereotypes in Episode 24

[ran1]

It's about time for another bi-monthly or so Ran1 essay. Don't mind me, just throwing out some more material for the Essay section on the wiki that's being talked about. I figure that I will have the essay on here first. As of now I'm working on moving stuff to the wiki.

But yeah, I consistently hear from here, /a/ and some other places that the wide shots in Eva are just there to cover up budget deficiencies. But because of that, people look down on those particular shots, some of which are masterfully done. I'm going to use some of my favorite wide shots in Episode 24 to illustrate my point even though there are awesome ones throughout the series.

Alright then, here we go.

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There is a reasonable adage about the use of the wide or extreme-wide shot in anime series: they are used to save money. With the audience lacking the ability to see the small mouth movements, the animators are able to save frames, and save funds on the production budget. However, amongst fans of a more visceral type, these shots can often seem “lazy” at best, or seemingly a forewarning of a rapidly failing production.

Evangelion was no stranger to these production troubles-- the ship was sinking fast around the time that the last five or so episodes were made. But that being said, these wide shots do not seem to fit the usual “lazy” stereotype that seems to fit so well on the mantle of other anime series that were made with much less directorial care than Evangelion. In fact, in a way startling similar to other media that have used the wide shot, these compositions often give the impression of a “painting” rather than simply a frame of animation.

Following Eisenstein's memorable words that “cinema is a synthesis between art and industry”, there is no reason why the “budget-saving” wide shots in Evangelion can't be artistic. With the help of some sub textual readings into the wide shots on both a narrative and technical level, this essay hopes to present that Evangelion's wide shots are indeed a manifestation of Eisenstein's synthesis.

For the sake of reference, the following wide shots will be used for the sake of this argument:

[wkimg width=200]File:24 ritsuko gendo prison.jpg[/wkimg] [wkimg width=200]File:Kaworu and Shinji 01.png[/wkimg] [wkimg width=200]File:24 C308 deliberation.jpg[/wkimg] [wkimg width=200]File:Shinji Misato lakeside.jpg[/wkimg]

[Excuse the crappy quality on the 2nd and 4th upload. If anyone wants to get a better image and post it, by all means, and I'll upload to the wiki]

Ritsuko/Gendo Prison Scene

[wkimg width=400]File:24 ritsuko gendo prison.jpg[/wkimg]

Ritsuko: Commander Ikari,My cat died, which my grandmother had been taking care of. I hadn't been taking care of it for long time... Suddenly now, I cannot see it again.

Gendou: Why did you destroy the Dummy System?

Ritsuko: It's not the dummy system, but Rei that I destroyed.

Gendou: I ask you once more. Why?

Ritsuko: Now that I am not happy even if you hold me. You can do anything you like to my body, as you did that time.

Gendou: I am disappointed in you.

Ritsuko: Disappointed? You have never expected anything from me in the first place. I have, nothing, nothing ...what shall I do, mom..

Subtext/Analysis

This shot is manifold in dichotomy. First we have what is the obvious: Ritsuko mourning the loss of her cat, and Gendo angry over the loss of the dummy system. But what we have here goes a little deeper than that: What we see now is a Ritsuko who has lost all love for her work, and a Gendo who is working for his love. This shot is a manifestation of the things that it cost the two of them: Ritsuko has lost the things that gave her life justification, Gendo has lost his “soul” and empathy in the process of executing his plan for instrumentality.

What goes even deeper is the symbol that sits in the middle of the two of them: a glowing symbol of NERV. What we can see here is the organization and symbol that brought the two of them together, and then drove the two apart. Unlike the previous image where the composition isn't as important as the words being spoken, here we have an image of the very essence of their relationship. For Gendo, NERV is a tool to retrieve his wife. Thus, for the most part he treats those who are a part of it like tools. His emotional detachment to many of the characters is quite obvious throughout the series. For Ritsuko, however, NERV is the justification for her being, what makes Ritsuko Ritsuko is NERV itself, and she treats it very seriously. A classic “conflict of interests” manifested through the organization itself is brilliantly played in this scene through both words and visuals.

Kaworu/Shinji "First Meeting" Scene

[wkimg width=500]File:Kaworu and Shinji 01.png[/wkimg]

A Boy: A song supplies us with joy. A song is the highest culture that Lilims generated. Don't you think so, Ikari Shinji-kun?

Shinji: You know my name?

A Boy: Everyone knows your name. Excuse me, but you'd better know your own standpoint.

Shinji: Is that so? Well, who are you?

What we have here is a contemplation on what artists tend to do often times: comment on another medium via their own medium. Vonnegut does a similar contemplation on music on Slaughterhouse-Five, for example, where he justifies human existence with music. Kaworu's tune that he hums, Beethoven's 9th, the Ode to Joy, is generally considered to one of the greatest musical compositions of all time, if not entirely the greatest. This is not even mentioning Anno's brilliant use of foreshadowing, where later in the episode, as Kaworu makes his descent to destiny, a choral version plays in the background. The composition in a medium commenting on a composition in another medium, though seemingly obvious to educated viewers, still strikes me as one of the more interesting aspects of the episode.


Also, what could be also noted here is that this static image brings more attention to the dialogue independent of the characters speaking them, like many of the other shots will. Though certain allusions could be made about the scorched landscape and symbolic objects, they really seem to sit in second place to the power of the dialogue. By distancing us from the characters, we are able to focus more on “the words themselves” rather than whether or not they actually make sense coming out of an angel's mouth.


Deliberation Scene

[wkimg width=500]File:24 C308 deliberation.jpg[/wkimg]

What more could be said that hasn't already been said? In what seems to be the greatest offender and greatest manipulation of the still frame, the deliberation, the choral, here we have a synthesis of what cinema is, and image, with sound, that has the capability and potential to move and create the illusion of movement. But Anno forces no movement here. The image is still because Kaworu's heart is still. The image is still because Shinji's heart is still. The image is still because Anno's heart is still. The image is still because our hearts are still. By leaving up this for a minute it is both beautiful and painful, and most importantly, existential. What we have here is the contemplation of the condemning choice that Shinji must make. We are unsettled by this shot because the choice that Shinji is making is unsettling. Anno makes no attempt to soften the impact for us by panning or inserting other images. This shot manifests the choice, and the choice is there, for all of to see. It is impossible to miss.

Shinji and Misato

[wkimg width=500]File:Shinji Misato lakeside.jpg[/wkimg]

Shinji: Kaoru-kun, said "I love you."
To me!
For the first time, for the first time I heard the words.
He looks like me.
He looks like Ayanami.
I loved him.
It is Kaoru-kun that must have survived.
He was much better than I am.
He should have survived.

Misato: No.
A surviver must have the will to survive.
He wished to die.
He abandoned the will to live, And depended on the false hope.
You are not wrong.

Shinji: You are cold, Misato-san.

1.Here we have Shinji at his most broken. Sitting with Misato in the ruins created by Rei's death, we have him contemplating the loss of all those close to him through a combination of visuals and words. As the shot sits in stasis, we hear Misato's response to Shinji's acknowledgment as a failure of a person. Misato asserts that those who abadon the will to live, the will to change are only failing themselves and others. Interesting to note that they stand by the pool in which Rei created by her own suicide. Another interesting thing of note is that Asuka, now comatose, also “abandoned her will to live” following her mind-rape. The true irony of Misato's words is brought to light here: none of the pilots want or wanted to live because of the conditions of their piloting brought on by Misato and others at NERV.

Finally, on both a technical and narrative level, this particular scene distances us from Misato, a process, which in reality, had actually begun as far back as Episode 22 when Asuka began forming her bad opinions of her. More on that later, though.


[sorry about the translation here. Its shit, but its the only one that I could find apart from by bad translation abilities. Damn moonspeak]

A better translation is welcome because it will give me more stuff to analyze. I'm not sure if this is really the best one...

TL;DR: Wide shots are some of the most technically brilliant aspects of Eva, with Anno making beautiful single frame-compositions in order to save the budget. The shots themselves are brilliant pieces of work on both a surface and sub-textual level.

DISCUSS, and feel free to add any significant wide shots as well I'll see if I can't incorporate them into the upcoming essay/article.

[sephirotic]

The most controversials static scenes are with no doubt, Unit 01 killing Kaworu and the Elevator scene in episode 22.

I do agree that the 9th simphony static scene is brilliant, but i always wanted to see Shinji expressions as he stared Kaworu in his last moments till he build up his courage to finally give the final blow.

The episode 22 Elevator scene is also very interesting, and is even present in the 2.22, however, in 2.22 it lacks the tension that is growing inside Asuka to confront her self-defence barriers failures, as even the girl she most despise of all started trying to lecture her.

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

Ritsuko/Gendo Prison Scene

[wkimg width=400]File:24 ritsuko gendo prison.jpg[/wkimg]

I'm glad you pointed out this scene because I think this is actually one of the better scenes in the show from a cinematic perspective. I agree with the main thrust of your read subtext, in particular

What goes even deeper is the symbol that sits in the middle of the two of them: a glowing symbol of NERV. What we can see here is the organization and symbol that brought the two of them together, and then drove the two apart. Unlike the previous image where the composition isn't as important as the words being spoken, here we have an image of the very essence of their relationship.

Nerv is certainly at the heart of the Gendo and Ritsuko relationship—from beginning to end in fact. Also of note here is how Ritsuko, seated and dejected, is facing away from both Gendo and Nerv, while Gendo is standing and gazing across Nerv at Ritsuko who he has ruined by his actions(In fact, Gendo has a pained look on his face during this scene).

Ritsuko also stands out from the background here, brightly lit, whilst Gendo in black is almost swallowed by the blackness. Indeed Gendo emerges from and is fades back into the darkness to the sound of a stage light turning on an off(A little similar to what occurs in Instrumentality).

The whole scene actually puts me in mind of a theatre play. We have a minimalist stage with only one prop (the chair), stage lighting, an entrance and exit by Gendo and even Ritsuko's "Nothing, nothing, nothing." has a stage acting flair. Carrying observations too far, I'll also note that Instrumentality in fact features an empty theatre later on.

[NemZ]

While I agree with most of what you said, the Deliberation Scene still gives me a bad taste.

It has not only the effect of forcing the audience to consider the choice at stake, but because it goes on for so long it eventually moves even the more forgiving of viewers to wish for his death just to get things moving already. It seemed to me that killing him was the obvious thing to do, however, so the longer the scene went on the more I was worried Shinji was going to pull more of his passive Bardiel crap again.

I like the idea of a still shot and of timing the battle to the entirety of the movement, but that shot just goes on too damn long... time that could have been more effectively spent improving the 01 vs 02 battle or fleshing out the conversation with Kaworu.

[thewayneiac]

[wkimg width=200:12k0xgww]File:24 ritsuko gendo prison.jpg[/wkimg:12k0xgww] [wkimg width=200:12k0xgww]File:Kaworu and Shinji 01.png[/wkimg:12k0xgww] [wkimg width=200:12k0xgww]File:24 C308 deliberation.jpg[/wkimg:12k0xgww] [wkimg width=200:12k0xgww]File:Shinji Misato lakeside.jpg[/wkimg:12k0xgww]

I tried to fix up a couple of them (1 & 4). Do they seem improved?

I tried to do something with the second one but my software choked on the .png.

[Eva Yojimbo]

Excellent work as always ran. I pretty much agree entirely. When you finish this, one thing I'd like you to look at is Anno's method of cutting from extreme close-ups to wide-shots. One instance that always struck me was in ep. 2 during the Eva fight where we get a close-up of Misato's screaming face, this cuts to a close-up of Shinji's face waking up in the hospital and then cut back to a wide-shot of the room which dissipates the tension immediately. I think there are other instances of this in NGE, but I've always found it one of Anno's best uses of Eisenstein's basic montage theory.

[0x2eleven]

To me, the wide-shots in NGE almost always come for significant, artistic reasons. That they save money is just a convenient coincidence.

[Synapsid]

It seemed to me that killing him was the obvious thing to do, however, so the longer the scene went on the more I was worried Shinji was going to pull more of his passive Bardiel crap again.

What if that might have been one of the ideas they wanted to convey? After all this really is the most heartbreakingly dificult action Shinji has had to do, and the intent of drawing it out might have been to give the audience the idea that this wasn't something Shinji could do. It sort of is a replay of the bardiel scenario, only this time the "human" isn't a unknown pilot, also he has to directly kill him this time so there isn't any way to excuse himself.

[planet news]

it goes on for so long it eventually moves even the more forgiving of viewers to wish for his death just to get things moving already

I disagree. It was edge of your seat for me. Especially since the music weaves up and down in intensity. One of the best mind fucks ever really, because you don't know what you "want". Fear is also something that comes to mind here, though by the rewatch this is gone. I would say that the lasting impact of watching the shot, even knowing how it's going to play out, is the way the music changes during it.

[NemZ]

IF Shinji hadn't killed Kaworu, leaving it instead to someone else to finish the job or for a deus ex machina to make the decision moot, I would have stopped watching at 24.

[planet news]

Don't know how to explain this except that during the film Recount, I still got excited at the Gore team's wins even though I knew the end.

[Synapsid]

IF Shinji hadn't killed Kaworu, leaving it instead to someone else to finish the job or for a deus ex machina to make the decision moot, I would have stopped watching at 24.

Was it really that bad? Given the situation it makes sense that Shinji would find it impossible to kill Kaworu. Also it's worth mentioning that in the older of the scripts Shinji was unable to do the act untill Kaworu forced his hand by loosing his own control over his nature and begining to move again. Also Rei was willing to kill Kaworu as so to save Shinji the pain, she didn't. So I don't know how that counts...It doesn't seem like a deus ex machina.
The only other alternative around though, would have been Kaworu finding Adam, and initializing his own instrumentality. I wonder how the end results would differ from an Ikari instrumentality.

[Mr. Tines]

The only other alternative around though, would have been Kaworu finding Adam, and initializing his own instrumentality. I wonder how the end results would differ from an Ikari instrumentality.

Um, don't you mean a Kaworu vs Rei superfight culminating in a Rei/Lilith gattai as winning move? Remember who was looking down enigmatically from above and countering Kaworu's AT-field.

[NemZ]

Was it really that bad? Given the situation it makes sense that Shinji would find it impossible to kill Kaworu.

If so, it would have shown that this entire time he's been piloting he has learned absolutely nothing about his responsibilities as someone able to pilot. He knows what is at stake, he's seen people he cares about get nearly killed every time he tries to shirk responsibility, he's watched Rei die for the cause, and Kaworu himself is telling him to do it. If after all that he still can't suck it up and do what's needed when he's the only one who can then I have absolutely no use for him.

[ran1]

If after all that he still can't suck it up and do what's needed when he's the only one who can then I have absolutely no use for him.

You seem to have little sympathy for the human capacity to err out of love.

[Eva Yojimbo]

You seem to have little sympathy for the human capacity to err out of love.

Kinda says it all, doesn't it?

[Ornette]

Locked at the request of the topic starter.

[Sailor Star Dust]

Unlocked at the topic starter's request.

[InstrumentalityOne]

I never looked at the wide-shots as a result of lacking budget.

They were very powerful and they transmitted their meaning/mood good enough IMHO.

[soul.assassin]

The lengthy still scenes tell me that the characters are thinking hard (without any inner dialogue), and in the most gravest of situations, bear the burden of making the right decision that could very well decide the fate of everything around them.