QuickCombo: SO 4 MORE | GO GO | SGMB

QuickCombo: SO 4 MORE | GO GO | SGMB

Listening links and my thoughts on this QC below the cut:

This was definitely an interesting set to create. Smeraldo Garden Marching Band has such a jovial/upbeat vibe but ya'll know me, I like to craft a little bit of a story with these combos while maintaining the pace of the songs. This combo demonstrates the lifecycle of a stereotypical idol singer. With So 4 More, they start their journey focusing on how much work they're putting in and where it's getting them. (Also don't confuse this track for the slower So 4 More BTS put together for their anniversary - I'm specifically referencing the version of So 4 More on Dark & Wild. Some performances call this song 2nd Grade).

We then move into Go Go with the critical look at how frivolous the lifestyle can be; focusing on fun times only and squandering time.

Smeraldo Garden Marching Band is the catalyst to point us right at the beginning of the cycle as the idol realizes why they are in the industry in the first place: the genuine love of the craft, the process, the people that support them. Just because it's lighthearted doesn't make it any less real.

ARE YOU SURE?!

Production Notes from eps 1 & 2

At this time, I'm not planning to do full response posts for these episodes. Maybe once I'm done with my Run BTS series but for now here's some production thoughts.

My initial thoughts are they've done an excellent job of merging the concepts for Bon Voyage and In The Soop while also adjusting for a reduction of members from seven to two.

To really understand this though, let's talk about some of the logistical requirements and goals of the previous shows for comparison.

Logistical Assumptions

So I think y'all do realize that there is SOME amount of planning that has to happen for a show like this to be made but honestly...the way some of you talk, it's like you think this footage just magically appears in front of an editor, capturing whatever the members happened to wander into. These aren't self-recorded vlogs. This is a full production with a crew, a budget, and a deliverable requirement; just like any other TV show.

One of the cutest moments for me was at the brewery when JM was teasing JK about a summary of what the show about. I KNOW this was the 5 second explanation that both of them would have had to say/hear dozens of times while pitching the show. That's what's so endearing about the way JM says it and JKs reaction.

They also know that statements like that, captured during filming often end up in promos. All the members are very aware as they're being filmed what footage ends up being used. We've heard them time and time again, 'please use this as the thumbnail', 'please keep this in', etc.

Jimin has always been the most vocal about questioning if the content works for their intended purpose. How many times have we heard him say 'can this even be used?' or 'this will be cut'. Usually it sounds to me like he's aware the footage they're getting in the moment doesn't align with the predetermined plan. But as is common with the footage we getnof the members, even though it wasn't according to plan, doesn't mean it's not releaseable.

The main point of JMs AYS concerns being his sickness. I'm sure he thought the show was in jeopardy of not fulfilling their deliverable requirements since it would be difficult to completely edit out. There is a legitimate concern that if they aren't able provide the agreed-upon footage, the show would never air. I'll talk more about this in my section on the edit.

For now, here's a list of SOME of the basics that have to be managed for y'all to keep in mind when consuming any kind of produced content.

Camera management: How many and what kinds of cameras need to be brought along? Are there special operators required like a drone operator. How often is the footage saved. How is it backed up? When and where are batteries charged? Who locations require early access so the crew can place stationary cameras prior to the member's arrival.

Sound management: Someone is making sure the microphones are charged, and capturing correctly. Being mic'd up is one of the easiest indicators of when the show is actively being filmed or not.

Security: this is BTS. The members didn't go anywhere without a security consultation and discussion of requirements.

Crew management: These are people that have to have places to eat, sleep, and have time off as well. They don't just vanish into thin air as soon as their job is done.

Location approval and tax requirements: Every country in the world has different regulations, incentives, and permits to be managed. The US varies these laws state-by-state.

Budget: Businesses don't stay in business by not managing the finances. We can talk more about this if anyone's interested but there are definitely some interesting points with how much on-screen time we got over the years regarding members' spending on the shows.

There's more but let's leave it at the for the moment and talk more about why I think this show was such a good blend of Bon Voyage and In The Soop from a production standpoint.

What was the initial goal of Bon Voyage?

I believe it was to promote the band and the members to viewers by giving us access to what it would be like to travel to various destinations around the globe. They knew the episodes still needed a catalyst though so there were various preplanned activities and games to motivate the editorial narrative.

BV1 was very experimental as they were obviously managing the challenges of such a production. There was a heavy emphasis on trying to make the members seem like regular ppl and seeing how they would tackle the problems many of us face with travel, chiefly budgetary and managing how to feed all of the travelers with strict spending limits.

BV2 completely game-ified the concept with the mini challenges and breaking everyone into different groups. It's very clear that this is not the strategy they preferred as BV3 was much lighter on the control. There were still some structured activities and events but the members were experienced enough to bring forth some of these moments themselves during the shoot rather than as a completely planned itinerary.

BV4 was a continuation of this with us also getting footage of the members being included in the event planning as well. I'm not saying they didn't have input in the planning of the previous seasons but by this point, production knew the members understood the requirements of a successful show as well as many of the necessary logistics. But it was still a travel show with some key events to fuel the storytelling.

How about In The Soop?

Enter pandemic. They obviously still wanted to do another show once they worked out what was permissible to film at the time. But now the changing of locations would not be a part of the engine. How were they going to ensure they still had a viable show? They did put in place a semblance of their previous formula with that silly daily schedule (that was ignored nearly to the point of being completely edited out) and a couple of events like the 94s mountain hike and vhope's car drive. But overall, they realized they had to rely purely on the members to find story moments and insure they were captured. Their trust was rewarded though and ITS1 was a hit.

Now ITS2 is a more interesting case. I do believe it may have started with the same intent as season 1, but it must not have been long in the pre-planning stage before a new goal was added: controlled access of a BTS tourism destination. I'm sure I'll go further into this topic whenever I do finally make posts on this series, but it's very plain to even the casual fan that the ITS2 location was a planned financial investment.

Enough about the location though, what were the filming objectives? Honestly? Not much. The members were clearly ready for a break and were mired in the uncertainties of the time period. Balancing the focus of the english-solo-songs era with the preparations for ch.2 solo activities resulted in an odd lack of direction for the members, which is evident in the show. Yes, there are great moments and segments but there's no progression and very little footage of all the members all together except during certain meals.

But ITS2 is still hailed as enough of a success that there was justification to add to the franchise with Tae's friendship installment.

But what does all this mean for Are You Sure?

We'd heard from many of the members during ch.2 that they would like to continue Bon Voyage so it honestly wasn't surprising that we'd eventually get another travel show featuring our beloved BTS members. Early in episode 1 of AYS, Jungkook says he's never traveled so loosely before. However this show was justified, it definitely wasn't planned to be another hyper-detailed barrage of JM & JK going from activity-to-activity like early BV but it also couldn't be as aimless as ITS. For as long as the conversation was surrounding the name of the show, we never hear them suggest Bon Voyage 5 because AYS was never intended to be another installment of that series.

This is why I said AYS is a perfect mesh of the two kinds of shows. Granted, the first episodes definitely had some unexpected obstacles due to the unexpected health concerns but I think the production team managed it well. Although, I'm convinced there's at least one activity they did have planned that had to get scrapped to let our poor guys rest and recuperate. I also wouldn't be surprised if by the time they started filming in the US, they hadn't locked another destination and schedule with how unsure JM & JK are when talking about the scope of the show. (And I hope we get some update on the poor motorcycle, I want to know how it got where it needed to be from the rainy grocery parking lot).

The Edit

The overall tone of the show is very lighthearted. Kind of surprisingly so for me. It's not the vibe I would have necessarily expected but it's one of the points that leads me to say they have merged BV and ITS so wonderfully.

A major aspect of BTS's content is usually the chaos and shenanigans the surround the members. Now much of that is emphasized in the context of one of these shows but I honestly wouldn't have been surprised if the edit had tried to make up for the lowered member count. Instead, it's a very laid-back edit. The quality and tone of the on-screen captions was world's different from some of the BV seasons (thank goodness!)

Now, about Jimin's illness. There's a reason why the coverage is cut the way it was to only bring us in on the story once both JM and JK started talking about it lightheartedly. If we'd had all of that footage chronologically, we also would have had building tension throughout the day's activities. But this way, we're able to enjoy the show per the original pitch as much as possible.

This show would have been planned during the time when the members were under heavy scrutiny for how successful they'd be as individuals and how their content will be received without the full seven members. Again, the way some of y'all talk about these shows, it's like you don't realize that the members are aware of how this content is structured. They are. They absolutely are.

Also, a big part of greenlighting AYS would have been a discussion of how it could be made with just 2 of the 7 members. JM and JK would have to take on a lot more of the burden since there wouldn't be other member to cut to. The solo vlogs we got at the beginning of ch.2 absolutely would have been used as a proof of concept. There are easy comparisons to make between JKs camping vlog and the camping scenes we got in these first AYS episodes.

Another key justification of the show could have been as promotional material for the current musical releases. While they did highlight quite a bit of both JK and JM's work in these episodes, the narrative definitely wasn't tilted in the direction of promotion. I love that because it's absolutely not what I would have expected.

What am I looking forward to for the remainder of AYS?

From a production standpoint, I'm already curious about the following:

Will there be any tonal shift? Specifically now that JM and JK have some uncertainties about the viability of their US adventure. Will it seem like they're compensating?

We know Tae is going to be in at least the next episode. How is this going to handled narratively and will there be any visible contradictions from that narrative in the production?

At what point was the final quantity of locations and shoots locked down? And when/if will JM and JK make mention of this.

If/How will the music promotion narrative shift? It's clear that this episode could not have been released until after MUSE's release once they decided to keep the footage of JK listening to Who. But when was that decision made?

What are your thoughts on the production of AYS so far?

Editing to add a link to my post on episode 3. Surprisingly I had a lot more to say!

Are You Sure?! Production notes from ep 3.

And there has been even more to say so here's a MasterList link

Are You Sure?! MasterList

💜BTS is/in Art💜

Happy ARMY Day!

All of your support, kindness, and love means everything to me. Thank you all!🫂

ART USED: Northern Lights, North Norway, Anna Boberg (1864-1935)

*******

Anna Boberg (1864-1935) was a Swedish who worked in ceramics, textiles, painting, set design, and writing. She was of an artistic family, but never received any formal training in the arts

READ MORE:

https://artherstory.net/anna-boberg-artist-wife-polar-explorer/

SEE MORE: https://youtu.be/ioxINybyLc0?si=99F_8dKx6tz0sLG1

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Run BTS: 071 | BTS in Toronto part 3

Original Air Date: 14 MAY 2019 Episode Length: 35:34 Total Parts: 3 YouTube English Subtitles: No Title Song: Idol

Synopsis: Conclusion to the Toronto trip, final mini games to determine the punishments, the wake up mission to cook breakfast and punishment footage.

Production: Not much to comment on production-wise. The wakeup mission was nice, it's always good for us to see BTS interacting more with their own music.

Endearment: Aahhh, i just love hanging out with these guys. PLUS this is when the photo for Promise was taken. I was in love with Promise for years and with these episodes. It doesnt get any better than this for me on the endearment scale.

Winner: None, i guess

Loser: Jimin, who was in first place lost a last-minute bet with Hobi

Best Cheater: Honestly? The Staff, they deeefinitely kept those games going beyond midnight like they said and then they gave Yoongi an advantage for coming out early without telling the others.

Member Moments:

RM: I'm loving RMs insistence on fairness during the wakeup mission

JN: Jin also getting the luck of the entertainment gods with the bottlecap bounce

YG: Yoongi's amazing luck with that bottlecap bounce!

JH: Hobi being so absolutely befuddled during the wake up mission

JM: Thanks to Jimin we all now know the Capitol of Mongolia. Also, I really loved that Mona Lisa sweater on Jimin the color was so nice.

V: Tae freezing during the wakeup mission but as soon as he passes, he's happy to come back out and dance

JK: I love how instantly chill JK is once he realizes he and Hobi lost and are cooking breakfast

Bonus Content: Again, absolutely killing it with the bonus clips here. So many great moments in such a short period of time.

CQ Rank: 5

(CQ Eval Date: 05 JUN 2024)

Check out this post for my Masterlist of all episodes and descriptions of how I'm evaluating these.

Previous Episode: 070

Next Episode: 072

Run BTS: 069 | BTS in Toronto part 1

Original Air Date: 30 APR 2019 Episode Length: 32:01 Total Parts: 3 YouTube English Subtitles: No Title Song: Idol

Synopsis: The guys are in Toronto! we'll follow them to visit Niagara Falls and to their lodging for the night. they're going to be given suprise missions by the crew randomly throughout the day for points, lowest points at the end of the day earns a punishment. This part covers visiting Niagara Falls, lunch, and grocery shopping.

Production: This is such a great series of eps. The main production burden is actually on the edit once they have their pile of minigames to rely on. other than that, it's keeping an eye out for opportunities to game-ify what the guys are doing. Since BTS are professional travel entertainers, they know how to work with this kind of set up and it's more a partnership between them and the crew.

Endearment: Like I said above, the guys are pros at this. There was a time where I thought these episodes were their test to see if the guys could put out a successful travel show but this was aired 3 years AFTER Bon Voyage season 1. It's no surpise that they're so good at it but it's still so enjoyable to watch. Some of the minigames are poorly handled or misfairly administered and I dont even care.

Winner/Loser: see final part

Best Cheater: V, absolutely cheating on those cham cham cham games

Member Moments:

RM: RM yelling in Jimin's ear and immediately apologizing

JN: Jin's reaction to the bug in his face and no one else believing him at all

YG: Yoongi putting his hand out for a coin also completely makes the iconic broke millionaire meme

JH: Hobi zipping Jimin into his jacket with him

JM: Jimin being a complete memory squirrel

V: V's iconic Niagara bit

JK: JK's adorable pout at failing his remote-con mission.

Bonus Content: Fun fact, ep.070 was the first Run BTS episode i ever saw. 70 & 71 made such an impression on me as a teeny baby army. When I found out there was an episode before it?? I was in absolute heaven. All three of these episodes are so very near and dear to my heart. I realize I'm completely biased but I absolutely love these. I remember it was some random youtube upload that had the front and the end weirdly edited to not get blocked and for a while I thought all of Run would be following them around their tour stops. Anyway, the actual bonus clips here are great and so iconic as well

CQ Rank: 5

(CQ Eval Date: 05 JUN 2024)

Check out this post for my Masterlist of all episodes and descriptions of how I'm evaluating these.

Previous Episode: 068

Next Episode: 070

This is so pretty!

MUSE by JIMIN (2024) insp / cr namuspromised