BOMBASTIC SIDE EYE

© BOMBASTIC SIDE EYE

E06 : My Journey to You | 云之羽 (2023) dir.Edward Guo

if u think money doesnt give u happiness please kindly send it to my bank account thank you

The On1y One visual analysis (Ep. 6): Boys in blue

The first few minutes of Episode 6 were so gorgeously shot.

The use of negative space to portray Jiang Tian's loneliness, the claustrophobic framing to represent Sheng Wang's despair--the angst and longing were on full display. The On1y One uses quite a bit of camera movement so the static nature of each shot gave this sequence an emotional heaviness we hadn't yet experienced from the show. There was a distinct lack of the warm exasperation that usually permeates the characters' disagreements.

Also, the use of a dissolve edit in the top screenshot to create a sort of split screen dividing them? That hurt (so good). I really need to pay more attention to how the show does its editing.

Side Note: I’m not a color theory girlie but the consistent use of blue and orange to represent Tian and Wang's bedrooms really works here to highlight the separation. They're so right for each other but could not be further apart and the use of complementary hues elevates that tension on a visual level.

All the pain of those initial scenes just makes the second half of the episode that much sweeter.

Tian and Wang once again renegotiate their relationship by the window and the camera language celebrates their make-up by becoming more dynamic and free. You can feel Wang's almost indescribable awe at Tian grabbing his wrist with that gloriously slow pan from Tian's gently smiling face to Wang's.

But, once again, my favorite shot of the episode has to be this long take with multiple rack focuses, which casually meanders back and forth between Wang and Tian's fond gazes. In my analysis of Episode 5, I talk about how The On1y One likes doing long uninterrupted shots that keep both characters in frame and smoothly changes the focus between the two to mimic their emotional connection visually.

So I love the idea of this camera movement being Wang and Tian's visual love language so to speak. There's something very precious about the idea of these two in particular moving forward with no regret, unencumbered, and together.

The On1y One Episode 5

Thank you, jiejie.

Why don’t you pick on somebody your own size? The Mummy Returns (2001) dir. Stephen Sommers