#especially when it comes to bts and production stuff

[zhengzi]

.

[bitchcakegreen]

Let’s talk ADR - automated dialogue replacement - for sec.

I want to bring this up because I’ve seen folks removing the music from the smexy scenes between Polin and getting confused that there’s quiet spots and the sound doesn’t fully sync up.

When we film, the mics don’t always pick everything up. We try to capture as much of the dialogue as possible while on set or location but sometimes stuff just doesn’t come through. Especially in long shots or if there’s lots of ambience noise, mainly on location shoots.

Same with sound effects. These are added afterwards. There’s a great female foley artist on tiktok who gives people a bts view of what she does, if you’re interested. Her handle is reelfoleysound

About 10-30 percent of dialogue has to be ADRed. Basically re-recorded in a sound studio. ADR is secondary recording of dialogue that didn’t get picked up on location and then is overlayed with the music and sound effects tracks. What does that mean for the carriage scene and others like it? Well, it makes that Luke and Nicola might have had to stand at a microphones and make all those sexy ass moans and groans. They have playback of the scene and the actors say the lines or whatever along with it as the sound tech records. It helps to keep everything synced in the final product.

That’s why when you remove the music from the scene to hear the moaning better - you can’t always do so.

Rock on, Bridgerton babies!

[roo-bastmoon]

IMPORTANT INFO: issues around Jimin’s album

I have an ARMY friend (who shall remain safely anonymous) who works in film production for the music and entertainment industry here in the US. They offered me some valuable insights today into production limitations and possible issues related to Jimin’s solo album.

Below the cut is a transcript of their messages to me. I share this in the hopes it better informs our discussions around fair treatment of BTS members’ releases. It is by no means a definitive account of Jimin’s situation—simply an insider’s ideas on what likely happened around a few things.

I understand there are very big feelings about this topic, especially with the apparent differences around JK’s single, and I appreciate everyone’s viewpoints. However, if you choose to interact with this post, you will be respectful to others (including members) or you will be blocked. You are always welcome to DM me privately if you need to vent—we are all human and we all need a bit of grace, so you’ll always have that with me.

Sending you guys so much love, Roo

Anonymous Insider

Some “light reading” while you’re resting up and recovering, lol. This is all just based on what I’ve been watching and seen. Of course, I don’t have access to their production budget sheet and Korea works very differently than the US when it comes to production, but this what I’ve been seeing when it comes to their videos and particularly the promotions for FACE.

(I’m sending in sections, lol)

Alrighty - I’m still like deep in edit-land (still am two days later 😭) but I started typing this on the train between meetings, ha ha. (And am still on the train doing this, lol.) Also this rambles a bit I’m sorry! So the first thing I did was go back to the interview where Jimin talked about the music videos — it was a Japanese TV show and he’s talking with a host in Korean.

He’s talking about “wanting to do it all,” laughs and says, “I wanted all the music videos” and that “they” (the company assuming) said “무리다” which has its roots in the word 무리 which means a herd, a party, a group — basically “it’s too much,” “it’s unreasonable,” and “it’s impossible” are decent translations as it refers to something or an idea being “too much” — then the host and Jimin burst out laughing and the host goes “서리와 무리다” which I read as “sorry (in konglish) but we can’t” and they continue to laugh. So based on that —it sounds very understandable.

We can imagine Jimin sitting down with his team and planning out SMFP2 and LC videos, with the 30 dancers and all the party scene extras, and then Jimin saying he wants to do the music shows with 6 different sets in rented locations so they could have total control. And if Jimin in that process went “what if we made official music videos for all of them?” the team would understandably go “that’s just not reasonable!” 1) because it would give Jimin a budget no other member had gotten and 2) there aren’t that many production houses in Korea. It’s a very small scene — it may just logistically not been possible. There aren’t enough DPs and crew and editors. Sometimes, as a producer, you have to tell your creative talent “I’m sorry, but no.” — I say it every week!

So what about the music videos? Well, here’s what I know from meticulously watching all the behind the scenes for BTS videos over the years. They work with a small team. They likely own a good deal of the gear — they shoot mainly on RED cameras and heavy expensive Cooke lenses (which you can’t get this stuff easily in Korea. I lost a lens cap for a Canon CINÉ Lens in Seoul and it was like this whole big deal because getting gear there is an import challenge but anyways) they use MOVI and Ronin gimbal stabilizers and Jimmy Rigs a lot.

Recently they’ve been using technocranes but I wonder how many technocranes there are in Seoul. As I said, they likely own a lot of this gear which can help with costs. But we’ve also been told — and I’ve heard through my industry friends — that Hybe PAYS. And in Korea there’s no unions in the entertainment world, and often the rates are shit (hence Netflix investing so much there - blerg) their standard work week is also already 12 hours longer than the US. It’s a whole thing. and they spend so much money on sets. It’s incredible.

They rent these huge spaces outside Seoul and BUILD — I mean the build out for SMFP2 was astounding. They easily dropped 1million on that video. The rigging, the build-out, the custom set and the custom camera rigs to achieve the 360 shots - the drone shots. They’re astounding videos. No US label is spending that money on videos these day. Absolutely none of them are — my friend recently produced a video for John Legend. They were trying to pull the whole thing off for $100K which is ridiculous. It’s really almost impossible.  

But on the Big videos they spend a lot of money, but they also produce a lot of other stuff too (and these are often looked at as Performance Videos vs all-caps MUSIC VIDEOS) -— like RM’s video shoot at DIA Beacon… that was a much smaller, fairly single camera shoot — all shot on drones or a MOVI handheld rig. No set, they also didn’t like pay for the set because DIA: Beacon is an art museum — and similar a little bit to Letter for Jimin, which was much smaller set and easy in-house gear.

(And it was also released on Bangtan TV channel vs Hybe Labels Channel, which is a good indicator of how they categorize these shoots.) But the big videos, they go for broke. I mean they spend so much money and again they may own a lot of the equipment but there’s still so much people-power and labor involved. Take the dancers’ rehearsals. You have to pay people for all that — you have to pay them for the weeks of rehearsal, you have to pay them to be in a video. It is so expensive — like, I would not be able to budget that video for under 1 million, that’s how much it costs.  

So then Jimin wanted to do music shows —- and so because he’s Jimin and it’s BTS, Hybe rented larger venues and locations for all of the shoots. None of them use the actual Broadcast spaces or were provided by the broadcast studios. The smaller companies do though — remember when BTS first started out they went to SBS to film on the day? — but they don’t do that anymore. They rent huge facilities so that they could be a mini concerts for ARMYs to visit with Jimin and see him.

They also have to do this kind of outside of the city and they built huge sets because they’re going to want to show off if they’re gonna be on TV but that is so expensive. (I don’t think you were an ARMY then, but when ON was released, at the time it was the “biggest broadcast performance ever” and they keep upping that ante for sure!) It’s possible the broadcast companies spend some money but what BTS is doing is so outside the usual budget and given the tension with the broadcasters and HYBE — they (Hybe) wants control of their products, and so I think they pay for that control.

I can’t imagine they got out of any of those days for under $500K; I mean, there were two different sets, all the crew; they’re paying for all of it. We add it up and they probably spent close to $3-5 million between Jimin’s music videos and his music show performances, and I would be understandably like: “That’s it!” Like, that’s the budget for an EP, you know.

I don’t think Jimin could have it all because that wasn’t the case for the other members. RM got to lead videos and J Hope had pyrotechnics, which definitely costs money and safety and insurance. You know he had visual effects his first video (a lotta visual effects) and again a lot of challenging technocrane work, but I haven’t really seen them build something on the scale of what they built for SMFP2 in a very long time (or ever?).

We heard from the Art Dept that Jimin did not want to shoot on blue screen, so they built the set for him. This cannot be the same label that is shafting him — that allows him to spend that amount of money just because the artist said “I want to shoot in a real space!” because I’m gonna be completely honest— he could’ve done that on a blue screen — I’m glad they built a real world because BTS almost always shoots on Blue/Green Screen. They build him a huge set like that. It’s absolutely incredible.

I was also reminded this morning that people are talking about radio for Like Crazy and not supporting the song — and I just keep thinking that they did exact rollout for Butter, Dynamite, and Permission to Dance. They released Like Crazy. It had both a Korean version and English version. (Obviously that wasn’t the case for the English BTS songs.) They released two additional remixes. Then they kept releasing, like, alternate cover versions — alternate covers of the main remix, alternate cover the other remix. They were trying to maximize the direct-to-consumer store and exact same way they had tried to maximize it with Dynamite and Butter and Permission to Dance.

The way you were buying Like Crazy was the same process I took on Dynamite. They did the exact same playbook. So the fact that they were unable to get the kind of radio play they wanted or maybe they weren’t prioritizing radio because they knew that they were gonna have a better chance at direct to consumer sales... Maybe they didn’t want to fight radio. Maybe Geffen was like “We don’t have the right ‘Ins’ yet!” — I’m not sure, but the fact that they got completely screwed over by Billboard doesn’t mean that they weren’t actually rolling it out in that way, because as soon as they started doing the whole alternate cover thing, I was like: “Well, they clearly want us to try to go for number one!” You know, “They clearly think that they are going to be able to get number one on the hot 100 and we’re gonna use these sales to do that!” And clearly that’s all changed now.

They keep changing the rules on us, so — with JK, they’re obviously trying to, you know, use whatever tools they have available to them at this point.

Finally, when it comes to restocking the digital single CD. There are still albums available in the store. So why would they manufacture and ship more (likely thrown away) plastic that’s just for one song, when those CD singles only serve to raise sales for the charts? All of the other member’s CD singles are out of stock except The Astronaut, which they treated more like a proper album a bit (kinda like the Butter CD releases). Because they still have both versions of his full albums in stock, so if I were Hybe, I’d be like “No,you need to buy the album, we still have albums, we’re not going to sell you a single song when you can buy the album!” That makes more sense to me. The albums cost more.

TL:DR, haha — so I feel like this narrative around Jimin’s release has been ramped up because, from my professional opinion, he’s had the most expensive release so far (by far) and if we want to compare him to, say, Beyoncé — well she owns her own production company (Parkwood Entertainment), so she can funnel her own money into a Visual Album, I don’t know if Jimin has considered that at this point in his career, but in the future, he might!

((Not including costs for Suga’s tour because that’s a whole other thing, and the tour probably made money I would expect to balance out the cost of the tour itself))

Anonymous Insider

This isn’t to say that the other things, the part where he didn’t get the cake celebration, or the posts, the issues with the linking and this general feeling that Jimin was short-changed in these things isn’t valid and understandable. I think Hybe relied too much on D2C sales and I don’t think they leveraged their might as much as could have for JM. They could have risked more for him.

{This is an end of Anonymous Insider’s messages to me. They noted that they are an intermediate non-native Korean speaker so please excuse any translation errors. They translated things themselves using Naver tools that aligned with the video subtitles.}

So, listen, I still don’t think Like Crazy was sent/promoted to radio (which was a mistake and still is a mistake) and I am furious at the shady articles and lack of celebration for Jimin…

But after reading the way the members approach their work in the Beyond the Story book and now hearing from someone who produces these works for a living, I have to wonder if the company was doing everything they knew how to do for Jimin, but the second it didn’t work out because of the western music industry culling streams and sales, they pulled back all their resources and pivoted for Yoongi and JK. (I also wonder if leadership shut up about it all due to liability issues, or not to cause bad blood with the music industry for future releases.)

Again, I’ll never forgive the lack of celebration and the split streams (not without a great explanation), but at least now I think there’s a good chance no one was actively trying to sabotage Jimin on purpose. They seemed to have wanted that #1 and then it all went to shit because Billboard and radio want to get paid. Maybe leadership decided not to put any more resources into Face but instead pivot for all the future music coming out (including PJM2.)

Perhaps I'm a cockeyed optimist. I’m just hoping like hell they never engage in payola. I want all our boys to win, but I want us to win fairly. And even if everyone cannot have the same investment every time on every project, I hope when they come back together in 2025 that everyone feels good about their solo works and each other. This is my prayer. Love, Roo

[bangtanhoneys]

BTS MOMENTS: Yoongi & Grace - I Got You Everything

The shared calendar that was on their phone alerted all of them of what day was coming up. It had been called various things - Red Day, P-Day, Stay Away Day, Code Red, Shark Week. In the early days, it was between Grace and the staff on what happened during ‘Shark Week’ as she lived in a different dorm to the boys but when she moved in, there had been a meeting set up with diagrams and other things Namjoon had found on the internet. 

Namjoon had gone into teacher mode because he had a sister, just as Hobi did and Taehyung, so he knew what to expect. For the others, it had been a long and hard lesson. The shared calendar had been set up in the early days so they knew who had what lesson, who had what training, who needed to be where, how long Jungkook was away in Los Angeles, etc. And when Grace was introduced to them formally as a group, her lady days were added to the calendar.

Yoongi stared at the phone as his calendar alerted him to ‘Code Red - minus 2 days away.’ His brain went completely blank as he stared at the words, taking an embarrassingly long time to try and compute what it even meant until something clicked. Code Red - Grace’s period was due soon. 

They didn’t need to know as a group but it helped explain why sometimes she didn’t want to be touched, why she was grumpy when she was normally cheerful, why she needed to disappear for an hour or two to go and lie down because her cramps were borderline childbirth level. Plus it also alerted them to the fact that they needed to be on standby.

‘Shit,’ Yoongi thought to himself. ‘Does she even have everything she needs?’ 

This was the first alert since they moved to the new dorm with its bigger bathroom and they had created a cupboard especially for Grace’s stuff. And Yoongi was pretty sure that it hadn’t been stocked up. 

What the hell did women buy?

It was a question he asked himself as he stood in the aisle, looking at the various products, masked up and the bucket hat sat firmly low so no one could see any of his features. They didn’t need Dispatch catching a glimpse of one of their members in the feminine hygiene aisle when they were just getting started.

And the price?! 

How did Grace afford this in the early days?

Also, how did she know what to get?

There were pads for heavy flow, nighttime, light flow, day time. Then there were tampons for similar things and then there were wipes and other bits that had his cheeks burning. Why did he think this was a good idea?

But he was a man. And he was going to take care of his female member, even if she was three years older than him and clearly knew what she was doing.

Grabbing two packs each of pads for heavy flow, nighttime and light flow and grabbing Grace’s favourite chocolates on the way to the checkout, Yoongi felt like he had accomplished his mission. He didn’t know much and maybe he’d do a bit of researching later on because while the safe sex talk had been important, he clearly hadn’t been paying attention to the other parts.

Thankfully, he found Grace on her own in the living room with her feet on the coffee table and a book in her lap. 

She glanced up at him and raised an eyebrow, surprised to see him home so early. 

“I thought you were going to stay locked up in your studio,” she said as she marked her place with her finger. 

Yoongi didn’t say anything but handed over the bag as he slipped off his shoes. 

A quick glance inside had Grace looking at Yoongi with a startled look. 

“Uh, I'm not sure what kind of things help with this- so I got everything I could think of,” he said while scratching the back of his head. “I hope this week won’t be too bad.”

The corner of her mouth twitched upward as she held onto the bag. Of all her members, he had been the only one (so far) to step up and take into account her bodily needs.

“Thank you, Yoongi. I won’t say a word to anyone else.”

[outsidereveries]

newer but a bit older requests from curiouscat (25th september 2024—27th september 2024)

25th September 2024

there are rumors saying actor jung haein and jung somin are dating, their drama ‘love next door’ is currently airing, do u think the rumors are true?

the world, the magician, page of cups • 3 of cups

it looks like it's true (and not a rumor).

will Ningning be forced to interact with idols especially a particular male idol this year? because i have heard from rumours that it is connected to awards show or variety show? i hope she will go to the one without getting hate. i have seen some RIIZE stans and NCT stans hating girls for tiktok challenges and calling them boy obsessed..i hope this rumour is not true

the hermit, 6 of cups rx, 8 of cups rx, knight of wands rx, the empress

she doesn't want to communicate with idols of the opposite gender😭😭😭 it looks like it's a no

how does itzy’s cb look… successful hopefully!

ace of cups, the moon, 7 of pentacles rx, the sun, queen of wands rx

i can see they'll do better in korea compared to elsewhere. if i also compare how itzy did in the born to be era in korea to gold era, i see that itzy will do way better.

when it comes to the foreign lands, jype might fabricate the sales in the albums. the company will try to promote itzy in the western market (like usual, i believe), but it might not work out, therefore the fabrications (whether they'll be about the album sales or not) might be more seen.

will tyla do well career-wise?

2 of swords rx, 9 of penacles, the empress

oh yes, she'll still do really well. might rest for a bit but it won't be fatal at all.

what will be worse than the Burning Sun scandal? (for YGE)

4 of pentacles, 3 of cups, the magician, 5 of pentacles rx, 7 of cups rx

it's money-related, so money laundring, debuting a group because of trying to win more money illegally, unfair salaries for some of the employees... it's money related and it's not done by 1 person but idk how it'll be revealed tbh

the boyz, brief career check (2025-2027)

10 of swords rx, 8 of wands rx, 4 of wands

currently it'll be postponed how tbz gains their fanbase, so no. the b's will be stable and won't change that much.

will nwjns change companies/subsidiaries or not?

5 of pentacles, wheel of fortune, 8 of cups, 8 of pentacles rx, 7 of swords rx

currently will stay in hybe. it looks like the girls have separately talked with the new ceo of the corporation and he has explained the current circumstances.

from what i see, he didn't give hope to newjeans but he hasn't said that min heejin is gone either. it's complex, i don't see the full situation here.

what does nct jaehyun think of sung hanbin?

5 of wands, ace of pentacles, king of cups

jaehyun wants you to know that how he sees him as a person differs from what he thinks about hanbin in career-related .. stuff a lot.

the difference is very visible as in the industry, jaehyun sees hanbin as competition. it looks like there were offers in the past that were made to jaehyun where sme denied them. jaehyun wanted to accept all of them but sme didn't. the offers in question were made to hanbin instead and wakeone accepted them. therefore jaehyun feels very jelaous and envious that hanbin has (to him) great relationship with his group company while jaehyun hasn't. jaehyun's relationship with sme interferes a lot in how he sees sung hanbin simply because of his insecurities.

however he knows how hanbin is as a person and jaehyun likes how emotionally balnced hanbin is (and mature). they might've talked about jaehyun's worries in that matter and are fine with each other.

will there be some sort of bts and txt collab in the future? maybe musical production or solo release features?

the world, the sun, 6 of wands

i can see a collaboration between members of both groups - possibly they're in the rapper positions? i'm betting on yeonjun and j-hope.

for txt i also see soobin but my pendulum denied that's possible in the future as of now so it's a question mark

what's txt's soobin energy towards the creative field? he recently seemed to expressed interest in writing more lyrics and getting into reading, will he find some sort of success in that prospect? is it possible for him to release more music besides covers in the future?

songwriting path | 10 of pentacles, 4 of pentacles rx, 3 of cups

i can see him also taking this path and will do very good in this field

more music? | 4 of pentacles rx, 7 of pentacles rx, page of wands

as i've seen he is also interested in acting in the past, he has to be more organised than he is currently and only then trying to make time and release more music on his own. he is focused on 2 fields as of now (for himself) - acting and songwriting (again, he practices this fields on his own). apart from them and txt, he does not have that much time to work on creating the songs fully on his own, so in the future yes but currently it is a no.

nct mark, jay enhypen (bond)

the lovers, the hanged man, knight of pentacles

i don't think they know each other but have the potential to be closer (friends). if they actually know eo, they aren't close.

zhang hao, career reading (2024)

2 of cups, death, strength

hao thinks that the acting industry involved teamwork, something he's good at and also impacts a lot in many ways possible. however he doesn't want to try it currently mainly because he's solely focusing on being member of zb1. hao doesn't think he'd like to try it in the near future but isn't closing the door for that. he knows he'll be good and nail it, just.. not now

26th September 2024

if there's something odd regarding babymonster's image, is there a facade or yge is hiding something?

3 of pentacles, knight of wands, the magician rx, strength rx, knight of cups

when it comes to babymonster's group image, it seems to be related to the "yg vibe". honestly, the concept babymonster suits the best doesn't suit that much the usual concept yge is providing to all of their groups. although the company aims somehow to the younger audience with babymonster, babymonster actually suit the most the original "yg vibe" they started to provide with their 2nd generation groups: bigbang and 2ne1, even with the 1st generation ones with .. 1tym (teddy was there) and swi.t. yge should learn that they can make their "yg" aura age-appropiate if there's an actual will.

how successful will be i'll-it's comeback?

(2nd spread) 3 of pentacles, the world, temperance, queen of cups, the empress

honestly, i don't sense much with the spread (it's very indifferent energy here, to be honest), but the world hints a bit that they'll do way better outside of korea.

in case where zb1 disbands, will hao redebut in a group?

the hierophant, 7 of pentacles, the hanged man

in a case where zb1 disbands, as i see hao being extremely attached to the group, he might redebut in a duo with ricky (cards with similar meanings and vibe as the hanged man is frequent with ricky in the near future) in china. he doesn't want to think about a future without zb1, so he'll be fine with this option if zb1 disbands in the end as it'll remind him of zb1 the most in that way

will yeonjun's other songs sound different?

7 of pentacles, queen of cups rx, temperance

yes, they'll sound different. they might be more emotional, sensual and etc. synonyms so the genre and lyrics will differ a lot from ggum.

27th September 2024

is there any chance for enhypen and i'll-it to collaborate?

7 of swords rx, 4 of swords, 3 of swords rx

currently there isn't.

how i'll-it and aespa's comebacks will do?

aespa, 2nd spread | the fool, 7 of cups, king of cups, the world, ace of swords

they'll do like usual, it'll do well in the internet.. similar to the supernova/armageddon era.

i'll-it, 4th spread | the high priestess, the moon, 10 of wands rx, 6 of swords, 8 of cups, 2 of pentacles

eeeh it's complex, like i saw they'll do way better in foreign lands, in korea it seem to be similar to how le sserafim's crazy did but kinda worse, in foreign lands though they really won't do that well (compared to their 1st ep), the hate spread i'm seeing on x recently seems to help making the things worse...

[rumor or truth?] yuna (itzy) and jay (enha)'s dating rumors

yuna's side to this | 3 of pentacles, 10 of cups, 10 of swords rx

jay's side to this | strength, 5 of cups rx, the star

was there something | 3 of cups, the chariot rx, 9 of cups

yuna | she really was with her friend

jay | uh that's very funny, he might've spied on yuna 😭😭😭 on purpose 😭😭😭😭

rumor or truth | as simply as possible.. they're allegedly fwb. they aren't dating, however i sense onesided feelings (possibly from jay's side). they might call it an open relationship between each other, though.

what will sabrina carpenter's career look like in the next two years?

king of cups, 2 of swords rx, 3 of pentacles, the devil rx, 8 of pentacles

like usual it seems?? i see 1-2 upcoming albums or eps, maybe tour/s for them until september 2026, she'll work like she usually does tbh

will anyone (famous) gets their karma for.. their involment with that rapper?

the moon, 4 of cups rx, 9 of swords rx, the empress, temperance

what kamala harris did with p.diddy? americans seem to search something that will make trump guilty or something but they'll find kamala's wrong actions instead? these americans who want to vote for her will try to hide something she did but idk

like i know she was doing some inapporpiate stuff to get known in the politics industry but what else she actually did?

sorry for seeing only kamala but her name was on my head when i learned about it and since i also see her here.. it might be very significant

is there chance for rosé to try something in the fashion industry?

justice rx, the lovers, 9 of pentacles

well, no, she doesn't think she'll be good at.. anything, related to the fashion industry. whether if it's modelling or being a fashion designer, she knows her limits and is aware of her talents being better somewhere else (ahem, music). she might've received an offer for modeling but has personally refused.

how billie eilish currently views her relevance status and her fandom?

5 of cups rx, death, 10 of pentacles, strength, ace of cups

she's very thankful for what her, her family and her fans have achieved so far. very thankful for her achievements, very grateful for what they've done so far. she's more motivated to continue forward doing whatever she wants in the industry, basically positive thoughts

and done! i believe that's all of them

[jmdbjk]

JM Welive & JK Welive #3-4

Jimin’s Welive:

My god, he looks SOOOO good. All these years, when Jimin makes comments about how he looks, I always think, “omg, Jimin, you always look great!” He looked especially fantastic during this live though he admitted he’d had a sore throat and his voice was a little rough. He reassured us he took some meds and he’s fine.

Within the first 22 seconds, someone texts him because his phone vibrates once... he looks down... who is it? Is it his manager saying we leave in 20 minutes? Or someone else who wants to order chicken and look for something to watch on Netflix? ... ... ... he wanted to say something... but he didn’t... 

Anyway, Jimin continues and says “here I am alive and well!” and came to tell us. He’s seen our comments. His album is coming soon, it’s almost ready and he’s got lots of stuff in store for us. [squeeeeeeeeeee!!!!1!!] He even filmed something earlier in the day but he couldn’t talk about it. 

When he was talking about working with Taeyang, and specifically the MV, he said something to the effect that he realized he has been living comfortably like a child in a warm home... did he mean he realized how pampered he’s been as a member of BTS? I wrote about my impressions of the Vibe MV and I was not very complimentary of the production... is Jimin confirming that the conditions were not up to what he’s been used to? 

He was choosing his words carefully and I’m sure the reason he said it was to self-reflect on how fortunate he is. Perhaps he realizes his solo work process so far has also been very easy compared to other artists trying to make music and be successful. Jimin has a whole company behind him that can cater to every whim and he’s able to work with almost any producer he chooses and he’s able to have a lot of guidance in things he’s less experienced in.

He says he’s happy, doing the things he wants to be doing. He’s experiencing new things including being a fashion ambassador. He says happy things are happening one right after the other and I’m thrilled for him. It’s so good to see him in such a positive headspace because 2020 through 2021 were suckass.

He says he’s living the busy life and then (randomly?) mentions he has been watching Suchwita... 

After someone asked him if he saw Taeyang watching that old video of young Jimin singing/dancing to a Taeyang song, Jimin says he was so embarrassed and wonders how did he ever become Bangtan... hahahahahahahaaa... 

He talked more about Paris Fashion week and wanting to talk more about his work but he can’t say anything right now. Jimin is excited, y’all. I’m excited for him, it’s going to be so fun when his album is released!

JK Welive #3: Jungkookie has reached a certain status where he doesn’t answer to anyone. Though the members told him not to drink while live broadcasting... Jungkook is a man on a mission. 

And then boyfie shows up in the comments...

[That man’s mega-watt smile when he realized his Jiminie was in the comments... be still my heart... ]

He kept looking for Jimin in between laughing at Bam who was chasing the green dots swirling around on the walls.

He really wanted Jimin to be there... lol. 

And a screen shot of Jimin’s comments with Weverse translations:

When Jimin said “It’s night” he meant Bam, he saw Bam... “Bam” means night. And with the emojis... sobx5 It’s Bam sobx5

Jimin: (laughing) kekekekekeke don’t do it when you’re drunk kekekekekekeke (that amount of keke-ing is falling over laughing keke-ing don’t you think?)

Also Jimin: I am at another location for work, kekekekeke sobbing emoji... kissy face emoji (!!!)

Also Jimin: have fun with Army, I’ll be back after work (!!!) silly face emoji

I want to ask Jungkookie and Jiminie exactly who is acting more shameless these days?

JK Welive #4: 

Welp... the man on a mission didn’t count on Netflix’s big nope. From what I saw, Kookie was enjoying his chicken, beer and his Netflix show. 

Kookie did happen to tear his eyes away from his chicken and tv   program and saw Jimin back in the comments.

And Armys were quick enough to save this for us before the live got deleted... Jimin’s comments on the deleted Welive #4...

Jimin: commenting that Kookie is just sitting there watching TV with the live on... 

Jimin: (laughing) kekekekekeke you’re cute with the gloves on kekekekeke (he is falling over laughing again).

Jimin: (laughing) kekekekekekekekeke I want to tie your hair neatly kekeke

And lastly: (Korean OP clarified the wonky Weverse translation because apparently, Jimin dropped his formal language and spoke very informally/cutely) I gotta go, eat plenty, baby. (!!!!!)

Confirmed: Jimin and Jungkook are... still flirting in front of our morning salad. Like, I-want-to-tie-your-hair-back-eat-well-spend-time-with Bam-and-Army-babe-I’ll-be-back-later-after-work NUCLEAR level flirting.

Anon who is trying to make a big deal out of this formal greeting Jimin and Jungkook do all the time... I’ve seen them do this repeatedly... this formal polite-bowing-hello-nice-to-meet-you thing they’ve been doing that I’ve seen at least 4 different times now and is some inside joke of theirs. Just another one of those things that’s between the two of them. I can hear it now... at some point in the past, someone could have, maybe, who knows... said to them... “hey guys, chill a little, y’all being really loud, as in totally obvious with the hickey/touchy-feely/bedroom eyes”... and one of them said “what are we supposed to do? act like we just met?” And they ran with it (laughing all the way.)

BAHAHAHAHA!

Anyway. Nothing has changed. They are fine.

I hope they put #4 live back up after clearing any copyright claims on it and putting stickers all over that chicken box to hide the logos... [hears Hobi repeating “he never listens” while both of us shaking our heads].

[lover-of-mine]

in my personal opinion, i do think they’re hiding lfj being on set. not in the sense that ‘they’re going to dramatically reveal him later down the line bc he’s just so so important and the anticipation will create buzz’ or ‘they’re protecting him from buddies uwu’ like They are suggesting lmao because literally nobody cares but them

i think they’re ‘hiding’ him in the sense that he caused so much drama both in fandom and probably behind the scenes so they’re keeping him quiet for ease. it’s not some big conspiracy like They are suggesting, they’re not pretending he isn’t in s8 at all (we’re all expecting he will be for some undetermined amount of time), they’re not hiding him for dramatic effect… they just want him on the down low

or SHOCKER but maybe he’s not a main character nor has he had much screentime in the entire series so why would he be that important to show… they don’t use josh in promo or bts? (i’m so sorry to compare you josh xx)

which is why i don’t agree with the ‘he hasn’t been seen so he’s not been filming’ argument that a lot of buddies use. like you said, it’s schrödinger’s cat, until confirmed otherwise, he might be there but he also might not be. just because something isn’t seen on camera, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening, so for my personal sanity i’m assuming he has been filming or will be filming soon but he’s just not been included in bts content yet. tracie has been filming too but we haven’t seen her except for one selfie 🤷‍♀️

Oh yeah, in my head, when I think "maybe they are hiding him" I don't go for some conspiracy/reveal angle, because he is expecting to come back, the surprise here would be him not coming back, is more on the sense that they are keeping his presence on the down low as much as possible to avoid fueling the fire. His presence won't bring good conversation and the whole "there's no bad publicity" thing is a lie, especially when you're talking about a show that abc invested as much in as 911. It's not about dramatics, it's about protecting the peace of everyone involved (and honestly, I'm starting to worry about the guy's safety lately considering they are messaging his sister and agent, so a level of protecting him, not from us or them as a whole or even from attacks on the internet, but a "we're no longer sure lines won't be crossed" type situation could be happening, because we reached a point I wouldn't be surprised if someone tried to sneak into set). He's not a lead, so he's not expected to be in promotion, but he could be being removed from the background for fun cast videos, to avoid starting a conversation. Just because we're not seeing him, it doesn't mean he's not there, but if he is there it doesn't mean he would be involved in cast videos, so it doesn't prove anything if we can't see him. The question is if they are purposefully keeping him out of production related stuff or if he just went in on a day we got nothing and we don't know because we didn't see it. We won't know until we know.

[lok-repository]

The Avatar Wiki newsletter has published the final portion of their earlier Q & A last year with Janet Varney, Korra's VA .

Questions after the cut.

What is your favorite Korra battle scene and the change that it brought to the world? Oh you know I can never pick just one favorite! But if I have to pick one for now, I think for sheer intensity, I might have to pick the big Zaheer scene, which I’m not even really thinking about the world impact more than even just the impact on Korra and where it takes us all… the journey afterwards… the PTS… Toph… clarifying her feelings for Asami…

If you weren't Korra’s VA, which character(s) in the show would you want to voice instead? It’s funny, it’s like even though we all know you aren’t asking me to take someone else’s job, the knee-jerk response is to be like “Nooooo! I couldn’t replace anyone! I love everyone too much!” But in a multiverse where we’re all just… maybe swapping roles? I might grab Bolin or Varrick!

Who would you pick as Korra’s VA if it wasn’t you? Thank goodness this would never be up to me in real life- I could never choose between all of the phenomenal VAs out there! That said, I’m kind of obsessed with all the ladies on one of my all-time favorite shows, “Reservation Dogs…”

What is something you have come to appreciate more about the original series while rewatching it for the podcast? Great question! Just when you thought you couldn’t appreciate something more… you watch it one more time, and every “one more time” you love it even more. I think an easy answer would be how much Dante and I appreciate “The Great Divide.” Especially after a recent conversation we had with a certain author about a certain history in that episode that may have influenced a certain book or two…

How are you feeling about talking about Korra on Braving the Elements? Does it feel different than talking about ATLA? Honestly? So far, it doesn’t feel like it will be that different, because anytime I watch Korra, I get so immersed in the story, I basically forget I was in it. But how much Dante might get to tease me about little things like I tease him about Zuko? Now THAT could change things. LOL!

What is the process of planning and recording episodes like? It’s pretty involved, tbh! For a recap ep, I rewatch the episode in question at least three times. You know I like to see what Avatar Wiki has to say! I consult the art book and all the dvd commentary (luckily Nickelodeon made all the commentary/bts stuff available to me, which is great!). I think about the themes of the episode and what kind of guest would be really fun and why. And writing the outline really cements the episode for me in new and interesting ways. And then Dante and our guests STILL manage to blow my mind with their own insights!

Did you know about the spiritual arc that Korra was going to have in Season 4, or when and how did you learn about her bisexuality during production? I knew some broad strokes, but Bryke/the whole amazing team did a good job of keeping us in the moment, episode-by-episode. I can’t remember exactly when Bryke told Seychelle and me about Korrasami, but it was definitely one of the things we knew before it actually happened. And we were both so, so happy!

How do you think Korra grew from her relationship with Mako and the lessons she learned that contributed to a healthy relationship with Asami? Good old Mako. This was a relationship I recognized so well from my own teenage years, and my friends.’ So combine that it was in some ways a very classic teenage relationship with the Avatar circumstances on top of that, and it’s kind of hard to see how it would succeed. But at the same time— who’s to say what “succeeding” or “success” means? What if that relationship was a complete success in that it lasted exactly as long as it was supposed to, and helped Korra and Mako both see what they would really be looking for in a relationship going forward? Plus, it was a success in that she and Mako were ultimately able to love and support each other as dear friends, and that’s a beautiful outcome.

Do you miss and enjoy voicing Korra for as long as you have? Here’s the thing- I don’t know what my answer would be if I *didn’t* get to keep talking about both series (and all the other media in the Avatarverse!) at conventions with fellow fans and with Dante and everyone on the podcast. But because I get to live in the Avatarverse through those things, I honestly haven’t thought about “missing” doing the actual show. Please, everyone, just let me keep nerding out on Avatar forever, and I’ll be happy! ;)

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Happy Festa BPP! Is this something ppl do? Wish Festa like holiday? Ta! Happy Festa anyway!!

Don't know if you've said this before but how did you become army?

***

Hi Anon,

Honestly, no. I don't think wishing people Happy Festa is a thing within ARMY... People reminisce and all that but actually sending wishes, not really. But it's a nice gesture so I appreciate you sharing that festive energy with me.

All the Festas are sweet but something about a 10-year anniversary evokes strong memories. It's been a wild ride.

I've talked about how I became ARMY many times, but I can give an abridged version here.

I watched BTS's debut showcase No More Dream for the first time, some time in August 2013 but I don't remember which day exactly. I had heard about BTS by that point, (a lot of people had, which was unusual for a group from a small company and further shows how strong an impression they made at debut), but I didn't get around to actually watching their stuff till August.

I felt they were strong performers but had no other real opinion about them, and kinda forgot about them for a year, till their Dark & Wild comeback in August 2014.

After that album comeback, I consistently kept up with BTS but didn't really think of myself as a fan. The way I engaged with k-pop was to check out several groups I was interested in, sometimes go to their comeback shows if I was in Korea, attend KCON concerts, read Korean forums, etc. Like a fan of many groups but a stan of none, if that makes sense. So, I sort of watched BTS from the sidelines in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Throughout this time, I realized I loved every new musical output from them more than the previous one. It was clear they were improving not just their songwriting, production, exploring more genres, etc, but that they had a very distinct voice - a consistent message in their storytelling that seemed to come from their own lived experiences, for all seven members. Executed at the highest level. And that was something I had never, ever seen in k-pop or anywhere else really.

Of course, during this time, their fame, fortune, and success multiplied as well. And the latent animosity I'd observed since debut towards BTS from the wider k-pop fandom, just became more overt the more BTS became successful. That mess with EXO fans and the Blue House was particularly disgusting and soured my opinion on most fans of SM groups and the wider k-pop fandom. But by 2018, when it was clear BTS's rise was definitely stratospheric and already beyond the realm of k-pop, the gloves were off. The hostility became extremely blatant to the point k-pop stans were working with real life neo-nazis to physically assault Japanese ARMYs who were attending a concert, they were spam calling Japanese newspapers and Jewish foundations in America to put out a statement condemning BTS, and asking for the American government to blacklist BTS.

It was bonkers.

Sulli had ended her life just before the hate campaign against BTS hit a fever pitch in Fall 2018. I liked her a lot and her death shifted something in me - it made me re-evaluate my distanced, detached almost apathetic approach to k-pop beyond the music, especially regarding hate campaigns from k-pop stans that used to run completely unchecked and only escalated and became more sophisticated especially when the target was someone who broke against the norm. So, I linked up with some J-ARMY friends and we spent a weekend coordinating with local Japanese police to track down some k-pop stans working with neo nazis to assault BTS and ARMYs, and by the end of November 2018, I was calling myself an ARMY.

Nothing has really changed since then compared to how I was a fan of BTS before. Except that now, I buy their albums more consistently (it was kinda more sporadic / spontaneous before). I've never been a collector so I don't really care about PCs and what not. I educated myself on charts and fandom norms, and started watching more of their non-music content. I was already very familiar with their personalities and interpersonal quirks (jikook has stood out to me since 2015, yoonmin, namgi, namseok, and sope since 2014, and taekook since 2016 or so), but since 2018 I've found myself enjoying more of their auxiliary content though it's still not something I seek out (I still haven't watched SOOP 2 for example, lol).

Most of my friendships with fans of other k-pop groups I've maintained till now, and I still check out almost every new release in the industry when I have the time, and becoming a fan of BTS has been wonderful.

The ARMY community gets a lot of flack, like all big fandoms do, but there's a real community of genuine and smart people here that I appreciate. BTS has never disappointed me - and I had to really think before writing down that sentence. This industry is harsh, cruel. BTS had to navigate channels no k-pop group or Korean artist has had to before, they've single-handedly elevated an entire industry into the social consciousness of the wider world, and are still holding on to their relentless drive and sense of wonder.

These seven men are remarkable. They're some of the hardest workers I've ever seen. Fully dedicated to their craft and their team, artists and performers in every sense of the word. I thoroughly enjoy being a fan of the music they make, and supporting their growth as artists and people.

Happy Festa everyone! I'm treating myself to Taro ice cream topped with pistachio nuts today to celebrate. Maybe we should make this some kind of holiday lol.

[heybaetae]

Actually, your answer was really interesting because I did not know any of these things! :D Also can I just say, even though you very rarely talk about your experience with cameras/film, it's so nice when you do! I love seeing people talk about something that they are passionate about and/or have relevant experience in.

If I remember correctly, even their bangtan bombs/eps and run bts episodes used to be better quality a few months or years ago. They obviously do not need to be as good as their docus (i love break the silence's quality AND editing so much!), but I noticed a few CCs talking about how it got worse. Why do you think they switched?

oh good i was kinda worried i came off a bit snobby with that response when i totally didn’t mean to 😭 i’m really only just speculating and applying my own knowledge of cameras to what i’ve observed, but i’m no expert and could of course be wrong. i definitely don’t claim to know better than a professional film crew, but in my experience working on sets and learning about what types of cameras work best for the overall product and will provide the best results, it’s been interesting (and frustrating as a cc lol) to see the quality steadily reduce in things like run bts and bangtan bombs. my theory as to why they’ve downgraded to cheaper cameras for those types of media in recent years? besides it being cost effective, well…frankly, they don’t have to hire people with previous experience on any type of film crew to do it. and i’m not saying they don’t have people around who know what they’re doing and are using great, high quality equipment when a situation calls for it—but i think they ALSO have inexperienced staff who they put in charge of the “b-roll” cameras for content that isn’t as prioritized as what the bigger documentary cameras pick up. so like youtube stuff for example. or even most stuff they release on memories dvds. that inexperience comes through a LOT in those videos these days, especially when it comes to simple camera settings like adjusting the white balance to the light in the room or changing the ISO to give a slightly brighter image. really simple fixes that are instead consistent nuisances. i hate to say it so bluntly but i really don’t think some of these staff are taught to use a camera properly at all seeing as they have become a bit careless about it. if you’ve ever seen fan videos from afar of the boys and you notice like one random person trailing behind some member with a small camera in one hand, that’s the kind of thing i’m talking about. proper film crew members are usually distinguishable by the bigger shoulder cams and extra gear they’re wearing, especially if there are extra bodies around them with lights and better mics. that candid footage is fine and it works in certain contexts, i’m not trying to completely disregard certain job roles because i’m sure it’s not easy trying to catch everything all the time, but for a company with so much money it’s a bit laughable how lazy, for lack of a better word, they’ve become when it comes to providing decent footage of certain moments. but sometimes it later turns out that a professional doc crew caught those same moments from other angles! i’ve noticed that happen and we’ve already seen it in one of the disney trailers with the moment they were nominated for their first grammy.

bangtan bomb, cheaper HD camera:

beyond the star doc series, 4K movie camera:

another example…

love yourself concert dvd, cheaper HD camera:

bring the soul doc series, 4K movie camera:

different qualities, aspect ratios, white balance, color grading, just overall better version for the content it was used and intended for. :)

[chirpsythismorning]

I think it is very probable that the Duffers won't stop the production or filming, and that their support for the strike will just remain in... words, rather than direct action. Realistically the Duffers are tied to Netflix, they literally are the producers of the biggest show (on Netflix) now, and they're already getting paid... a lot and the fact that they are tied to Netflix makes it VERY unlikely for them to stand up against Netflix. I just cannot imagine a scenario like that, lol. So yeah, it is controversial and sad, but if we are considering the situation from a realistic POV... I can see the duffers not exactly standing up against Netflix.

It’s possible!

I do wonder if they’re going to announce filming starting then? Because official Netflix/ST accounts usually make a post the day filming starts to let the fans know it has officially commenced.

Although it is a cause for celebration for fans, it’s… going to look really bad in the eyes of those supporting the strike, which is 98% of writers and basically everyone that isn’t the top 1% in the industry.

I know the Game of Thrones spin-off or whatever announced that they’re going to start filming despite the strike and they’re getting a lot of negative press from not just those in the industry but also fans who are scared that the quality of the show is gonna suffer.

It’s common knowledge that the shows that did continue production during the last strike dipped in quality bc they were not able to have rewrites while filming. Stuff like actors improvising and adding their own lines and directors or just anyone coming in to fill that role of the writers on strike is highly frowned upon. You’re essentially dubbed a snake who is taking the side of the corporations and saying fuck you to those that are trying to fight for decent pay.

It does make me wonder if they’re so quiet about filming potentially starting in May and maybe they won’t even officially announce it, because they don’t want to sour the reputation of the show by giving the impression they aren’t supporting the strike, but are instead directly going against it.

To be fair, there are certain individuals in the production that have literally no choice but to work bc of their contracts. Like I know Disney just announced that show runners and other people in that type of position are required to return to their productions for non-writing duties. And I know that applies to a lot of people in the production that aren’t writing. So to a lot of folks, even if you wanted to strike, you can’t bc it’s against your contract.

It’s just unfortunate that not only are they risking the quality of the show not being it’s best, they’re also risking the shows reputation. There are 100% going to be people boycotting the HOG and ST knowing that it had production going during the strike. And if it god forbid did end up not being very good at certain points, we’d never hear the end of it..

And the fact that it’s likely to be very byler heavy potentially…. That should be something people on here consider as opposed to just praying for filming to start bc we want bts asap.

Even if filming started tomorrow, there’s no guarantee we’re getting blurry bts anytime soon. Especially if they only have a few people on set not only bc of the strike and the fact that maybe a lot of people won’t be there out of solidarity, but also bc it’s probably going to be a skeleton crew working to avoid spoilers.

If we’re lucky, the strike would end sooner than later and we could see some bts floating around in the next 2-3 months, but I just don’t see that happening rn. A lot of experts are saying that Netflix in particular can afford to hold this out for months, bc they’ve got a full backlog for the next two years when it comes to releases on their platform.

How does ST fit into that, I’m not exactly sure. But if they’re not putting any pressure on Netflix, then we’ll know based on Netflix’s behavior about the situation. All it would take is the ST production to give them a lot of pressure to make an impact, and I agree that is the very reason that Netflix probably prepared for that scenario. It’s likely it’s written in the Duffer’s contracts that they have to continue in the scenario of a strike, so even if they wanted to support it, they’re stuck.

It sucks but yeah it’s very likely that whatever is filmed during the strike will put a bad taste in the critics and audiences mouths. Unfortunately it’s likely to be byler related soooo yeah that does suck for those of us that are already prepared for the homophobic backlash.

In a perfect world streamers would stop being greedy and just give the writers 3% like they’re asking. It’s literally nothing in the grand scheme of things. These corporations are making billions and they can’t give their writers 3%… like… no wonder they’re not dropping this until something changes bc it’s fucking pathetic.

A lot of these writers live in Los Angeles and are making like 70k a year, in a city where that is not at all a live-able wage bc of rent prices being crazy. Also they need representation which drops their salary to like 46k… These people are being paid nothing and then bc streamers don’t compensate for residuals like they used to when a tv episode re-aired on tv, all they get is the pay for making it and that’s it… that’s not sustainable and if they don’t stand up to this bs now, future generations of writers are going to be fucked. The prospects of AI coming in and taking all their jobs is also closing in. It’s a shitty situation.

I’m at a point now though where I’ve went from being excited about filming to start, to sort of dreading it, knowing that the writers are against it and that it’s going to make a lot of resentments for the production going forward. It’s not going to be pretty.

[dearweirdme]

Has anybody considered the fact that Taehyung and Jungkook might just have different needs when it comes to public affirmations?

I mean, we know JK is hyper critical of himself and he self-admittedly has trouble following through on some of his creative pursuits (which could indicate a drop in confidence) He basically threw an amazing song in the garbage because he didn't think it was that good.

Now, I know Taehyung has his own insecurities and own artistic pickiness but he has always seemed far more self- assured in some cases than JK and less inclined to play nice and consider opinions from those he doesn't know. We all know that ARMY has never been able to tell Taehyung nothing when it comes to what he wants to do, his boundaries etc.

I'm not saying Taehyung doesn't like feedback. He glows when he talks about feedback from the members and when he knows the fans like his stuff but there's always been very much an element of stubborness in that he doesn't really care if his choices or likes seem odd to some and he low-key will not tolerate conflicting opinions regarding his personal style, tastes and choices when his own are so strongly defined.

It must be said that JK has really come into his own in this sense but we all know there was a period where he beat himself up a lot and didn't clapback at the fans the way he's doing lately

I know there have been instances where even Tae's put a lot of pressure on himself but when you think back to their youth; Taehyung was always naturally less critical of himself and more forgiving of himself and centred his own opinions more while JK was super self critical, much quieter in his opinions and a natural people pleaser.

So maybe this is just a case of Tae knowing JK so well and responding to his needs and striking against insecurities that he knows JK might still hold. Or maybe he's proud of JK's growth in that area and wants to loudly reinforce it.

Some people just don't need the same level of hype (even if they might enjoy it when they get it) because they hype themselves by way of their personalities.

And some people need a little more uplifting.

And BTS have won everything, broke everything, achieved everything that I'm certain they don't obsess over the intricacies of charts, streams and numbers the way the fans do. I doubt the seven of them are sitting there tallying their charts and comparing them. Especially when they've all practically made it known that their achievements, according to them, are a product of being part of group and the group will always be first priority to them.

And the thing is, they're not dumb. They know 0t7 ARMY will support them equally and that biased ARMY will lend more support to their faves and that solos will focus solely on their fave no matter who says what or encourages people to do what on a social media post---and they know that their haters will hate them regardless.

And I know we're all shippers here but let's be real; they know that insta posts etc won't really effect the numbers but will be devoured by shippers and in some case used as evidence for or against them primarily so public declarations might just not hold as deep a meaning to them as it does to the fans.

Even the birthday posts seem to come across as a chore to indulge the fans for some of the members.

And Tae might be a little more verbal right now but have some of these anons never seen JK around Taehyung since day one? Like between the looks, the touches, the comments, the beaming smiles, the twinkle in his eyes, the liberties he allows Taehyung to take, the concessions he makes for him, the way they somehow always manage to find themselves in each others space no matter how far apart they start?

And I know there's been speculation of a rough patch and I saw elements of it too but I know for a FACT that nobody can point to one year where JK wasn't still acting towards Taehyung in all the ways I listed above. Like if you tried to chart a timeline of a rough patch it would be still be cut up with moments of JK telling the world that Taehyung is the most handsome person in it or him cuddling or trying to get closer to him (even though some people like to feign amnesia lately and act like JK never makes the first move) there's not one single year or stretch of time where JK hasn't looked at Taehyung with stars in his eyes or found a subtle way to touch him or given comfort to him or taken comfort from him or praised him or melted at praise from him.

Give me a year the worst you know, and I'll still be able to give you a collection of moments of Taekook Taekookin'.

There isn't a single year, not 2017, 18, 19, 20, where JK hasn't still managed to find Taehyung the most handsome, funniest, smartest person in the room.

(And I know we can say the reverse about how Taehyung adores JK just as much but I'm countering all those anons I see speculating that it's all Tae doing the heavy lifting)

I have my opinions on the relationship, everyone is entitled to their own, but it is undeniable that even during their 'worst years' there were still so many examples of how close or at the very least, connected, they were.

Like if you edited all their moments together in a compilation from 2018-2019 alone, there would still be enough love, closeness and intimacy to make an absolute mockery of that conversation they had ITS that was used to imply they'd drifted apart.

Sometimes, I just really wonder what more Taekookers want.

Hi anon!

Great observations. I think it plays in to Tae wanting to hide his emotions/feelings, and that's why Jk's way of giving comfort is physical closeness while allowing Tae to hide. Jk however needs the actual vocalization of support more. Which fits into what he told us himself on live, about not understanding why army loves him.. our love is too vague for him and he needs/needed more specifics to be confinced perhaps. People just telling him "I love you" doesn't say much after a while perhaps. Tae being more vocal about Jk, is what he knows Jk needs.

I think Tae grew a lot into accepting his 'weirdness", which can be a real task and a forever struggle. At times it just takes a few people who really understand you and who make you feel safe and understood. I think Tae is a t a point in his life where he has found that and that is what makes him feel stronger.

I will forever die on my hill of believing they don't care about birthday's much 😂.

And yes on them having been very consistent throughout the whole time.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

I've been thinking about this and I want to ask someone with industry insight! I've been really struck by the fact that we don't see Eddie's face when he sees Buck on the stretcher, seeing him there, laid out. We see his back only pushing Bobby and conspicuously don't see his face when Bobby is telling him to drive. and a little profile walking to the driver's seat. I sorta feel that it was intentional because they take a lot of care when setting up and framing shots. Basically, it seemed like a Choice™ a deliberate omission esp since they shoot from several angles (they love a good reaction shot!)

Am I reading too much into this? If I'm not, why do you think they shot it that way? It's just rolling around in my head....😁

Hey Nonnie

Thanks for a great ask and I really hope my answer helps!

I'll go through the process directors generally go through (disclaimer - I'm not a director and each director has their own way of working so this answer is based on an amalgamation of my experiences)

Directors get sent the script and a few days to read it. usually this means reading it several times - the first will just be a read through, then further readings will involve making notes and questions. On tv shows, there will then be conversations with the writer(s) and showrunner(s) about intentions, important plot points or lines, and questions that the director has can be asked, there might even be further changes to the script at this point. These conversations will firm up any information that needs to be visually given and allow the director to start storyboarding and plotting camera angles and movements with the DOP (Director of photography)

I don't know if you've seen them, but we've had some great bts stuff from a couple of the directors this season showing us some of the pre production process - especially the storyboarding - the most obvious one is the Buck on a bike chasing the car thats driven off with Chimney (I can't find the 911 bts post for that one speifically, but these two links here and here are of other storyboarding posts). This storyboarding plots cast positons, where any visual effects/ special effects might be being used, cgi elements, camera positions - so that they can get the angles they want - as well as other important visual things such as set and or props. They might go as far as noting things like which lenses or filters they want to use as well. Storyboarding like this will often include the intention to capture things from different angles and I'll go into this a bit more in a minute.

All of this is done to ensure they can be as efficient as possible on the day of filming, because time is money and when they're on location especially they may have restricted hours for access, and might find some things they wanted to do won't work in the location when they get there. I once worked on a production where we were on location and filming a scene with a child actor on a roof - they were supposed to cross a room, climb out of one window, run along the roof, climb in through another window and then hide behind a piece of furniture - all in one shot. when it came to filming we had to make changes because we discovered it wasn't possible to achieve this version - for a few different reasons - the biggest one being the safety of the crew - the roof space was too tight and uneven for them to be able to track the route (bear in mind they're walking backwards when filming the character coming towards them). thankfully it was an easy fix because the director had storyboarded an alternative version if it wouldn't work in the space we had.

Back to capturing things from different angles. when you have a scene - like the one you've asked about, they will film a couple of different takes and angles because they will want to have options when it comes to editing - because the director might not know exactly whose reactions they want to have at which moment, the delivery of a line can affect it or capturing a reaction etc. its like when we see a conversation between two characters - they film the whole conversation from both angles so they can cut it together in a way that best serves the story they are telling at that moment. I'm sure you've seen the bts video of Ryan in the scene - in it you can see them filming him with two different cameras and that won't be the only way they've shot him in that moment, there will be other takes from other angles - possibly from closer up - really focusing on his face, filming from over the top of the ladder, or even an aerial shot.

I've got a bit off track with this, but when we get to the gurney scene the camera choices are as much about what they show as what they don't - we see things from everyones perspectives except Eddies in this moment. We get the perspective of Chim from on top of Buck where he's giving compressions, we see Hen's perspective on that as well, we also have the camera back away in the same way we see Bobby back away, but we never see an overhead shot from Eddies perspective - looking down, nor do we get a camera racing in close. Buck is always and very conspicuously filmed being lowered from a low perspective.

It is the most intentional of decisions no to show us Eddies perspective, and not to show us his face from front on once he has realised that Buck is hanging from the top of the ladder - the things that are absent often speak louder. So yes like you said it was all very intentional. we are meant to read it that Eddie doesn't know - he is out of the loop at that moment as to the situation - we see him side on because he has some idea, some knowledge, but he doesn't know and we the audience are meant to feel that with him.

The other thing about using side angles of a character rather than front on ones is that it both masks their emotions - its harder to get a read on what a character is thinking if you can't see all their face, but it is also a way of making that character the focus. Let me explain what I mean a bit more. In that moment we can see Chim Hen and bobby and we know what they are thinking - we can see the fact that Chim is panicking a bit and isn't thinking straight its written on his face, we can also see he's looking to Hen for guidance and reassurance. Its similar for Hen - we can see her fighting to keep control, to both support Chimney, but also fighting for that control so that her medical knowledge remains useful to her - she cannot panic in this moment - Buck needs her to make use of all the things she's been learning in medical school (the foreshadowing of them showing her learning about both neurology and the heart is screaming pretty loudly at me right now!) We also see Bobby - as soon as he's got Buck on that gurney force himself to step back - to force himself to remain in captain mode, because he knows thats what buck needs in that moment. We can see all of this information from the fact we can see their faces in full we know exactly what they are all doing and why.

But Eddie, Eddie we only get glimpses of his face - two to be exact - we get the one while he's next to Bobby beside the ambulance, and then a second one once he's inside, but they are never full face. This shows the quality of a director like Brad Buecker, because he understands who Eddie is in this moment - his choices show us that Eddie is in both military mode, but also that he's shutting down and Brad uses the angle of the shot to convey this information to us. again they will have most likely shot Bobby and Eddies walk alongside the ambulance from fully front on and possibly also from behind.

once Brad (and JCC would likely be present for the editing process as well) gets into the editing suite with the editors, then he can pick the angles that give him the best way of telling the story the way he wants to tell it - he already knew what information he needed to get across to the audience about what Eddie is thinking, feeling etc and he will have made the choice that the lack of focus said more than putting focus onto Eddies reactions.

I hope this answers your ask and that it makes sense. I love talking about the filmmaking process and tend to get a bit carried away 😳😂 so thanks for giving me the opportunity to do so! 💜💜💜

[thesinglesjukebox]

SHAKIRA AND CARDI B - PUNTERÍA

Shakira makes comments about Barbie, we make comments about Shakira... Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie you have 24 hours to release a statement about us to complete the circle...

[5.62]

Harlan Talib Ockey: “Puntería” is a no-thoughts-head-empty ode to sex. Without context, it’s fun, but it’s hard to forget that it just doesn’t have anything like the righteous fury of “Bzrp Music Sessions” or the caustic groove of “Te Felicito.” Cardi puts in an MVP performance, breezily singing a third of the song herself, and it’s ultimately their chemistry that makes this worth it. [5]

Claire Biddles: This only really livens up when Shakira and Cardi sound like they're in the same room -- I'd love to hear a song where they're riffing off each other the whole way through. [5]

Leah Isobel: Something about this brings out my cynicism. None of it is bad, and some of it is quite good -- Shakira singing about her G-spot, for instance. I like the trancey "Realiti" synth in the chorus, too. But mostly when I hear this I hear an attempt to recreate "Kiss Me More," and I'm a little Kiss Me Bored. [5]

Dave Moore: It didn't seem like rocket science to just give Shakira more of the sound she perfected on her Bzrp Music Session (check), then make a mini-album out of it (check) and tack on all the great stuff she put out in the last year or so to fill out the runtime (check). But I would not have guessed the secret weapon on this particular song would be Cardi B taking to the proceedings so naturally that you start to lose track of who's singing when they start passing melody lines back and forth in the second half. So now I also want Cardi B to make a Shakira album. [8]

Will Adams: Neither disappointing nor surprising that Shaki would follow up an international smash with a redux that sands off its predecessor's edges for the palatable lite-disco of "Say So" or "Lottery" or "Kiss Me More" or (or or or or). The real crime is for a duo of performers as vibrant and charismatic as Shakira and Cardi to sound this boring. [4]

Isabel Cole: Two stars known for more dramatic modes turn up the sweetness for a frothy little bauble, like the aural equivalent of girls' night. No one sounds like they're working very hard, in a good way; they're having fun, and so am I! [7]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: "Say So"ification comes for even our most charismatic pop stars -- lite retro production, indistinctly horny sentiments, a vague malaise creeping up even as the beat loops jauntily. It's not bad per se -- I will hear this at parties for the next six months and bop my head along without a second of regret tied directly to the song -- but I can't help but feel like there ought to be something more; I'd rather have an ambitious failure of a crossover track (remember the Shakira-Rihanna Ska Explosion?) than a distinctly unmemorable set of pleasantries. [6]

TA Inskeep: A mildly sexy empty-calories jam that I can't remember I heard five minutes later. [6]

Nortey Dowuona: David Stewart, who is possibly a millionaire from producing a BTS song you don't know (unless you are hardcore ARMY or a person who listens to a radio station) has now created another song for Shakira you won't remember after this year (unless you are a hardcore Cardi B fan or a person who listens to a radio station). Will this one make him a billionaire? Find out on: BIG, MEGA, FORGETTABLE, RADIO SMASHER. Hosted by Cardi B. [4]

Ian Mathers: Cardi B singing in Spanish is surprisingly close to Shakira here, when she just takes a chorus near the end if I hadn't been watching the video I might not have noticed the switch until she mentions her own name. Which is not a criticism! I wish I could fit in on a Shakira song, especially a decent one like this, so neatly.  [7]

Alfred Soto: I hear voices like theirs at checkout lines and on FaceTime chats: two distinctly Hispanic lilts crashing against each other like sea spray against rock. Listening to each other is besides the point. "Puntería" reminds me of those exchanges. Pure idiomatic expression for expression's sake, it puts an arm around the listener then ignores her. [6]

Kayla Beardslee: Apparently scientists still have not found a cure to the "Say So" substitutes epidemic since I last did this bit two months ago. Everyone, our time on this planet as a species is finite: it's up to us to band together and figure out how to de-chintz the pop girl singles before it's too late. “Puntería” is an extremely average addition to the "Say So" imitators’ shelf, but having Shakira on a track will always be worth an extra point. At least I learned a new Spanish word! [6]

Katherine St. Asaph: EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to an oversight in the selection process, we have covered "Not My Fault" twice. We regret the error. [4]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[mifhortunach]

2023 'overview'

The standard end of year post of course!

This year has both breezed by and felt absolutely endless, personally at least, and i feel like i accomplished nothing(!), but still, here's a round up of some stuff i enjoyed!?

MOVIES: as ever as always! I'm writing this a bit in advance, but i've deffo seen less movies this year than i did last year, tho i believe that i did manage to get out to the cinema way more than usual (tho, tbh, most often on my lonesome i think). I think i've felt the most divided on them this year; i liked a lot of stuff very VERY much! i also have felt so SO bored with a lot more things. i think i talked about having like. a matrix moment last year, nothing like that this year, tho a lot more of being like, 'well yeah, of course', or finally being able to recognise what a shot is, lol. Regardless, here are the movies i probably loved the most this year:

aftersun: all i talked about jan thru feb, need to watch it again. it looks great, its both fun & heartbreaking, and you KNOW i love the found footage side of it all - especially when it addresses that even when you have footage of 'objective reality' you just really cant know it all operation avalanche: as w aftersun, this shit gets at like ALL my interests! OpAv isn't a perfect movie, and i think the more u know about the production/etc the more obvious that becomes [i genuinely WOULD love to see/know more about the version that really did have the mole/romance plotline integrated, but lbr, that doesnt really exist]. ANYWAY!! i do think this is such an exciting film to watch, especially the movie making sequences, and i think the feeling of it all comes across so truly iygm. also, obvs, bc i love conspiracies unfortch the dirties: im sorry there's so much MJ on this list, short tho it is! but hey, these really took over my life for a month there lol. i still havent listened to the commentary w the real film critic, but i truly find this to be an airtight movie, the found footage stuff is so well integrated, justifying everything while also calling all intent/'reality' into question.. i do think someone could spend forever with it - its also funny & miserable! what more could u want (watch my fancam please) my house walkthrough: i genuinely just really like this!! ive said it before, but i genuinely just find it such an exciting watch, the bts just makes it so much cooler - what's sicker than repetition Hon Noms: la confidential: heat walked so this could run ! thirst: so much fun, i love vampire lovers who hate each other beau is afraid: too long, but i really liked most of this, v funny black tower: great example of doing smth so cool w very little

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

books:

francis spufford, new sun series, chandler, mauretania

PODCASTS:

sfultra!!!: sean L@TDF finally returns to talk about sci-fi books! sean is one of the few critics i'll always keep up with even when i dont agree w him, & this show has been a real treat all this year - the patreon stuff is great as well - its introduced me to a lot of new stuff & crit, and its been good to hear from him again. if u listen to any of these, listen to this shelved by genre: really good, tho often we have different interests - got me to read a fair few more books this year! im not a games guy, and im mad behind on fatt, so its super nice to get to hear some austin biweekly anyway, lol. twioat (as ever): i was a bit trepidatious about this season starting off, but it's been so much fun, the fellas really knocked it out of the park. i loved hearing from some guests that we havent heard from in ages. this season on AJLT was also fuckin amazing, truly & really adored their coverage; possibly highlight of my summer?? toxic podcast: i almost certainly shouted this out last year, but it was nice to have this around again in the top half of the year!! ale has a letterboxd now & its fun to get to see just how many truly atrocious horror movies he does watch all the time. a true connoisseur

------------------------

pick’n’mix:

ntbts: its a such good show!! i've watched more tv than usual this year, but i love how this is done on almost every level. i apologised before for having so much MJ on this list & i stand by that!, but i do think that one of the best (practical) traits in his work is making difficult stuff look not only easy, but genuinely both fun & achievable. whens the movie going to drop??? (lol) getting into shirts: this genuinely was more of an accidental year long thing, starting w the ones i printed for lizzie back in jan/feb, but its been fun! finally got back some screenprinting experience, and i think u can really see some amping up of ambition & basic skill/practice. i do wanna do more in the new year, but am trying to engage with actual intended outcomes (and lbr, the storage issue lol), so we'll see

the sopranos!!: sometimes they really were right about good tv being good, who knew! so much funnier, weirder & depressing than i wouldve expected- honestly undersung at this point. also, it introduced me to a tonne of music lol

the blackberry soundtrack: unfortch i continue to be kinda mixed on the film, as much as i think on a technical level it's so super cool & well-made. i do really like the soundtrack tho!! i'm kinda iffy on some of its application in the actual film, but im a hater, so what can u do lol. the actual thing DOES rip tho

==========

this whole thing makes it look like i got a lot more done this year than i feel like i did lol. i feel like i had plans up the top but they really all came out in the wash//

i read an okay amount of books, but failed to get thru any piles

i watched more tv than usual this year, and saw id say, a midtier amount of movies, but way more new movies than usual

i moved for a bit! then moved back & got a worse job lol

there was a lot of work i didnt get finished.. i have stuff ive been meaning to edition since this time last year that i still havent gone back to.. that said, i think i did get some stuff done, finally actually did some stone litho(!!!!) & had some stuff up in a show or two

who knows,,, maybe ill finally get my shit together & 2024 could be my year - people say good things about being 26 right??? 😭😭😭

[everygame]

Death Stranding (PS4)

Developed/Published by: Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment Released: 8/11/2019 Completed: 02/10/2023 Completion: Finished it, but didn’t get everyone to five stars or anything. Trophies / Achievements: 69%

I didn’t expect to play this before working my way through the rest of the Metal Gear franchise, but to be honest I kind of lost my place there and I got antsy that the online stuff in the PS4 version of this would go away, so I thought I’d best get to it.

On starting this, there is such huge “Oh Kojima, never change” energy as you’re very quickly (or rather, “after a lot of long cut scenes”) having to carry your dead mum, who is also the president, up a hill to chuck her in an incinerator, because otherwise her body will explode leveling a massive chunk of the eastern seaboard (er, again.)

I mean… that’s an opening.

Here’s what I’ll say about Death Stranding: It’s weirdly compelling. And I mean weirdly. There’s really not that much to it. You get packages and you deliver them. While you’re delivering them, you have to avoid “BTs” which basically amount to stealth sections where you crawl around slowly, creating pulses to see the enemies who are basically blind unless you walk into them, and you also have to avoid marauders, who definitely aren’t blind but you can at least run away from them. And for ages, that’s really all you do.

You actually get into a sort of groove with it, especially once you get about a third of the way into it and you begin to upgrade infrastructure. I don’t know if Hideo Kojima set out to make people feel this way, but I became an infrastructure nut. If there was a highway to build, fuck the story! I had to build that goddamned highway, because there’s nothing as satisfying as coasting over a previously agonizing BT area with a truck full of several tons of useless stuff that will probably get you enough materials to build some more highway.

Of course… doing this is also… boring. I mean the core game isn’t actually that… interesting. You know when you like, go for a long walk with your headphones on? The game is almost a “long walk with headphones on” simulator, that for a big chunk of the middle part is actually “long drive with the radio on”. But you’re not really going anywhere.

The weird thing is that the game gets worse when it tries to not be that. The game eventually introduces clumsy but classic combat with shooty guns, and there are several boss battles that are just horrible as you run around shooting dudes awkwardly. I sincerely doubt Kojima had any pressure on him to put shooting in this, so it just seems like such a failure of imagination to come so close to making a non-violent video game and then ending up putting a lot of violence in it after all?

I mean really the problem is that the game is just way, way too fucking long, and it’s not even the fault of cut-scenes. Every couple of hours someone goes “Sam, we need you to connect another 3 random dicks to the network” and then you have to off and do it, and while the game does its best to give you some variety, no one noticed it would be annoying every time you had to go back to shlepping about on foot rather than whizzing about in a truck (there’s an entire section in the mountains which is just desperately putting as many zip-lines down as possible because it’s such a huge pain in the arse otherwise.) By the end I was exhausted of this, which is a shame, because I didn’t even fully complete the highway network after getting such a hard-on for it. Some of those material requirements were just taking the piss.

Anyway. Once I was bored of it I went to finish it and oops, “never change, Kojima” because the last 20 minutes of gameplay took me… five… six hours? I stopped at one point to make a cheese and beetroot sandwich (only god can judge me) so maybe that added a few minutes of time but there’s literally a point where you’re supposed to stand around on a beach waiting for half an hour so the cutscenes will continue. What was I saying about taking the piss?

The worst thing about that though is that the game actually does, mostly, start to make sense, and ends in quite a touching way, but it takes so unnecessarily long to get there as cut-scenes show you, at length, things you’ve already seen. It’s horribly paced, and it’s transparently flawed that if I’m going to play this for literally 54 hours you probably shouldn’t cram almost the entire story into the last five. 

I don’t even know if it’s self indulgence that this is as bloated as it is–I think it’s more that this is what AAA video games are. There’s an indie scale version of this that takes a quarter of the time that would be amazing, but, well, that’s not what we got. 

Will I ever play it again? I played the original version rather than the director’s cut because I wanted Sam to drink Monster Energy and he doesn’t even do that once you’re about half-way through the game! There’s not much difference though outside of being able to take a floating carrier on a zip line which in retrospect I sorely missed. But no, no reason to play this again, I’ve rinsed it.

Final Thought: For a game that’s about the connections Sam made and where you absolutely feel like you’ve traveled across an entire continent, it’s also really weird that there’s no sense of ceremony to your last trip back; I was expecting one of those victory laps where you meet the characters you’ve worked with across the game as you go and you reflect on how you changed their lives, but nothing like that happens. It’s not like I wanted the game to be longer, admittedly.

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