tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048006265600046573.post7411257410805118444..comments2020-06-23T18:44:02.034-07:00Comments on Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth: Emails #3: Terrible Times Demanding Terrible SacrificeBen Alpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02349155228789121570noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048006265600046573.post-75174474185387874192011-02-17T10:50:32.536-08:002011-02-17T10:50:32.536-08:00In email post #3, I sketch out a scene with ice br...In email post #3, I sketch out a scene with ice breaking and Cap being revealed. My inspiration for this was actually a car commercial. If you watch TV and are careful to observe car commercials you may notice several factors they share in common. The use of slow motion. High tech camera and CGI effects. Feel good close ups of drivers smiling while avoiding fallen trees, deer, ice, etc. Closed track, don't try this at home. The cars often take a "back seat" to the "feel."<br /><br />One of the appealing features is the use of technology to illustrate the point they want to make on an emotional level. In many instances, the car itself becomes a minor player in support of technology. Morphing, Matrix-style camera tricks, slow motion, outright CGI animation takes over and tries to convey a feeling. One recent commercial I saw warps to include King Neptune and space aliens (Honda?). There is always a insane attention to detail and lighting in these commercials. The voice overs too are great. Alec Baldwin, Jeff Bridges and Sam Elliott are current favorites, dripping with machismo and friendly authority.<br /><br />I wanted to do a section of Cap in this manner. Jason Robards as a general narrates over the top. I loved him in Something Wicked This Way Comes but he has been in a million movies and is an underrated American original. In my head. I can just picture the block of ice turning, glistening and slippery wet but a little frosted in the center. The camera lovingly captures small snippets and glimpses of our hero setting us up for the reveal. There is a sharp cracking noise! Fissures spiderweb through the ice making distinct sounds. Chips are flying off the main block. Cap is finally revealed. A tiny disclaimer crawls across the bottom of the screen. Trained stuntman in closed environment. Do not try at home...<br /><br />In the comics, Captain America is rescued by the Avengers. This officially "pulls" Cap into the modern era. What time is it really? The early sixties? If so, that block of ice has held Cap for approximately 15-20 years, like a solitary confinement prison sentence. Still forty or fifty years before our current day and age. Are his parents still alive? What does the world know about him? More importantly, Cap has become Rip Van Winkle without the long beard (suggestive of Father Time). The entire landscape of the world has changed. Russia is no longer an ally but an enemy. Germany is split into pieces. Viet Nam and unrest at home are just around the corner. Where does Cap fit into this picture? How do his ideals conflict with the culture in upheaval?RICK Arthur, Founderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16925622575714675074noreply@blogger.com