Okay disclaimer....do not read my comment if you are very much enjoying all aspects of the show. Keep enjoying…
Writing is one of the last things I look at when giving my first thoughts on a show. Mainly because writing takes time to develop where as cinematography, lighting, blocking, and editing are normally the best it's going to get within the first few episodes. As those first few episodes are where a lot of budget ends up to hook a viewer. The production quality might decrease overtime while the writing/storytelling can improve overtime thanks to character development and story arches getting proper follow through.
There are some very low budget shows that I love because the chemistry and writing were there from the jump and hooked me in. And then there are extremely beautifully crafted shows that just didn't have a good story.
Si Jin is leaning a bit into soapier writing than I personally prefer these days, but the overall storyline is still interesting enough to keep me engaged and wanting to know more. I wish their makeup department was better, special effects make up to be specific, as they aren't as consistent with injuries/damage as they should be. But again, it's got enough well done things to overlook the meh things.
Okay disclaimer....do not read my comment if you are very much enjoying all aspects of the show. Keep enjoying…
Same, popularity can only get me so far into a show. It might get me to watch a few episodes but it doesn't mean I'll finish it. I just want people to enjoy what they enjoy and not let other's dictate their own measuring stick. There are some shows I love that, in all honesty are trash shows in one aspect or another, but because of what I was going through at the time when I was first watching it or one other aspect that brought me joy...i'm going to view it with a different lens. I call them my "No brain, no logic, watch" dramas.
They are the most domestic couple that aren't actually living together I've ever seen in a modern drama. All the other ones it's not until they are living together in some way that we get all this domestic bless chill vibe going. I love it.
I fear his lil cousin is going to be disappeared by SuYe if he interrupts those "thoughts" one more time😒😤(seriously Zhang Ling He's "i want to end you" look is the best)
Okay disclaimer....do not read my comment if you are very much enjoying all aspects of the show. Keep enjoying…
Recent ones that come to mind are Blossom, Love of the Divine Tree, and The Best Thing. So Blossom's director did a really good job of setting up lighting for specific shots. He never needed to over light his scene for multiple cameras because he already had the final edit in mind when he was shooting the scene. So he was able to carefully craft the lighting and framing every time. He used real candles and mirrors to reflect warm light on to the subjects in the shot, instead of relying on overhead studio lighting that has a bluer tone. Similar lighting techniques were used in Flourished Peony. It gives drama and reality to root yourself as a viewer in. They never went season 8 Game of Thrones darkness.
Currently watching a night scene in Si Jin in episode 6...every subject is so "well" lit that I can see every last hair on their head and where everyone's makeup ends....this should not be happening. They are lit from every side and from above and below....there are maybe like 3 candles in the room glowing orange, but every actor is lit with a pale blue florescent light source.
With Love of the Divine Tree they used "atmosphere" (light smoke to ad depth to a scene. The color grading remained consistent for their A team production(main leads storyline vs secondary lead's storyline, a different director covered the side story) They shot on real sets and in nature whenever possible and stayed away from overusing a blue screen studio. This added a reality to the very fantasy heavy show.
Okay, so "voice", strongest one that I'm currently watching is The Best Thing. The director is approaching it from a "first love" POV. The slow steady shots that linger. When the FL is going through emotional distress the technique changes to the mood, making it feel internal and darker focusing on breath within the sound mix and camera focus. You can take almost any shot from that show and go "Oh that's The Best Thing" based on color grading, camera focus and overall styling. If "first love" was a visual it would be this show.
Another modern show that has a distinct "voice", though in my opinion the director needs to pull back on a bit, is The First Frost. The director shoots a lot of scenes through another clear/reflective object and uses lens flares/projectors. A windowpane, mirror, water etc. It refracts the light showing a physical/emotional distance between the subject and the others in the shot. It's not as well done as I've seen before, but it remains throughout the production. (I'm saying he's heavy handed as in film language he should have eased up a bit once the FL and ML started to let their walls down again, but he didn't so it makes the overall impact less....meaningful.)
I need to find you a good video essay on Youtube to link you.....There was one done recently on America Horror Story and all of the seasons and how it lost it's voice when they went from film to digital....https://youtu.be/4A51c2cs_ko?si=esIuUbe9bA_umC91 FOUND IT! This young creator did an amazing job at articulating how production value can decline depending on the instruments being used. I was going to link another video by a person who works in the film industry but I can't find the video anymore. I've spent the majority of this time looking for it. anyway. I hope some of this helps.
Ratings should be higher.Drama is not confusing and also as a non-novel reader,visually ,drama is dropping clues…
Okay disclaimer....do not read my comment if you are very much enjoying all aspects of the show. Keep enjoying it & don't let my critique hinder your viewing experience. Not trying to yuck anyone's yum, just giving my opinion on rating systems from the POV of a production nerd.
I don't agree about the rating needing to be higher. It's a very basic costume drama at this point(Im 5 epiosdes in). Please understand what about to say is not to be mean or contrarin, but coming from someone whose niche interest is film & television production. It is something I have been interested and studied since I was a child. The editing, transitions & flashback techniques used are not very good when compared to other dramas in the same category & budget. The acting is there & maybe the storyline, im not far enough along to judge this aspect yet.
Styling wise, there seem to be many people whose clothing just does not fit them properly within the supporting cast. The set design is fine, but because the cinematography is not really bringing much it is not captured in a way that makes it standout in a good way. The lighting is giving city street at night time in the 21st century, not period piece drama. The color grading keeps going in and out making the scene look completely washed out & desaturated out of nowhere. There are certain camera techniques that, although interesting, seem out of place in the context of the overall style of the show. Think of it like the camera is another voice in the show. Some shows have a very distinct voice, and you could pull any clip from it & know that it belongs to x show. This show's "voice" is not very strong & could be confused as other productions. (I don't know if I'm explaining this well or if you are even still reading) Im not saying all of this to neg on the show, but from a production stand point it is middle of the road. For many viewers this factors into their rating of an overall production. As someone who has watched many a redo period piece/girl boss/investigation plotted shows, it's getting the job done. Others have done it better but others have done it worse. So an 8, to me is an above average rating. Which, I believe, is correct, it is above average, but not S tier.
So glad they gave Bai Bing Ke a mature voice for this one. Couldn't stand what Liu Qing did with her character's voice for Everlasting Longing. (Liu Qing is a great voice actress, but anytime she does a teenage like whiny voice I just can't deal with it)
Okay....there's a doggo...you've got me show...but I swear to god if anything bad happens to that dog you not getting anything higher than 5 stars....them the rules.
Oh, I have been blocking repeat victim blamers left and right and since then the comment section has been sooooo…
Not gonna lie...haven't read your whole OG comment as i'm a few episodes behind, still at work atm. So can't comment on characterization/writing...but I promise I'll read your full OG comment later 🥰
yes this director who wrote the adaptation for drama just love things tooo DRAMATIC.
😬....I'm such a production nerd that I have a LOT to say....but I am keeping a lot to myself for fear of yucking someone's yum. I don't want someone to see the show differently while watching it because of something I've said and them lose any joy that they are currently having. I just don't think my overall review is going to be as high as I originally thought it was going to be. And that's totally on me and my expectations of the show that I've been waiting for for about 2ish years.
I'm 3 episodes behind...but just from reading about 2 comments looks like they completely changed the source material...if that's the case it's now about the 10th thing they have changed to make it more "dramatic" than it already was originally....which...hmmm...I'll reserve full judgement until I'm caught up and see how and where they are going with this.
I read a comment here calling her a failure, but how can that be said after everything she’s been through? She…
Oh, I have been blocking repeat victim blamers left and right and since then the comment section has been sooooo much nicer. Don't be afraid to use that feature. Just go into their profile and "block user" and they can't see your comments, you can't see theirs....it's a beautiful thing. I like to think of it as them screaming into a void that no one can hear.
Seriously, protect you peace, as some people don't know how to have nuanced conversations about abuse and character development.
I'm wondering what was cut from the show...it went from, I think, 36 episodes down 23. I'm hoping that it just took out any side stories that don't actually matter to the overall love story. Because there have been shows where I think, well they could have done more. But there have been a lot more shows that I've thought they could have cut at least a 4th to a 3rd of the final edit and made a better drama. I hope this is the latter and not the former situation.
If anyone knows the tea please share. Or if you know the original source material and know what length sounds right for the story 36 vs 23.
2 
There are some very low budget shows that I love because the chemistry and writing were there from the jump and hooked me in. And then there are extremely beautifully crafted shows that just didn't have a good story.
Si Jin is leaning a bit into soapier writing than I personally prefer these days, but the overall storyline is still interesting enough to keep me engaged and wanting to know more. I wish their makeup department was better, special effects make up to be specific, as they aren't as consistent with injuries/damage as they should be. But again, it's got enough well done things to overlook the meh things.
So Blossom's director did a really good job of setting up lighting for specific shots. He never needed to over light his scene for multiple cameras because he already had the final edit in mind when he was shooting the scene. So he was able to carefully craft the lighting and framing every time. He used real candles and mirrors to reflect warm light on to the subjects in the shot, instead of relying on overhead studio lighting that has a bluer tone. Similar lighting techniques were used in Flourished Peony. It gives drama and reality to root yourself as a viewer in. They never went season 8 Game of Thrones darkness.
Currently watching a night scene in Si Jin in episode 6...every subject is so "well" lit that I can see every last hair on their head and where everyone's makeup ends....this should not be happening. They are lit from every side and from above and below....there are maybe like 3 candles in the room glowing orange, but every actor is lit with a pale blue florescent light source.
With Love of the Divine Tree they used "atmosphere" (light smoke to ad depth to a scene. The color grading remained consistent for their A team production(main leads storyline vs secondary lead's storyline, a different director covered the side story) They shot on real sets and in nature whenever possible and stayed away from overusing a blue screen studio. This added a reality to the very fantasy heavy show.
Okay, so "voice", strongest one that I'm currently watching is The Best Thing. The director is approaching it from a "first love" POV. The slow steady shots that linger. When the FL is going through emotional distress the technique changes to the mood, making it feel internal and darker focusing on breath within the sound mix and camera focus. You can take almost any shot from that show and go "Oh that's The Best Thing" based on color grading, camera focus and overall styling. If "first love" was a visual it would be this show.
Another modern show that has a distinct "voice", though in my opinion the director needs to pull back on a bit, is The First Frost. The director shoots a lot of scenes through another clear/reflective object and uses lens flares/projectors. A windowpane, mirror, water etc. It refracts the light showing a physical/emotional distance between the subject and the others in the shot. It's not as well done as I've seen before, but it remains throughout the production. (I'm saying he's heavy handed as in film language he should have eased up a bit once the FL and ML started to let their walls down again, but he didn't so it makes the overall impact less....meaningful.)
I need to find you a good video essay on Youtube to link you.....There was one done recently on America Horror Story and all of the seasons and how it lost it's voice when they went from film to digital....https://youtu.be/4A51c2cs_ko?si=esIuUbe9bA_umC91
FOUND IT! This young creator did an amazing job at articulating how production value can decline depending on the instruments being used.
I was going to link another video by a person who works in the film industry but I can't find the video anymore. I've spent the majority of this time looking for it. anyway. I hope some of this helps.
I don't agree about the rating needing to be higher. It's a very basic costume drama at this point(Im 5 epiosdes in). Please understand what about to say is not to be mean or contrarin, but coming from someone whose niche interest is film & television production. It is something I have been interested and studied since I was a child.
The editing, transitions & flashback techniques used are not very good when compared to other dramas in the same category & budget.
The acting is there & maybe the storyline, im not far enough along to judge this aspect yet.
Styling wise, there seem to be many people whose clothing just does not fit them properly within the supporting cast. The set design is fine, but because the cinematography is not really bringing much it is not captured in a way that makes it standout in a good way. The lighting is giving city street at night time in the 21st century, not period piece drama.
The color grading keeps going in and out making the scene look completely washed out & desaturated out of nowhere. There are certain camera techniques that, although interesting, seem out of place in the context of the overall style of the show.
Think of it like the camera is another voice in the show. Some shows have a very distinct voice, and you could pull any clip from it & know that it belongs to x show. This show's "voice" is not very strong & could be confused as other productions. (I don't know if I'm explaining this well or if you are even still reading)
Im not saying all of this to neg on the show, but from a production stand point it is middle of the road. For many viewers this factors into their rating of an overall production.
As someone who has watched many a redo period piece/girl boss/investigation plotted shows, it's getting the job done. Others have done it better but others have done it worse. So an 8, to me is an above average rating. Which, I believe, is correct, it is above average, but not S tier.
I like to think of it as them screaming into a void that no one can hear.
Seriously, protect you peace, as some people don't know how to have nuanced conversations about abuse and character development.
If anyone knows the tea please share. Or if you know the original source material and know what length sounds right for the story 36 vs 23.