Mosaic

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pzadvance
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2011 7:24 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Mosaic

#26 Post by pzadvance » Wed Apr 25, 2018 9:07 pm

Nice-- hope they find a way to include the phone edit

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Mosaic

#27 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Dec 10, 2019 5:38 pm

I never posted about this when it debuted, but I've been itching for another opportunity to experience Soderbergh's skills at flexing technique to toy with perspective. The story itself wasn't anything really special, but I loved the way we are issued objective and subjective experiences as pet treats. This is manipulation at its finest.

I don't see how this could possibly succeed as an HBO show, as the strengths solely lie in how it changes our participation and fragments our access, including morphing genres based on each distinct path. I began following Joel before switching to the sister character at one point, which was the perfect move if you want to focus on objective story. This followed a neo-noir structure from a person more removed from the action looking to solve problems and find clues. This leaves many scenes curious and implicating characters without any subjective insight to grasp at significant evidence in the areas we seek, something only going back and through each perspective can accomplish. It's only once we solve the crime and go back to those other characters that the genre switches completely (for example I wasn't prepared for at least one story to abandon the whodunit noir-mystery and embrace a melodramatic dark character study of isolation). The playing with narrative was remarkable and showed Soderbergh's editing skills (we all know the strength of these) applied to plains I didn't think were possible, as he merely plants cameras in different spaces of the same scene to echo completely different emotions through simple angle change (one watching Joel from afar in the bar is suspicious and objective, but one just behind him in his storyline is so subjectively claustrophobic and anxiety-inducing I still get chills thinking about it two years later, especially following my opposing initial objective response from the sister's storyline!), as well as editing clips together to form different genres entirely. This was a successful experiment for the phone app, and while I went into this experience with immense trepidation at the idea of spending 7ish hours watching my phone, I came out recommending it to everybody. I haven't watched or seen it since, and it seems like this format idea and actual piece of film has been mostly forgotten about, but I still think about it and if anybody hasn't taken the plunge yet I highly recommend doing so.

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whaleallright
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:56 am

Re: Mosaic

#28 Post by whaleallright » Tue Dec 10, 2019 6:35 pm

he merely plants cameras in different spaces of the same scene to echo completely different emotions through simple angle change
Just as interesting, there are actually variations in the dialogue and performances among the different "versions" of certain scenes -- that is, the "what happens" of the scene actually changes, usually subtly, depending on whose perspective or knowledge the version of the scene is filtered through. (These aren't just the expected minor continuity changes, like someone lifting a fork or removing their hat at a different moment.) This might just be Soderbergh fucking around (as he has acknowledged), but there are times when the changes have a small if real impact on how we understand a character and/or event.

I agree that this was a really interesting and mostly quite successful experiment. I wish there were more like it!

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Mosaic

#29 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Dec 10, 2019 7:48 pm

whaleallright wrote:
Tue Dec 10, 2019 6:35 pm
Just as interesting, there are actually variations in the dialogue and performances among the different "versions" of certain scenes -- that is, the "what happens" of the scene actually changes, usually subtly, depending on whose perspective or knowledge the version of the scene is filtered through.
I never thought about that (cue memory from 2+ years ago), but that’s really interesting and also not surprising in the least for Soderbergh to manipulate details to accentuate the significance of perspective, and beyond this the implications in its application to assumptions and judgement.

I wonder what the numbers looked like for participants in the app.. hopefully he explores this idea again, I don’t see another filmmaker taking it to the lengths and with the energy that he can.

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