A Thousand Stars: Episode II, Part 3
Dec. 1st, 2022 01:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matrilNext we have a dialogue-heavy scene, with exposition about the looming Separatist war and the strain on the Republic and its protectors. Knowing what we do about Palpatine's identity, a meeting like this is particularly chilling.
One soft-spoken man, casually plotting the deaths of everyone on the other side of his desk...
But as with most scenes in Star Wars, so much more can be gleaned if you look past the dialogue. There are lots of closeups of faces reacting while someone else is talking. Consider when Padmé enters and the speculation starts up about her attempted assassination. She's convinced that Dooku was behind it, and Mace brushes this off, since he was a former Jedi and couldn't possibly be headed toward evil.
Yeah, Master Windu. Sure. You might have the teeniest blind spot.
Then note Yoda's expression when Palpatine brings up the idea of Jedi protectors for the Senator.
What is he thinking here? Moments before, he spoke of how the Dark Side is clouding everything...could it be he senses the Dark Side around the Chancellor? Mmm, maybe that's a stretch. But he's definitely noticing that something is off while Palpatine is speaking. It's a deliberate choice to focus on Yoda's face here -- indeed, the animators would have designed this CGI expression specifically for this shot. Very intriguing.
Lastly, we get a final look at the Chancellor as the meeting breaks up.
It's subtle, nothing that screams LOOK AT THE EVIL MACHINATOR, but there's something vaguely unsettling about his manner, that calculating way he watches his departing visitors. All these little shots linger in our subconscious as we build our interpretations of each character.
Next, silence speaks volumes...
One soft-spoken man, casually plotting the deaths of everyone on the other side of his desk...
But as with most scenes in Star Wars, so much more can be gleaned if you look past the dialogue. There are lots of closeups of faces reacting while someone else is talking. Consider when Padmé enters and the speculation starts up about her attempted assassination. She's convinced that Dooku was behind it, and Mace brushes this off, since he was a former Jedi and couldn't possibly be headed toward evil.
Yeah, Master Windu. Sure. You might have the teeniest blind spot.
Then note Yoda's expression when Palpatine brings up the idea of Jedi protectors for the Senator.
What is he thinking here? Moments before, he spoke of how the Dark Side is clouding everything...could it be he senses the Dark Side around the Chancellor? Mmm, maybe that's a stretch. But he's definitely noticing that something is off while Palpatine is speaking. It's a deliberate choice to focus on Yoda's face here -- indeed, the animators would have designed this CGI expression specifically for this shot. Very intriguing.
Lastly, we get a final look at the Chancellor as the meeting breaks up.
It's subtle, nothing that screams LOOK AT THE EVIL MACHINATOR, but there's something vaguely unsettling about his manner, that calculating way he watches his departing visitors. All these little shots linger in our subconscious as we build our interpretations of each character.
Next, silence speaks volumes...
