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Owl Nighter
Switzerland
Приєднався 18 жов 2024
I talk about writing.
When a Masterpiece Broke the Rules of Storytelling: Refusing the Call
When adventure calls, heroes often refuse-sometimes for a good reason, sometimes because the writer is following a formula. But what separates a meaningful refusal from a forgettable one?
In this video, we break down refusals, explore what makes them work (or not), and see how Gladiator’s Maximus transcended the trope entirely.
#OwlNighter #videoessay
00:00 Intro
01:08 Refusals everywhere
03:09 Typical Refusals (Star Wars, The Hobbit)
04:56 Bad Refusals (The Rings of Power)
11:21 Good Refusals (The Matrix, Harry Potter)
14:57 The Goat (Gladiator)
21:56 Conclusion
In this video, we break down refusals, explore what makes them work (or not), and see how Gladiator’s Maximus transcended the trope entirely.
#OwlNighter #videoessay
00:00 Intro
01:08 Refusals everywhere
03:09 Typical Refusals (Star Wars, The Hobbit)
04:56 Bad Refusals (The Rings of Power)
11:21 Good Refusals (The Matrix, Harry Potter)
14:57 The Goat (Gladiator)
21:56 Conclusion
Переглядів: 1 666
Відео
When Small Mysteries Make a Story Unforgettable
Переглядів 1,1 тис.24 дні тому
How can something as ordinary as a fridge door (Fleishman Is in Trouble) or a mailbox (Paterson) become a gripping mystery? In this video, we explore the art of crafting mysteries, no matter how small the stakes might seem. Thank you for watching! #OwlNighter #videoessay 00:00 The mystery game (The Wheel of Time vs Paterson) 02:14 Artificial vs organic mysteries 04:27 The fridge metaphor 07:53 ...
When the Sequel Actually Takes a Risk
Переглядів 656Місяць тому
Five brilliant writing choices elevated the series and avoided the common pitfalls of sequels. I’m sure Netflix will roll out something like 'Squid Game: All-Stars' in 10 years-and it’ll probably be terrible. But for now, let’s appreciate the series while it’s still in the hands of someone with a genuine story to tell. Thank you for watching! Please consider subscribing if you enjoyed the video...
When the Idea Is So Good the Movie Practically Writes Itself: The Cabin in the Woods
Переглядів 6 тис.Місяць тому
When you let competent writers cook, a simple idea can turn into a full movie. Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon said they came up with the script for The Cabin in the Woods in 3 days, and I believe them, because one idea at the heart of the story is so powerful that the rest flows naturally from it. Thanks for watching my first youtube video, I still can't believe he had the conch in his hand. #Owl...
Excellent video! I love your format and this is a beautiful analysis. Bravo, you got a new subscriber :)
Hi everyone, just to clarify something: The way I introduce Rings of Power in the video is a bit clumsy and might make it seem like I had never seen the show before-as if I was watching it for the first time, deliberately looking for bad refusals. But that’s not the case. Unfortunately, I had already seen RoP and knew full well how terrible the writing was, so it was only natural for me to look for examples of bad refusals there...
The fact this video pops up on my homepage while I am working on my hero's journey analysis thesis. This must be fate... '-'
Haha, all hail the gods of the algorithm! Good luck with your thesis!
What a bunch of nonsense, on one side you argue that not every story needs the refusal of the call, and then you make one up to fit your predetermined judgement of a show. An don't get me wrong, I have not even watched the Rings of Power, but hat you said there was just your bias showing. Guess I refuse the call to watch any more of this trite.
Edit: Thanks to your comment, I now realize my video may suggest that I watched Rings of Power for the first time expecting to find a bad refusal. That is not the case. I had already seen Rings of Power and knew the writing was poor-I re-watched it specifically for this video. Hey, I appreciate your comment, even if it’s a critical one. I expected this kind of feedback eventually, and I respect that you kept it civil. I think there may have been a misunderstanding because my argument is indeed that not every story needs a refusal, and my whole point with Rings of Power is that it didn’t need refusals, yet the writers forced them into the narrative because they thought they had to. As for bias-I do have a negative view of Rings of Power, but that’s based on having seen it, not on any predetermined stance. Still, I appreciate the feedback, and I’ll be more mindful of how I introduce examples of poor writing in the future.
@@OWL_NIGHTER I too think rings of power was written poor.
Fantastic video!
Thank you so much!
Perfect in depth analysis of this masterpiece of a horror comedy movie
Off topic, but I liked how you mentioned Odysseus. Great video, btw.
I'm glad you caught that! I do think my love for storytelling can be traced back to my exposure to the myths from ancient Greece as a teenager. Their resilience and relevance to this day are truly awe-inspiring.
This video is incredible, absolutely enjoyed every second of it. Please make the video on Gladiator 2, I haven't seen it yet, and honestly, I have no intention of watching it after hearing what you said.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your support. I’m definitely planning to make a video on Gladiator II soon (though I’m not sure if it’ll be the very next one). As for the movie itself, while I didn’t find it outright terrible, I do feel it’s unfortunately not a worthy sequel…
Yeah, ok, actually great video and subscribed, what do you want from me
Haha, thank you! This kind of comment is really what keeps me going :)
The video is good and the script is solid; I think people click away because you may take a little while to get to the point and people like a straight up approach sometimes.
Thank you. I think that's good advice and I'll take it to heart.
nice first video dude! idk why but ur accent compliments this style of video well lmao keep it up! u definitely make it big one day
Haha thank you! My accent is finally useful for something!
Great video! Love the backgrounds, love the music (maybe turn the volume down just a smidge so we can hear your lovely voice more easily), and I adore the little owl family! Very excited about your future videos!
Thank you so much for this lovely comment! I guess I lacked confidence in the quality of my voice recording for this video, and the music offered a safety net, but it seems I overdid it. I'll try removing the music altogether in my future videos. Thanks again!
Great voice
Thank you! That's actually very valuable feedback for me, as I've been trying several styles of narration over my three videos. I'm talking fairly slowly in this one, but it seems as if it actually works better than my quicker attempts.
Well this was an interesting find! Thanks youtube for recommending the channel and thanks Owl Nighter for a great analysis and good narration.
Thanks a lot for this lovely comment. Glad you enjoyed it! I've been experimenting with different narration styles in my other videos, but it seems like the slower pace in this one might work better than the quicker style in the others.
I'm a media student and damn for a first video on youtube you made an AMAZING essay. good job man!
Thank you so much, that means a lot coming from a media student. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Comment for algorithm
Thanks a ton for helping out, I really appreciate it!
Came across this video randomly and just leaving a comment to wish good luck to your channel.
Thank you so much! My view count is still low, so comments like yours really mean a lot and keep me motivated!
Peak video, earned a subscriber. the background music is my main complaint right now. I notice that some other vidoes of a similar type, tend to use scores from those same movies that they talk about. I.e., horror movie video essays use horror movie scores, background, subtle music- and other video essays about different genres, use their corresponding genre's music. (basic example, spider man movie essay uses spiderman score in the video)
Thank you! I really appreciate your feedback-you're absolutely right, the background music was both a mismatch for the video and too loud. I lacked confidence in the recording of my voice and thought the background music would help smooth it out, but I’ve realized the opposite is true. Background music often makes the overall voice quality worse, not better. I’ve significantly decreased the volume of the music in my most recent video, and I hope it’s better now. Thanks again for the feedback!
And the mail box for a win 🏆! Bahahaha love it
Kudos! Looking forward to seeing more
thank you!
Just leaving a comment for the Algorithm gods to notice this video. WAGA WAGA WAGA!
Wow, thank you so much! That’s really nice of you. Fingers crossed for the algorithm gods!
I agree with @yoginella, I don't think you have to summarize a movie to comment on it. I do enjoy videos that do that, because there are some genres I don't watch and try to appreciate at a distance, but there are plenty of people doing summary/explainer videos out there. I haven't seen either Paterson or Fleischman is in Trouble (I have seen Wheel of Time... sigh) and I still got exactly what you are talking about (and was also delighted by the final mailbox spoiler, what a nice cherry on top). And yeah your accent is very nice to listen to :)
Thank you so much. I'll keep this advice to heart!
I LOL'd at Moiraine narrating the mailbox mystery. Edit: "that seems like a you problem" got me again.
I have a feeling your channel is about to take off. I hope you can keep up with the demand. Great video
Thank you! I hope so too. I've been wanting to create this channel for a while so I do have a long backlog of topics I want to address, let's hope you'll find them interesting!
I love your accent!
Haha thank you. I have absolutely no control over it, so I'm relieved it's not too abrasive to native ears.
amazing video!
Woah, thank you for making this video. Honestly it was very insightful and perfectly paced. As a screen writer this was very well explained that i myself found hard explained
Thank you so much!
Your videos are great; it's so rare to find an actual educated video essayer.
Thank you so much for your support! It means a lot to me.
I watched this video and the one about the cabin in the woods, and I really like how you edit your videos and present your thoughts. Someone in the comments on the cabin video said you should summarize the plot oft the movies you review more - I disagress. Discussing specific parts of movies is a really good advertisement to watch the movies. Your charming French accent is the cherry on to...can't wait to see and hear more of your work!
Thank you so much for the kind feedback! I'm working on finding the right balance between providing enough context for those unfamiliar with the movies I'm referencing, and respecting the time of viewers who already know them. On your point about advertising: if my videos can motivate some to watch Fleishman is in Trouble, Scavengers Reign or Paterson, then I'd be delighted! Thanks again :)
@@OWL_NIGHTER You're very welcome! I understand the dilemma, but I think the main attraction of an analysis video on a movie is to present your thoughts and only the key scenes or sections of the movie. Spoon feeding the movie will very likely kill most of the curiosity to explore the movie and compare the viewers impressions with the points you made in your video. Anyway, from what I've seen, I think you already pretty much know what you want to accompolish with your videos and how. You've gained a subscriber🙂
Only 6 views in 4 hours?! You’re so underrated.
Thank you so much! I'm very new and I still feel a bit insecure about posting these videos, so your comment is really heartwarming to me.
@ you’re videos are great, I know UA-camrs with thousands of subscribers who make far worse videos than you. I hope you end up with a large fan base one day.
Thank you for the kind words! Fingers crossed.
Algorithm hugs. Fun video!
Thank you! It means a lot.
i hated that movie so much. i was expecting something actually scary
Haha, I totally get where you're coming from. I think it can still be scary enough for people who aren’t used to horror (like a good choice for a Halloween movie night with friends who don’t like pure horror). But yeah, I agree-it’s definitely not straight-up horror.
Im clicking away because of spoilers
Fair enough, thank you for the feedback!
@OWL_NIGHTER if I ever do watch it I promise I'll be back.
Le premier épisode m'a donné de l'espoir, mais après c'est parti en revenge porn à l'américaine, en reprenant au passage tout ce que ça disait sur ces deux mondes séparés dans lesquels on vit. Entre ceux qui vivent et ceux qui survivent. Dans la première saison, ils votent pour arrêter les jeux mais sont rattrapés par la réalité horrible que tout ce vers quoi ils reviennent est une vie où demain est certain d'être plus dur qu'hier. ça montrait à quel point les gens sont naifs de croire que les gens précaires le sont parce qu'ils font les mauvais choix, plutôt que de capter qu'ils n'ont peut être pas d'option, ou alors illégales ou qui t'obligent à te trahir un peu en tant qu'humain. Je pensais que ça allait vers là avec lottery or bread, que l'on montrait ce mec qui vit là-haut dans sa morale gravée dans le marbre, et qui juge des personnes sans espoir de parier sur un ticket de tombola plutôt que de choisir de manger un morceau de pain et continuer leur vie telle quelle. Cette incapacité à comprendre l'autre monde. Mais plus on avance dans la saison 2, et on le voit avec les vidéos réactions, plus les gens ont l'air de ressortir de cette série en disant que les gens sont responsables de leur situation financière, les pauvres sont écoeurants et obsédés par l'argent, que les gens sont bêtes de choisir l'argent plutôt que leur vie, sans même voir qu'ils n'ont pas les moyens d'avoir une vie à choisir. Et pourquoi les gens réagissent aussi différemment que lors de la saison 1? C'est parce que cette saison il y a ce nouveau système de vote, et les personnages sont uni dimensionnels. Il y a ceux qui veulent continuer les jeux et y vont, tout contents, tout fiers, et ceux de l'autre côté qui sont les gentils et qui veulent rentrer, qui seraient incapables de faire du mal à une mouche et sont choqués de voir des gens sacrifier la vie d'autres personnes pour la leur. Il n'y a pas toute cette reluctance (et je crois que ça n'est pas un mot en français) à continuer plus loin dans le jeu, en se faisant répéter à longueur de journée que c'est out of your free will, alors qu'en réalité ça n'est qu'une illusion de choix, et à souffrir d'être obligé de faire partie de la part de la population qui n'a pas de bon choix à faire mais qui doit constamment jongler et se débrouiller pour faire le moins mauvais choix entre les deux mauvais proposés, et essayer de garder un peu de dignité au milieu de personnes qui les critiqueront pour avoir fait un mauvais choix, ignorant le choix pire qui était en face. C'était bien râbaché à la fin avec Ill Nam qui parie sur le fait que personne n'aidera l'homme dans la rue qui en a besoin parce qu'on ne se comprend juste pas et on est comme deux espèces différentes qui ne se croisent pas vraiment mais vivent en parallèle l'une de l'autre. C'est écoeurant de voir les réactions à cette deuxième saison, et cette espèce de validation de la criminalisation de la pauvreté que ça emmène avec elles. J'ai littéralement vu une youtubeuse que j'aime bien ressortir de la saison 2 de squid games en disant quelque chose comme "oh ce serait si beau comme conclusion si les squid games montraient qu'on est maitre de son destin par ses choix et que les gens sont punis par leurs mauvais choix mais récompensés par les bons <3" C'est tellement naïf et éloigné de la réalité, et éloigné de ce message à l'époque de squidgame S01 et parasites qui essayait de faire voir le monde par la fenêtre de ceux qui n'ont pas de choix, que les squid games sont evil mais aussi le produit de quelque chose d'encore plus evil mais dont on fait partie et auquel on participe avec les yeux fermés dans la vie de tous les jours. Avec cette quote "the squid games will end when the world will change" ou quelque chose comme ça qu'on entendait dans la bande annonce, les gens comprennent que le monde doit changer dans le sens où les gens doivent faire de meilleurs choix et être moins "aveuglés" par l'argent (et les seules personnes qui disent que l'argent n'a pas de valeur et qu'il n'y a que l'amour et l'amitié sont les gens qui n'ont jamais eu à manquer d'argent, sauter des repas, coucher dehors en plein hiver le ventre vide..), alors que ça dit l'inverse finalement, que squid games c'est la solution que ce monde mérite. ça donne une chance à une personne qui n'en aurait jamais eue, tout en effaçant une grande partie de la population que personne ne veut voir et qui de toute façon n'aura jamais rien. C'est profondément affreux. Mais là ça fait comme avec le rape and revenge qui utilisait le viol pour empower et faire des films d'action qui ont donné toutes ces personnes hypocrites qui te sortent des "moi je lui couperais les couilles" etc alors que dans la vraie vie ils ne sont même pas capables de juste reconnaître qu'un crime est arrivé, que quand ça t'arrive tu peux ne pas réussir à te défendre ou même essayer de te défendre, ou être immobilisé par la peur, et qui mettait en avant les personnes capables de se défendre eux-mêmes par encore plus de violence parce qu'essayer de se défendre légalement est non seulement une perte de temps mais en plus dangereux. Là ça fait la même chose, et les personnes les plus vulnérables sont moquées, et privées de toute compassion. C'est une saison 2 affreuse pour ces raisons. Et même juste esthétiquement, ça a perdu tout son charme et sens du réel. C'est Netflixé.
Nice one
Pretty well done for your first UA-cam video. Great job!
Man I'm letting you know cuz you asked for it in the video I'm about to click off your video in the first 10 seconds because I already hate the background music is the background music necessary?
Thanks for the feedback, mate! I’ll try toning it down or removing it in future videos. I added it because I’m still working on my audio quality and thought it might help, but I might have overdone it this time.
I love this movie so much, I love noticing the patterns and tropes. If you like this movie, slither is another good one, also noted as a love letter to the genre
Looking forward to your growth sir, i hope to join you soon on this path.
Impressive upload schedule. 10 min video essay in 4 days. I'll come back to this when i've finished watching season 2.
Thank you! I won’t be able to keep up this upload rhythm for long, but I had some extra time over the holidays. This Squid Game video was also lighter on the editing side-curious to hear your thoughts about it! Hope you enjoy Season 2 as much as I did.
@@OWL_NIGHTER Unfortunately, I didn't like the show at all... I'd give it a 4/10 I do agree with some of your points of well introduced characters. Everyone is believeable in their own way, which is probably the best part of the show. I really liked the first two episodes, especially every single scene with the Salesman. However my main problem are the huge plotholes and inconsistencies that just make zero sense. Sae-byeok in S1 had to go to massive lengths to smuggle in a knife as everyone was stripped of their possessions. In S2 Gi-Hun even gets the teeth chip removed, yet people like Thanos get to keep a massive drug chain, rings and earrings. Snipers talked with each other during Game 1 even though they have the rule not to speak unless spoken to by a supervisor. Gi-Hun and all insurgent players being smart enough to collect all guns and destroy cameras but forgetting like 10-20 leftover ammunition in the pockets of dead soldiers was genuinely just for the plot. Scenes being dragged out for longer than its necessary while also dumping exposition for viewers made some scenes just annoying to watch. Player 120 not getting her badass fight with all the leftover ammunition was a massive letdown and could've allowed for motivational boost for the Marine guy. Frontman playing in the games is a cool idea but doesn't make sense to me. He watched Game 1 from his room but intervened when Gi-Hun saved too many people. He either just tried to get close to Gi-Hun to somehow infiltrate his plans to kill the VIPs / game masters (himself) or he just had fun screwing with Gi-Hun (dropping tiny hints like a psycho xd). The Frontman would've played it safe in both cases and in the end fakes his death to escape. Now hear me out... He clearly noticed his own mortality in 6 Legs and had the chance to disappear during the Doors Game "finding another team". Yet he picked up a gun and stayed around until the very end to fake his death. He could've genuinely died in the process. Why play a game that kills you, join a revolution that is directed towards you, just to avoid being killed.
@@OWL_NIGHTER Unfortunately, I didn't like the show at all... I'd give it a 4/10 I do agree with some of your points of well introduced characters. Everyone is believeable in their own way, which is probably the best part of the show. I really liked the first two episodes, especially every single scene with the Salesman. However my main problem are the huge plotholes and inconsistencies that just make zero sense. Sae-byeok in S1 had to go to massive lengths to smuggle in a knife as everyone was stripped of their possessions. In S2 Gi-Hun even gets the teeth chip removed, yet people like Thanos get to keep a massive drug chain, rings and earrings. Snipers talked with each other during Game 1 even though they have the rule not to speak unless spoken to by a supervisor. Gi-Hun and all insurgent players being smart enough to collect all guns and destroy cameras but forgetting like 10-20 leftover ammunition in the pockets of dead soldiers was genuinely just for the plot. Scenes being dragged out for longer than its necessary while also dumping exposition for viewers made some scenes just annoying to watch. Player 120 not getting her badass fight with all the leftover ammunition was a massive letdown and could've allowed for motivational boost for the Marine guy. Frontman playing in the games is a cool idea but doesn't make sense to me. He watched Game 1 from his room but intervened when Gi-Hun saved too many people. He either just tried to get close to Gi-Hun to somehow infiltrate his plans to kill the VIPs / game masters (himself) or he just had fun screwing with Gi-Hun (dropping tiny hints like a psycho xd). The Frontman would've played it safe in both cases and in the end fakes his death to escape. Now hear me out... He clearly noticed his own mortality in 6 Legs and had the chance to disappear during the Doors Game "finding another team". Yet he picked up a gun and stayed around until the very end to fake his death. He could've genuinely died in the process. Why play a game that kills you, join a revolution that is directed towards you, just to avoid being killed.
Thanks for this! You bring up some really interesting points. My personal take on Thanos' chain is that the organizers might’ve let him keep it on purpose, knowing it could create trouble for the players and add to the drama for the game watchers. I definitely agree with some of the plot conveniences you mentioned, like forgetting the ammunition. That said, I still think the sequel works surprisingly well overall, though I get how frustrating it can feel especially with the story cutting off halfway. Still excited to see where Season 3 takes things!
@@OWL_NIGHTER My biggest problem with the show is the frontman playing himself but I'm guessing that will be resolved in Season 3. Still looking forward to it. I hope we get to see more VIPs and soldier sideplots in the next season, as they brought such a mysterious element to the show.
Almost reported your channel thinking its an AI content farm
Thanks for mentioning this.
@@OWL_NIGHTER No problem fellow human. Good shit keep it up.
secret banger
Great video! That thumbnail is too good to just ignore. I recommend looking at videos from LEMMiNO for cutting inspiration and improved video structure. Your talking points were fine but all those arrows were a bit much at the end and some things were quite hard to follow. For example the Artifacts of doom 3:24 you show an article for less than a second while movie scenes are on a very small scale with movie titles covering most of the owl tv screen. Would be interesting to see the artifacts of other movies with more breathing room. Some video essay videos that might be similar to what you wanna do: "Gamings Most ADDICTIVE Movement Mechanic" - Creem "The Crunch Culture Conundrum" - Noodle "Unique 2d Platformers." - fooby
Great video. I love this film. My only feedback is that when your video ended it felt abrupt. Like you didn’t finish making your point. I know you outlined it but it needed a “and this is why the story was so easy to right but was so unique” type of thing at the end
You're right, thank you. If I'm honest I think I was desperate to make the video as short as I could (a previous version was 23 minutes long, and tanked with 7 views). I probably overreacted and killed my conclusion - thanks for the feedback, I won't make that mistake twice!
@OWL_NIGHTER no worries. It happens. You're on to something tho. UA-cam isn't easy
algorithm blessed me with a hidden gem🙏
GREAT video
Hey! I’m really glad this showed up on my recommended page. I really enjoyed the video! I liked how you explained the flow of thoughts and plot points that come from a single idea. Thank you for sharing your work with us!
Good commentary. You genuinely have the formula down and the french accent gives the video some unique charm. A few more videos and you're channel will be huge
Wow thank you so much, that means a lot.
are you french?
guilty
Yo Bru the algorithm gave me a good one today with your vid