Let's take a minute to appreciate that the guy went to the places he was making videos of. He could have gone for just the vacation, but no, he decides to take time to go to remote places of the world so we can see and connect with the topic of the videos. What a lad.
The key is in the name, right? Battle. A battle is not a fight, a fight can be of any length, but a battle is a grander event, it is a fight with numerous beats to it and as such, like with any movie, you have to make a battle into a story in and of itself. They need setup, conflict, rise and fall of drama and tension. How do you make a 45 minute battle scene? You make it a short story in and of itself, it is a narrative, not a break from the narrative.
One thing about the Two Towers that it has such a perfect, emotional climax that brings all the different story arcs together: 1. The Helms Deep battle is won with Gandalfs help 2. Isengard is destroyed 3. Faramir lets Frodo and Sam go And it all is tied together beautifully by Sam's Speech about what really matters in the world. Cinematic perfection
Is that incredible? Wouldn't it be much harder to be universally considered one of the all time greats of something if you were newer? Age vindicates and cements status
I just wanted to put this out here but I really appreciate the effort your videos. I think I’ve really fallen down the rabbit hole of analysis videos that can span on for 4 hours and the fact you get so many details in with your video in such a brief span of time is definitely skill. Amazing videos as always 👏
LOTR is the only piece of media that gets me so invested. I can binge all three movies in director cuts without looking away from the screen any time. Have never had such experience with other movies. It is so utterly epic in every moment
Dude, I love your content. You hit on topics that so many other writing channels do, but those guys usually echo the same explorations of those ideas. Every time I watch one of your videos, it’s always a new perspective on these staple concepts that I’ve never heard before. I’ve seen so many channels discuss fight scenes. You’re the first I’ve ever heard of tackling concepts like “mini games”, “knobs”, etc. Keep it up man, you’re doing awesome work.
@@schnee1 Would be cool ! I'm not a big fan of fight scenes usually, but I love it it Arcane (except the very last one on episode 6 between Jinx/Vi and the Firelights. It feels forced in many ways to me). I am sure there is a lot there we can learn.
Something else incredible in LOTR is they have a lot of dark scenes but you can always see what’s happening. Theres quiet scenes where they whisper but you can hear whats being said and if they skip to a loud scene you don’t need to turn your sound down.
for the idea of taking breaks, I've noticed that Arcane does this a bunch too. Like in the warehouse scene when Silco is punishing Vander for betraying him, it keeps cutting over to the science boys and their hextech breakthrough. It's a very different kind of stakes in both cases, but the tension is still high in either side. Which is important because the warehouse scene is over half of episode 3! It's huge
Okay, so I gotta do a 5 Elements of what make Schnee's videos amazing. 1. The Pace. You get right into it and keep the tempo. You don't underestimate your audience's ability to understand your points/arguments, you don't waste time; you occasionally divert only to make examples or refresh the lore/setting/plot but you are aimed at a goal, and that goal is to illustrate and emphasize the angle of a story that most people wouldn't have thought of. 2. The Homework. What do I mean by the homework? You, sir, do your research, you know the lore, the characters, the plot, the setting, the themes, all those nitty-gritty things that give texture, flavor, and individuality to a story. And you include all the proof of that information in the editing. 3. The Depth. Sort of piggy-backing on the 2nd point, you don't just say a point, you MAKE a point. And how do you do that? By offering layer upon layer upon layer of supporting evidence, several parallel examples or similar situations to demonstrate the point and why it's worth acknowledging it. 4. The Singularity. I have yet to watch a video where you haven't made me look at a story from an angle that, not only did I not see before, but I would never have even considered it as a possible angle. Your videos are never just a rehash of the plot or a love letter to the author/director/writer. You have a unique point that I can only find here. Also, your channel's content is very much like an astronomical singularity because I cannot help but be pulled in by the gravity of the substance and also time outside seems to race by and before I know it, it's midnight and I didn't even eat dinner. 5. The 'Give a Shit' Element. You actually give a shit in making your point, you care about the ideas of the subject, and that is reflected by the existence of the previous four elements. You take the time and put in the effort to make the videos worth the watch.
@@schnee1 You definitely earned the praise. I wanted to leave a comment like this before but the subject here gave me an excuse to go all out. Seriously, your Arcane video about Ekko being the 3rd option floored me. It was the first vid I shared with my friends.
I think these are really great points. I’ve never really delved into analyzing movies before to understand why I like them so much. Thank you for pointing out why the two towers as a movie is so well done.
Theoden's speech before the charge into the pelennor is still my absolute favorite single film scene. What an accomplishment, especially considering they crafted it from two separate scenes/monologs in the book. Anyway I couldn't help thinking during this how big battle scenes in tRoP missed basically all the fundemental steps lmaooo
My roommate and I not too long ago spent a whole day binging the extended cuts of the trilogy (with the hobbit meals in-between) and had the most profound experience of my life... now my favorite analyst literally was in the shire and making banger videos on the best movies ever made. Thank you my man.
This was AWESOME! It was really cool that you got to go to the locations for this vid. As always, totally love your analysis and interesting breakdowns of iconic media. I tend to watch a lot of these types of vids, but you always seem to bring fresh perspective. Great job!
Might I suggest doing a deep dive like this on Castlevania? I'd love to hear your opinions on the subtlety of that world building, and specifically what 4 seasons say about "being human/being a monster"
Hey @schnee i've been following you since your Ekko vs Jinx analysis and i think your insights on storytelling are some of the most engaging and well thought i've ever Heard. Whenever you put up a new video im clicking faster than lightspeed cause i know it's gonna be good. I Wish more people would care about storytelling as much as you do cause i think it's becoming somewhat of a lost art in mainstream entertainment and i believe it's crucial for our exiatance that we keep High standards when It comes to storytelling and narrative. Thank you for your contribution
In Game of Thrones, I think the BEST example of this, and possibly my favorite episode of the series, was "the Watchers on the Wall." There are multiple established locations / knobs, with the top of the wall, the tunnel, the elevator, the storeroom, and the castle. There are minigames to clear, with wall-climbers, the mammoths, the castle raiders, actual minibosses. OH SHIT, they broke through the wall and Alister Thorne is down. Jon snow gets his moment, Ygritte, Pip, and the men in the tunnel die spectacularly. But most importantly, the stakes are there, and everyone is invested. Its INCREDIBLY unbalanced, but the night's watch win because they play to their strengths. There are breaks to have more reactive scenes to character deaths, Gilly and Janos, and the build-up to the fight. Personally, I don't think this was as successful in the lattter seasons, even in the Battle of the Bastards, which was critically acclaimed. It felt too fake in my opinion, like some characters had plot armor, and the setting was boring in comparison.
Analasize aside, Aragorn has hope because of Gandalf. That is the power Gandalf possess and amplifies with his ring of power: Simply spending hope and faith.
These videos have been great. Thanks for taking all of us on the journey with you. 😊 As a creative writer and fan of LOTR these have been interesting deep dives to ponder.
There is actually a deleted scene of Eowyn fighting orvs with her sword in the Glittering Caves, so we were going to see her use it before the Witch King of Angmar fight.
This is the 4th video I’ve watched on your channel (after The Force, Dune Part 2 and RRR videos) and they are all extraordinarily well done. You have discussed issues that have received little or no attention elsewhere. And you’ve presented it all really nicely. Keep up the great work.
I learned so much from this as a TTRPG game master 🥰🤩, I always struggled setting up high-stakes fights because in TTRPG you cannot control the protagonists, the players are creating their own story and the GM can only go with the flow, ride the wave and try to improv it into something worthy to remember. But the knobs man! THE KNOBS! That gave me so many ideas where I can use past victories and defeats of the PCs to create knobs that I can turn up or down, so much inspiration. And planing a climactic battle around the OH SHIT moment instead of working up to it makes so much more sense. It all sounds so easy and common sense once it's presented by someone who has a better grip of storycrafting. THANK you Schnee, your insigts always give words and understanding to things I have previously just felt or intuitioned but without understanding could not really satisfyingly employ.
These LOTR videos are awesome. I like your channel for character writing in general, but battling is a toughy that's really great to get some info about! You're the GOAT.
Amazing! I learned so much from watching this video, and the fact that you are analyzing my favourite trilogy is awesome. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us
This is genuinely one of the most informative and interesting videos on battle scenes I've watched. Bravo. That being said, I do wonder if some of the examples you use for knobs are more like a hidden card, introducing a new element that throws the balance into wack. I feel like a knob should be describing where you increase the intensity of something already established within the fight; Peter Jackson tends to do this in a sort of dramatic version of pull back and reveal, you see the heroes on the walls fighting the ladders and winning over two or three, then pull back to a wide shot to see dozens of ladders scaling the walls. You focus on a troll breaking through the gate and smashing aside the defenders, then later show dozens of them as the forces of Mordor stream through the city. It can go the other way; chokepoints can turn a big force into a small opponent, and while Aragorn can cleave through dozens of orcs, having a Hobbit take on just one and emerge victorious can be just as satisfying as it is a balanced fight. Knobs can be used in this way to change up the pacing of a fight without cutting away to something different altogether, and to give everybody in the cast a moment, not just the main combat characters.
So good! I want to visit New Zealand one day! I was listening to the list and thinking about going through and seeing how Arcane hits some of these with their fight scenes! And then you mentioned LotR/Arcane!? Ooh i'm looking forward to next Sunday!! 😁
Are you going to do more Arcane videos? You are definitely my favorite movie/tv show explaining youtuber. I'd really like for you to do a full video on just Caitlyn, she's a very underrated character. Maybe even one on Mel and Jayce's relationship, is it real love, or manipulation? Idk I just love nerding out about you nerding out about Arcane.
Literally my favourite UA-camr, thanks so much for all the hard work you do - we are blessed and highly favoured. ALSO, Arcane/LoTR analysis? You may inject it into my forehead.
Excellent quantifiable insights. Really gives me even more appreciation for the writing of these battles, and some great concepts for writing my own stories!
LOVE IT! ! the care and attention u put into your vids is unreal. i’m a huge fan. cant wait to share this one w the homies! excited to see your channel continue to grow !
Dude u gotta read the books. Alot of the basic stuff was done for Jackson but ita been tried before and failed. Jackson definitely is an amazing director due to him being able to put the books in screen and still making a great series of movies that even without the books stands on their own along with being very true the original material granted obviously some stuff had to be changed
This was so well done! It is great to hear how well this scene worked and why. I'd also be curious in your opinion why the scenes in the Hobbit trilogy did not work so well - i remember them having similar elements, but for whatever reason I was significantly more bored...
In a side note with that Eyowen scene. There were some scenes filmed for the battle of Helm’s Deep that never made it into the extended edition. One had her single handedly fighting off some Uruk-Hai who got into the caves and we’re about the massacre the women and children (I assume this was supposed to take place right after Theoden and everyone rides out of the fortress and I get why this scene was ultimately cut because it makes Theorden look like he abandoned the women and children). Also I have a follow up question would these battles work if there are no break? I want to ask because if I remember correctly, in the Two Towers book, the battle of Helm’s Deep takes place over the course of a single chapter and doesn’t cut to anything else.
I love how All of this applies to the manga "Kingdom" perfectly (for those who don't know while it's not available in the west it is consistently one of the top 5 rated Manga in Japan, ironically about the unification of China)
I LOVE this series. I know it’s ending soon (yay on another video!) but I don’t think it’s just myself that would love more in depth LotR analysis videos. I mean, there’s SO MUCH. Can’t wait for the next one!
Worth noting that in the books, Gandalf (literal divine avatar of wisdom), Aragorn (Tolkein's designated "Ideal King" character), & Theoden (established Wise King TM) are all on the same page re: going to Helm's Deep (or rather, to Helm's Gate, which is the fortress that guards the gorge known as Helm's Deep). Going to Helm's _Gate_ is an offensive strategy, rather than a move of desperation - it's a nigh-impregnable fortress from which Rohan's thousand-strong heavy cavalry can wreak merry havoc on anything Saruman tries to do in the Westfold. (It's actually Plan B - plan A was to rush West, join up with a few thousand infantry under Erkenbrand, and head off the Uruk-Hai army at the Isen Ford. Plan A went out the window because the Uruk-Hai got there first, defeated Erkenbrand's army, and then ran off to loot and pillage while the surviving infantry met up with Theoden's cavalry force and set up in Helm's Gate instead.) This is also why the Uruk-Hai attack Helm's Gate, instead of ignoring it. Because Saruman is a dum-dum, they can't logistics (no supply chain, maybe 10 days supplies carried with them on foot, and they've been in the field for most of a week already). Because they can't logistics, his army has to raid the countryside for food in order to keep existing. To do this kind of foraging, they have to first deal with the enemy stronghold full of cavalry, or they're going to pay a "oops, you got roflstomped by a Rohan cavalry raid" tax on _literally everything else they try to do._ If they split up to forage, that's just splitting their army up into bite-size chunks and serving them to Rohan's cavalry on individual silver platters. If they stay concentrated to defend against Rohan's cavalry, they can't forage, and will starve within a week. If they set up a supply line and keep moving, Rohan's cavalry will cut it into bloody ribbons with hit-and-run attacks. (They also have to deal with the other major fortified stronghold in Rohan: Edoras, which in the books is actually as defensible as it should be, and which is where all the civilians stay instead of schlepping across the country to get _closer_ to the front lines.) Just to bypass Helm's Gate, Saruman would have to commit a large chunk of his army to contain it indefinitely, plus several days of building fortifications - days that he doesn't have, because his goal is to conquer Rohan and tie it up in a bow to present to his new BFF-totally-not-plotting-to-betray-and-supplant-later Sauron. TL;DR: Tolkein understood military operations in ways that Jackson doesn't, and it shows painfully. Films are still good though.
Yeahm Edoras is defendable, the issue is that Theoden leaves it undefended. He basically relies on Saruman being a dumbass and not sending a small squad of wargridders to burn it to the ground.
@@Nerazmus Not undefended - Edoras is quite well fortified, being a walled city on a hill, and has its own levied troops to man those fortifications. The troops at Edoras aren't as good as Theoden's main army (because Theoden took all the best troops with him), but they're enough that a "small squad" of wargry wouldn't be enough. Saruman would have to lay siege to the city to take it, which would require a significant part of his forces and take several days at least - and if he tried to do that before dealing with Helm's Gate, then Theoden's heavy cavalry (and the remains of Erkenbrand's army) could and would raid his supply lines or even loop back to Edoras and attack his besieging army from behind. The only way for Saruman to "bypass" Helm's Gate would be to split his army in half and attempt to fight two sieges at once - and even then, the remains of Erkenbrand's army are still out there, and pose the same threat to both sieges. Much better to confront Helm's Gate with his full force and then march on Edoras.
I have ADHD and so i usually cant concentrate on action scenes that last too long. but i dont have this trouble with LotR. I have alwayssuspected it was because all of the mini battles result in an ingrediant that is important for the outcome of the battle and the story as a whole and didn't drag on too long. but now I can see it is far more that goes into it than that.
My school used to be right where lord of the rings was inspired by. Yeah the tennis court really sucks and the trail is now right next to a housing estate but it’s still cool. My mums response to me telling her it was based off there was literally “he must have had a good imagination!”
❤️❤️❤️Fantastic And surgical Analysis of battle scenes. Please speak a bit slowly so that people outside America can follow. I had to watch at .75 speed. Writers all around the world can utilise this. Literally there is no other equivalent to what your brain can do to help us. Thank you. I am your permanent subscriber now. And am catching up on all your old videos. Sad I didn't find you Earlier 👍👍👍👍
Serious question. Do you think you will create your own storytelling online program one day ! Or a book or something? I am sure that one of the questions you get the most is "how can I know everything you know about storytelling?" You know, like I tell myself every time I watch your videos 😅.
So is that why in battlefield 1 there’s the giant tank, the big blimp and the speeding train? Because for the losing side, it’s their ray of hope, but for the winning side, its their ‘oh shit’ moment?
Let's take a minute to appreciate that the guy went to the places he was making videos of. He could have gone for just the vacation, but no, he decides to take time to go to remote places of the world so we can see and connect with the topic of the videos. What a lad.
Agreed, schnee is the goat!
The key is in the name, right? Battle. A battle is not a fight, a fight can be of any length, but a battle is a grander event, it is a fight with numerous beats to it and as such, like with any movie, you have to make a battle into a story in and of itself. They need setup, conflict, rise and fall of drama and tension. How do you make a 45 minute battle scene? You make it a short story in and of itself, it is a narrative, not a break from the narrative.
One thing about the Two Towers that it has such a perfect, emotional climax that brings all the different story arcs together:
1. The Helms Deep battle is won with Gandalfs help
2. Isengard is destroyed
3. Faramir lets Frodo and Sam go
And it all is tied together beautifully by Sam's Speech about what really matters in the world. Cinematic perfection
Incredible how, even after twenty years, Helm's Deep is still regarded as one of the all-time great cinema battles 😊
It is one o the best cinema battles. That means it will be among the best for literal decades upon decades
No n
HM
Is that incredible? Wouldn't it be much harder to be universally considered one of the all time greats of something if you were newer? Age vindicates and cements status
@@peanutgallery4 newer art builds upon older one, it would make perfect sense that someone would make something better in the meantime.
I just wanted to put this out here but I really appreciate the effort your videos. I think I’ve really fallen down the rabbit hole of analysis videos that can span on for 4 hours and the fact you get so many details in with your video in such a brief span of time is definitely skill. Amazing videos as always 👏
True
LOTR is the only piece of media that gets me so invested. I can binge all three movies in director cuts without looking away from the screen any time. Have never had such experience with other movies. It is so utterly epic in every moment
Dude, I love your content. You hit on topics that so many other writing channels do, but those guys usually echo the same explorations of those ideas. Every time I watch one of your videos, it’s always a new perspective on these staple concepts that I’ve never heard before.
I’ve seen so many channels discuss fight scenes. You’re the first I’ve ever heard of tackling concepts like “mini games”, “knobs”, etc. Keep it up man, you’re doing awesome work.
Amanda Overton said that we should always learn something new about the characters through the fight scenes, it stuck with me.
I have a full video outlined on Arcane's fight scenes, I'll get around to making it at some point I'm sure!
@@schnee1 Would be cool ! I'm not a big fan of fight scenes usually, but I love it it Arcane (except the very last one on episode 6 between Jinx/Vi and the Firelights. It feels forced in many ways to me). I am sure there is a lot there we can learn.
Something else incredible in LOTR is they have a lot of dark scenes but you can always see what’s happening. Theres quiet scenes where they whisper but you can hear whats being said and if they skip to a loud scene you don’t need to turn your sound down.
for the idea of taking breaks, I've noticed that Arcane does this a bunch too. Like in the warehouse scene when Silco is punishing Vander for betraying him, it keeps cutting over to the science boys and their hextech breakthrough. It's a very different kind of stakes in both cases, but the tension is still high in either side. Which is important because the warehouse scene is over half of episode 3! It's huge
Okay, so I gotta do a 5 Elements of what make Schnee's videos amazing.
1. The Pace. You get right into it and keep the tempo. You don't underestimate your audience's ability to understand your points/arguments, you don't waste time; you occasionally divert only to make examples or refresh the lore/setting/plot but you are aimed at a goal, and that goal is to illustrate and emphasize the angle of a story that most people wouldn't have thought of.
2. The Homework. What do I mean by the homework? You, sir, do your research, you know the lore, the characters, the plot, the setting, the themes, all those nitty-gritty things that give texture, flavor, and individuality to a story. And you include all the proof of that information in the editing.
3. The Depth. Sort of piggy-backing on the 2nd point, you don't just say a point, you MAKE a point. And how do you do that? By offering layer upon layer upon layer of supporting evidence, several parallel examples or similar situations to demonstrate the point and why it's worth acknowledging it.
4. The Singularity. I have yet to watch a video where you haven't made me look at a story from an angle that, not only did I not see before, but I would never have even considered it as a possible angle. Your videos are never just a rehash of the plot or a love letter to the author/director/writer. You have a unique point that I can only find here. Also, your channel's content is very much like an astronomical singularity because I cannot help but be pulled in by the gravity of the substance and also time outside seems to race by and before I know it, it's midnight and I didn't even eat dinner.
5. The 'Give a Shit' Element. You actually give a shit in making your point, you care about the ideas of the subject, and that is reflected by the existence of the previous four elements. You take the time and put in the effort to make the videos worth the watch.
LOL thanks for taking the time to make this, and glad you enjoy the content! :D
@@schnee1 You definitely earned the praise. I wanted to leave a comment like this before but the subject here gave me an excuse to go all out.
Seriously, your Arcane video about Ekko being the 3rd option floored me. It was the first vid I shared with my friends.
Hell yeah! The books as well as the films have excellent battle scenes. They're very structured.
I think these are really great points. I’ve never really delved into analyzing movies before to understand why I like them so much. Thank you for pointing out why the two towers as a movie is so well done.
Theoden's speech before the charge into the pelennor is still my absolute favorite single film scene. What an accomplishment, especially considering they crafted it from two separate scenes/monologs in the book.
Anyway I couldn't help thinking during this how big battle scenes in tRoP missed basically all the fundemental steps lmaooo
My roommate and I not too long ago spent a whole day binging the extended cuts of the trilogy (with the hobbit meals in-between) and had the most profound experience of my life... now my favorite analyst literally was in the shire and making banger videos on the best movies ever made. Thank you my man.
This was AWESOME! It was really cool that you got to go to the locations for this vid. As always, totally love your analysis and interesting breakdowns of iconic media. I tend to watch a lot of these types of vids, but you always seem to bring fresh perspective. Great job!
Might I suggest doing a deep dive like this on Castlevania? I'd love to hear your opinions on the subtlety of that world building, and specifically what 4 seasons say about "being human/being a monster"
Hey @schnee i've been following you since your Ekko vs Jinx analysis and i think your insights on storytelling are some of the most engaging and well thought i've ever Heard. Whenever you put up a new video im clicking faster than lightspeed cause i know it's gonna be good. I Wish more people would care about storytelling as much as you do cause i think it's becoming somewhat of a lost art in mainstream entertainment and i believe it's crucial for our exiatance that we keep High standards when It comes to storytelling and narrative. Thank you for your contribution
In Game of Thrones, I think the BEST example of this, and possibly my favorite episode of the series, was "the Watchers on the Wall." There are multiple established locations / knobs, with the top of the wall, the tunnel, the elevator, the storeroom, and the castle. There are minigames to clear, with wall-climbers, the mammoths, the castle raiders, actual minibosses. OH SHIT, they broke through the wall and Alister Thorne is down. Jon snow gets his moment, Ygritte, Pip, and the men in the tunnel die spectacularly.
But most importantly, the stakes are there, and everyone is invested. Its INCREDIBLY unbalanced, but the night's watch win because they play to their strengths. There are breaks to have more reactive scenes to character deaths, Gilly and Janos, and the build-up to the fight.
Personally, I don't think this was as successful in the lattter seasons, even in the Battle of the Bastards, which was critically acclaimed. It felt too fake in my opinion, like some characters had plot armor, and the setting was boring in comparison.
Analasize aside, Aragorn has hope because of Gandalf. That is the power Gandalf possess and amplifies with his ring of power: Simply spending hope and faith.
These videos have been great. Thanks for taking all of us on the journey with you. 😊
As a creative writer and fan of LOTR these have been interesting deep dives to ponder.
There is actually a deleted scene of Eowyn fighting orvs with her sword in the Glittering Caves, so we were going to see her use it before the Witch King of Angmar fight.
This is the 4th video I’ve watched on your channel (after The Force, Dune Part 2 and RRR videos) and they are all extraordinarily well done. You have discussed issues that have received little or no attention elsewhere. And you’ve presented it all really nicely. Keep up the great work.
you're so underrated it's criminal
I learned so much from this as a TTRPG game master 🥰🤩, I always struggled setting up high-stakes fights because in TTRPG you cannot control the protagonists, the players are creating their own story and the GM can only go with the flow, ride the wave and try to improv it into something worthy to remember. But the knobs man! THE KNOBS!
That gave me so many ideas where I can use past victories and defeats of the PCs to create knobs that I can turn up or down, so much inspiration. And planing a climactic battle around the OH SHIT moment instead of working up to it makes so much more sense. It all sounds so easy and common sense once it's presented by someone who has a better grip of storycrafting.
THANK you Schnee, your insigts always give words and understanding to things I have previously just felt or intuitioned but without understanding could not really satisfyingly employ.
These LOTR videos are awesome. I like your channel for character writing in general, but battling is a toughy that's really great to get some info about! You're the GOAT.
This was super interesting and well done! Thank you!
I love the pivot of this channel from amazing videos about arcane to amazing videos about lord of the rings can’t wait to see what else you cover
Your LoTR series was among the best I ever saw, and I subscribed for it. Thank you.
This may be one of my favorite videos you've ever made (I'm biased towards anything relating to lotr) and it taught me a lot as a writer.
I saved the link to this video to rewatch. I took 4 pages of notes and still need to review it again. Tons of great info packed into 15 minutes.
Amazing! I learned so much from watching this video, and the fact that you are analyzing my favourite trilogy is awesome. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us
This is genuinely one of the most informative and interesting videos on battle scenes I've watched. Bravo.
That being said, I do wonder if some of the examples you use for knobs are more like a hidden card, introducing a new element that throws the balance into wack. I feel like a knob should be describing where you increase the intensity of something already established within the fight; Peter Jackson tends to do this in a sort of dramatic version of pull back and reveal, you see the heroes on the walls fighting the ladders and winning over two or three, then pull back to a wide shot to see dozens of ladders scaling the walls. You focus on a troll breaking through the gate and smashing aside the defenders, then later show dozens of them as the forces of Mordor stream through the city. It can go the other way; chokepoints can turn a big force into a small opponent, and while Aragorn can cleave through dozens of orcs, having a Hobbit take on just one and emerge victorious can be just as satisfying as it is a balanced fight. Knobs can be used in this way to change up the pacing of a fight without cutting away to something different altogether, and to give everybody in the cast a moment, not just the main combat characters.
Thanks!
WHOA thanks so much!!!
I love your videos and the little editing details you put in there! The ghosts giving the other oliphants nightmares made me bust out laughing!
So good! I want to visit New Zealand one day! I was listening to the list and thinking about going through and seeing how Arcane hits some of these with their fight scenes! And then you mentioned LotR/Arcane!? Ooh i'm looking forward to next Sunday!! 😁
This was an awesome video mate! I may not be working on a movie script but as a novelist this is still incredibly insightful to me!
Are you going to do more Arcane videos? You are definitely my favorite movie/tv show explaining youtuber. I'd really like for you to do a full video on just Caitlyn, she's a very underrated character. Maybe even one on Mel and Jayce's relationship, is it real love, or manipulation? Idk I just love nerding out about you nerding out about Arcane.
Literally my favourite UA-camr, thanks so much for all the hard work you do - we are blessed and highly favoured. ALSO, Arcane/LoTR analysis? You may inject it into my forehead.
Hang on, didn’t Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens write the screenplays? Not Peter Jackson? 0:37
love your videos man < 3
Excellent quantifiable insights. Really gives me even more appreciation for the writing of these battles, and some great concepts for writing my own stories!
So interesting and cleverly made ! thank you very much, I really love your content. as a writer wannabe, I even took notes :)
You make great videos, my guy: they're honest, they're fun, and they're informative (plus they look fun to make--edoras, man!) Hat tip!
LOVE IT! ! the care and attention u put into your vids is unreal. i’m a huge fan. cant wait to share this one w the homies! excited to see your channel continue to grow !
Love these LOTR video! I hope we get some more down the track!
Loving this series!
Thank you for this series, so good!
GREAT STUFF: I'm gonna use it in my roleplay campaigns. (Very experienced GM, learning new tricks... thanks!)
You’re inspiring me to start making my own analysis videos! I’ve learned so much from you :D
So glad you got to travel to these places!!! Love your videos!
Loved your LOTR analysis. Actually I love all your content. So insightful!
Glad I didn't skip the last 10 seconds, can't wait for the next video.
Loved this series, hope you enjoyed your time in my home country of New Zealand!
New video idea: what can writers learn from The Battle of the five armies and how not to write battle scenes
Epic journey! There and back again :) +1
Love this series! Hope you enjoyed your trip despite the stress, was wonderful to walk through Middle Earth with you ✨
Well done sir. Best video I've seen in a long time
You make such great videos. One of the best writing advice / analysis!
Dude u gotta read the books. Alot of the basic stuff was done for Jackson but ita been tried before and failed. Jackson definitely is an amazing director due to him being able to put the books in screen and still making a great series of movies that even without the books stands on their own along with being very true the original material granted obviously some stuff had to be changed
Love these videos!
I'm going to save this video so I can watch it over and over again
I needed this a week ago for a novel, but boy is it useful now too!!! Cheers ❤♥️❤
thank you for sharing this lovely series!
it's cool to see you doing videos in my home country!
This was so well done! It is great to hear how well this scene worked and why. I'd also be curious in your opinion why the scenes in the Hobbit trilogy did not work so well - i remember them having similar elements, but for whatever reason I was significantly more bored...
In a side note with that Eyowen scene. There were some scenes filmed for the battle of Helm’s Deep that never made it into the extended edition. One had her single handedly fighting off some Uruk-Hai who got into the caves and we’re about the massacre the women and children (I assume this was supposed to take place right after Theoden and everyone rides out of the fortress and I get why this scene was ultimately cut because it makes Theorden look like he abandoned the women and children). Also I have a follow up question would these battles work if there are no break? I want to ask because if I remember correctly, in the Two Towers book, the battle of Helm’s Deep takes place over the course of a single chapter and doesn’t cut to anything else.
Oh, sheep!
I liked your videos a lot before this one, but I now LOVE them because you started talking about MTG hahaha
Hey, man, how about doing a video on the successful use of subvertion of expectation?
Thank you very much for this. I'm about to write a battle scene and this helps a ton.
I love how All of this applies to the manga "Kingdom" perfectly (for those who don't know while it's not available in the west it is consistently one of the top 5 rated Manga in Japan, ironically about the unification of China)
Ahh New Zealand. The cameos with the sheep are so classic ^_^
I LOVE this series.
I know it’s ending soon (yay on another video!) but I don’t think it’s just myself that would love more in depth LotR analysis videos. I mean, there’s SO MUCH.
Can’t wait for the next one!
The best part about the battle of Helm's Deep in the book is that it's based off a real battle: the siege of Vienna.
This was incredible!
I frigging loved these videos. Prost.
Worth noting that in the books, Gandalf (literal divine avatar of wisdom), Aragorn (Tolkein's designated "Ideal King" character), & Theoden (established Wise King TM) are all on the same page re: going to Helm's Deep (or rather, to Helm's Gate, which is the fortress that guards the gorge known as Helm's Deep). Going to Helm's _Gate_ is an offensive strategy, rather than a move of desperation - it's a nigh-impregnable fortress from which Rohan's thousand-strong heavy cavalry can wreak merry havoc on anything Saruman tries to do in the Westfold. (It's actually Plan B - plan A was to rush West, join up with a few thousand infantry under Erkenbrand, and head off the Uruk-Hai army at the Isen Ford. Plan A went out the window because the Uruk-Hai got there first, defeated Erkenbrand's army, and then ran off to loot and pillage while the surviving infantry met up with Theoden's cavalry force and set up in Helm's Gate instead.)
This is also why the Uruk-Hai attack Helm's Gate, instead of ignoring it. Because Saruman is a dum-dum, they can't logistics (no supply chain, maybe 10 days supplies carried with them on foot, and they've been in the field for most of a week already). Because they can't logistics, his army has to raid the countryside for food in order to keep existing. To do this kind of foraging, they have to first deal with the enemy stronghold full of cavalry, or they're going to pay a "oops, you got roflstomped by a Rohan cavalry raid" tax on _literally everything else they try to do._ If they split up to forage, that's just splitting their army up into bite-size chunks and serving them to Rohan's cavalry on individual silver platters. If they stay concentrated to defend against Rohan's cavalry, they can't forage, and will starve within a week. If they set up a supply line and keep moving, Rohan's cavalry will cut it into bloody ribbons with hit-and-run attacks. (They also have to deal with the other major fortified stronghold in Rohan: Edoras, which in the books is actually as defensible as it should be, and which is where all the civilians stay instead of schlepping across the country to get _closer_ to the front lines.) Just to bypass Helm's Gate, Saruman would have to commit a large chunk of his army to contain it indefinitely, plus several days of building fortifications - days that he doesn't have, because his goal is to conquer Rohan and tie it up in a bow to present to his new BFF-totally-not-plotting-to-betray-and-supplant-later Sauron.
TL;DR: Tolkein understood military operations in ways that Jackson doesn't, and it shows painfully. Films are still good though.
Yeahm Edoras is defendable, the issue is that Theoden leaves it undefended. He basically relies on Saruman being a dumbass and not sending a small squad of wargridders to burn it to the ground.
@@Nerazmus Not undefended - Edoras is quite well fortified, being a walled city on a hill, and has its own levied troops to man those fortifications. The troops at Edoras aren't as good as Theoden's main army (because Theoden took all the best troops with him), but they're enough that a "small squad" of wargry wouldn't be enough. Saruman would have to lay siege to the city to take it, which would require a significant part of his forces and take several days at least - and if he tried to do that before dealing with Helm's Gate, then Theoden's heavy cavalry (and the remains of Erkenbrand's army) could and would raid his supply lines or even loop back to Edoras and attack his besieging army from behind.
The only way for Saruman to "bypass" Helm's Gate would be to split his army in half and attempt to fight two sieges at once - and even then, the remains of Erkenbrand's army are still out there, and pose the same threat to both sieges. Much better to confront Helm's Gate with his full force and then march on Edoras.
That's Mt Sunday behind you, isn't it? They put Edoras on Mt Sunday, but they had to put everything back exactly how it was when they were done.
Bringing COVID to New Zealand. Bravo 👏👏
What else do you have to share? Oh, the series is over? Of course, great! 👏👏 Way to go, schnee.
One of the best written extended length fights is the Kaladin & Adolin vs 4 Shardbearers duel from Sanderson's Words of Radiance.
9:32 lol Éomer in the background
I have ADHD and so i usually cant concentrate on action scenes that last too long. but i dont have this trouble with LotR. I have alwayssuspected it was because all of the mini battles result in an ingrediant that is important for the outcome of the battle and the story as a whole and didn't drag on too long. but now I can see it is far more that goes into it than that.
INSANE. U ARE THE BEST.
Great video! :)
so basically... you have to think about everything you have to do and then do it right... what a miracle the LOTR is xD
By far one of my most favorite battle scenes of all time (Helm's Deep).
Curious on Schnee's (and your guy's) thoughts on the battle of the bastards.
I LOVE YOU because you did a one piece thing BUT do mooooore of it ! :D
He did? Where? I was just looking for that.
@@LeylaSKDR the small segment in this video about how one can break up a battle scene into little tasks. Did it in another video aswell.
@@4984christian Oh I thought you were referring to an entire video about One piece. I got too excited.
@@LeylaSKDR understandably. Sorry :D
Great work! Do you think this analysis also applied to a long action sequence like Mad Max: Fury Road?
My school used to be right where lord of the rings was inspired by. Yeah the tennis court really sucks and the trail is now right next to a housing estate but it’s still cool. My mums response to me telling her it was based off there was literally “he must have had a good imagination!”
Nicely done
❤️❤️❤️Fantastic And surgical Analysis of battle scenes. Please speak a bit slowly so that people outside America can follow. I had to watch at .75 speed. Writers all around the world can utilise this. Literally there is no other equivalent to what your brain can do to help us. Thank you. I am your permanent subscriber now. And am catching up on all your old videos. Sad I didn't find you Earlier 👍👍👍👍
Serious question. Do you think you will create your own storytelling online program one day ! Or a book or something? I am sure that one of the questions you get the most is "how can I know everything you know about storytelling?" You know, like I tell myself every time I watch your videos 😅.
very cool!!!
:o)
like it a lot
Would love for you to cover Andor
Not a fan of premieres unless it's a music video... Probably wait for it to finish playing to watch.
Definitely not alone, it gets me bummed to see a video thinking it's new only to have to wait :')
This is awesome
So is that why in battlefield 1 there’s the giant tank, the big blimp and the speeding train? Because for the losing side, it’s their ray of hope, but for the winning side, its their ‘oh shit’ moment?
8:43 well his name is Estel, 'hope', so...
Can you feel the spirit of LOTR while you walk on these lands :D ?