Cinemagraphs – Only God Forgives

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I love Cinemagraphs, half-static pictures with elements in motion. Or… motion pictures in a literal sense. Or maybe-

Cinemagraphs are hard to define but (at least in the opinion of an Artist that actively seeks out new things) absolutely arresting when done well. Scouting for scenes to edit is a skillset all its own – to say nothing of having the tech and the talent to finish the project at all.

But every once in awhile, I’m inspired by something I’ve seen or heard – which feels so strange to say after my Homage versus Theft rant. A random rummage trough Netflix lead me to the film Only God Forgives, starring Ryan Gosling. The film is dark, hyper-violent, and absolutely arresting visually. Whether its the lighting, the framing or just knowing which places to scout for the best look, the film knocks you out.

And, thusly inspired, I set out to make a series of Cinemagraphs based on the film. I had done a few very small experiments some years earlier – but wanted to get ambitious with Aftereffects on this one. Like most cinemagraph artists, I can see every flaw and hot-glued edit, but as far as a sophomoric attempt, I can see where I was going.

This project was “done” ages ago, but had a few too-rough edits to show. Now that I’m set up in a new Studio (Atelier?), I have the tech and stay-at-home focus to finish up the stragglers.