3GGG

Hahaha yes! That is a peeve of mine and it even happened in the movie "The Wolverine". My friends were busy checking out Hugh Jackman's superb body, meanwhile I was pointing out that he had come out of the water dry, lol. The reasoning behind those scenes, I cannot fathom.

No worries, I'm enjoying this conversation as well! Yeah, ratings are very personal and the criteria for a solid 10 would vary from person to person. I know there's viewers who won't give a 10 or rarely will, even if they enjoy the series. I'm more lax in that aspect. I'm rating for myself, tbh. So if a show hit all of my criteria, I'll probably give it a 10 despite the flaws. Which means, I enjoyed it regardless of the flaws, not that I think it's a flawless show (there aren't any, tbh).

I usually rate thinking about:
1. Characters | I'm looking for consistency, activeness (sense of agency), believable growth, accountability and balance. I may give brownie points if the characters aren't archetype/generic.
2. Plot | Few to no plot holes, accountability (every action has a consequence), whether it dragged or not, believable outcome, ending.
3. Romance | healthy, power-balanced and well integrated.
4. Antagonist | Interesting, clear motivations, balanced, consistency and whether it was well executed. I'll also add or deduct points if his/her ending was satisfying.

I know people tend to give brownie points if a story offers something original. I may do so as well, so long as it was successfully brought about/executed. Otherwise, I'll probably rate higher a generic story well-executed, than an original one badly-executed.

"Signal" comes to mind when I think of this last point. I read some reviews before watching and had high expectations because people rated it very high. I also didn't think Signal deserved "brownie points" for originality because it wasn't original, to begin with!

I was disappointed precisely because it borrowed the plot from the 2000 movie "Frequency" AND paled in comparison to its predecessor (despite having more time to build their characters up). So, in those cases where I'm disappointed or I'm watching something which has been done (better) before, I tend to rate more harshly. I gave it a 7.5 but, had I not seen Frequency before, I may have rated it higher.

Thank you for sharing, fiflydramalover! I'm glad you are enjoying this series of articles and that they have helped you see kdramas in a new light. Hopefully the next one will also contribute to your enjoyment :).

Some of your doubts have been resolved below, but I'll add some of what I know:

1. In regards to adding 'er to a name, I was told that's an endearment. Like saying "little one" or "young one". It's similar to how in Spanish you add "ito" to the end of a word/name as a sense of endearment. So grandfathers, aunts, older cousins and parents (basically, people who are older than you, but close to you as well) would call Luis --> Luisito. However, someone who isn't close to you calling you "Luisito" might be disrespectful, insulting and belittling. Think of how your mom might call you honey vs your boss calling you honey. Same word, very different meaning.

2. "Also not just once I saw poor editing. For example, in one shot a dog had a collar on and in the next shot, it was gone." --> This has nothing to do with CGI. This is called "an error of continuity" and you'll rarely find a film/tv show that doesn't have them. This is because sometimes a single scene is shot in multiple days (due to scheduling issues most times) or you'll have to shoot the same scene several times to get different angles. This means that you have to remember details and recreate the setting as close to the first time as possible. Keep an eye out for scenes involving food. Those usually have A TON of continuity errors. You'll get a glass full in one shot/angle, then the next angle the glass will be empty, then the next angle it'll be full again. That's why you'll also see dramas prefer to use solid glasses versus transparent glasses.

3. As others mentioned, sometimes using CGI is way cheaper (of course, crappy CGI) than shooting on location. If we're talking about a fight scene which involves flying, then it's even easier to use CGI and shoot everything with a green screen. When it comes to creating armies, you'll also have only a handful of people (30-maybe 50) and then the rest of the "army" is actually made up of digital copies of those 30-50 people. So adding a CGI background would be easier to maintain a certain light (though the result varies depending on budget).

"The Guest" is a very solid drama. I never felt it dragged, we had three compelling leads, interesting story and it was, overall, a feast for the eyes. I think the only reason why I didn't rate it higher, was because the antagonist was sadly uninteresting. But that's the problem with "spirit/demons" antagonists. "Priest" had the same issues (plus so many, many more).

I also wished the FL in "The Guest" had been given more agency. She was a good, strong character but she seemed to be "a guest" to the story. Take her out and not a lot changes. I kind of wish she'd been able to pose a threat to the antagonist or something --because even Park Il Do seems to forget her at times. It felt a waste of a good character --turning her from a lead into a support character.

That's true as well. Red can also be interpreted as "recklessness, passion, and energy" (though orange relates to this last one more). While Blue can also be interpreted as "rigid, cold, sad and even emotionless." So I could see why Koreans may link red with life (heat) and blue with death (cold).

The examples for colors I gave were films/dramas that use that "vibrancy" we saw in "The Guest". Since I also watched "Priest" which is in the similar vein, it might be that the director of "The Guest" chose vibrant/over-saturated colors to contrast with the dark subject. That way, he could make it more artistic and less "dreary". Think about horror films in general (more so those regarding exorcisms) and you'll rarely see the colors "The Guest" used. So, in that regards, the show stands out.

Alright, you've convinced me! I think I'm getting some good ideas of how to approach the subject of colors in dramas and, more importantly, how to structure it. Because when we talk about colors, there's various ways they are used.

1) One is the cold/warm/neutral filters ("Come and Hug Me" excelled in this, which I cover briefly in my "Visual Mastery" article).
2) Another is the vibrant/dull films (think Guardians of the Galaxy vs Civil War).
3) Then there's colors used in clothing or as symbolism for something (very prominent in K-dramas). "The Last Empress" comes to mind here, where the choice of colors each character wore seem to reflect who they were. Oh Sunny (the FL) wears bright colors at the beginning but then switches to black after she becomes disillusioned. Even the rooms of each characters have colors that coincide with their nature.
4) Then there's the colors used for contrast with a deeper meaning behind it (almost like motifs). In "The Ghost Detective" we see the main antagonist wear red clothing most of the time. When she tries to wear white clothing, she keeps getting it stained.

I'll have to add all this to my To-Do-List for sure.

As to the comment about the lighting, I meant to observe where the light is coming from. In "The Guest" we had light sources coming from weird places in order to create shadows that would extend down the floor or creep up the ceilings. The end result was stunning, even when the lights made little sense (or felt positioned, more than natural). I, myself, don't mind dramatic lights (when you know someone took time to set them perfectly) because the end result is eye candy :).

Thank you for your comment, Seliz! I'm happy the information in the articles have added to your appreciation of K-dramas! Indeed, I opted to try to include as many examples from recent dramas simply because there's a higher chance more people have watched it! I'll try to add more examples for the next one!

Those are good starting points, Claudia! And, for sure, a second viewing would be necessary to see if there is indeed more to the colors than just aesthetics. And I say that, because I could see how cross-processing the film and over-saturating it would have brought about those colors.

We did get a lot of red -blue shots, but that's also a color scheme that's used in a lot of films and posters. Just google "blue-red posters" and you'll see many. Now, regarding color theory, red is usually danger and blue is safe. That's why villains always get the red tint/light and heroes the blue tint/light. However, I'm still unsure if "The Guest" attempted to say something specific with the colors.

Cross processing would get you the orange-yellow & the green-yellow colors that we saw as well a lot during the drama. Perhaps the over-saturation was simply done to contrast with the dark subject? Or maybe it was simply to dramatize the whole thing? Although I'd argued the lights played a much bigger role in that.

Now "The Guest" isn't the only drama that boasts these types of colors (which is why I think it could be more aesthetic than symbolic; though that doesn't mean the director didn't want to express something --even if it's only his personal vision). Just google these films and check out some of their screenshots and you'll see similarities with "The Guest":

-The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
-Only God Forgives | The reason for the vibrant colors in this one if because Nicolas Winding Refn (the director) is actually colorblind, so he can't see mid-tones. The vibrant and over-saturated colors is a necessity, but he's also made it a staple of his films.
-John Wick, Atomica & Deadpool | These are all super vibrant and colorful films directed by David Leitch. You can say that it's his style to add those neon colors and deep contrasts.
-Guardians of the Galaxy
-Blade Runner 2049
-Riverdale (Netflix)
-Daredevil (Netflix)

I think the dramatic lighting helped make the colors pop even more in "The Guest". When you see the show (if you re-watch it), take a good look at the lights and where they're coming from. They don't even make sense half the time! Yet we don't question it because they make everything look amazing.

But if you do happen to see a pattern where the colors are maybe tied in to the character(s)' psychological state, then that would definitely elevate the drama to a new level. I didn't see any patterns when I watched it. Either in regards to the colors or the lights, but I could've missed something!

Thank you, I am glad you agree!

They are both super cute, indeed! They kind of remind me to the leads in Devilish Joy,

My thoughts exactly. This reveal was incredibly disappointing. I'm deducting points just for the sheer stupidity/irrationality of it all.

Thank you for reading and sharing, ClaudiaMz! I agree, boxing is the most prominent cue I've picked up in my K-drama viewing. I've started watching C-dramas, but I haven't seen them use boxing in the same way (admittedly I've only watched 2 series and several movies).

Someone else also mentioned they'd like to have an article regarding colors, so I might add it to the series. I'll have to figure out a way to structure that, but I'll definitely give it a go! It's interesting you mentioned "The Guest" because I loved the use of colors in that series. They actually over-saturated the colors, giving it a vibrant and dramatic feel. But that's a series that I was hoping I'd find a reasoning for why they decided to do that, but couldn't. It seems it was an artistic choice, more than a symbolic one. What do you think?

Even if it was merely a aesthetic choice, that could also be part of the article. :)

Thank you very much for your interest and support, dongan! I'm happy to have added to your enjoyment of K-dramas! <3

Thank you for reading, sparklingpuppets! I'm happy to have contributed in you looking at K-dramas with a new perspective! Hopefully, you'll be able to enjoy them even more now! That or you'll curse me because you won't be able to turn your brain off XD.

Hi again, Renna! Indeed, Black is still my all time favorite k-drama. I had so many feels while watching that one! I would definitely consider doing an article on that drama, if only because I think it's quite underrated! I'll have to add it to my To-Do list for sure!

Thank you for reading and commenting, Misunderst0_od (love your username, btw!). Indeed, boxing can be consider somewhat like framing. Though I think the k-drama that used the most photography principles that I've watched is "Korean Odyssey." I remember I took several screenshots because the director tended to use lines (made by objects) to draw the eye to focus on one character. At times, several lines connected the ML to the FL while in shot. Unfortunately, I lost all those screenshots. Maybe one day I'll re-watch that drama just to find those examples!

Awww, thank you, Renna! I actually spend the most time just getting the pictures/gifs/graphics ready, so I'm glad you like them :).

Awesome, @Yuanwei! Thank you very much! That means I will be taking notes once I start watching Sky Castle :).

Thank you very much, kingsqueen! I am happy you enjoyed it! Next one should be submitted for approval pretty soon :).

Thank you so much, Penel! I am glad you enjoyed the article as well as my writing style <3! Next article shouldn't take as long. It's practically already finished but I just need to polish it a bit more. I also wanted to wait for feedback so I could apply it in Part 3. :)