Yumelinh
Pro Adventurer
Sorry @insanehobbit I completely forgot you posted the drawing here before lol 
All of this just in Part 1! ;--;
All of this just in Part 1! ;--;
Faith v. 3.0 (Cloti Club)
- Thread starter Tennyo
- Start date
Oh man. I saw it. That's cute. Btw, what do you think about the post reply to me in that reddit thread, it is very long and easy to identify.Someone posted it in the discord server and I'm DYING!!!
Credits - Reddit
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insanehobbit
Pro Adventurer
Hahaha, it's alright. I guess I should be touched that Reddit user decided to keep the same shitty YouTube screencap I took
Nobody answered my pop quiz. I'm dropping you all into the sewer! Enjoy the sights and smells!
I'm in the minority here, but I'm happy with the subtleties of how CxT develop. I don't need to see a kiss, or what goes on in the bedroom. Ironically, we already see more of their bedroom than any other FF couple. Tifa's bedroom as a child (panty heist!)
Waking up under the Highwind, alone together in CoT, and now in 7R with so many bedroom scenes...
Do we need to see Cecil and Rosa having kids before they are 'canon'? Squall and Rinoa don't live together yet, maybe their teenage summer love will fade. Zidane and Garnet finally hug after months apart. What commitment is shown there? And yet with Cloti, despite the bedroom shenanigans, despite their shared domestic life, despite their commitments, fans still want... a kiss onscreen? I don't get that. Well I get it, but I'm happy being in the minority.
That's not to say I don't want more. Sure, I'd like to see them bonding more as a family. Seeing Cloud being positive and supporting Tifa through her own tough times ("I'll be there to remind you..."), instead of reading about it in a novella translated on the internet (thanks for that, by the way).
And I'd like more of them fighting back to back, helping each other and accepting that help. Like what @Yumelinh shared above. Not this crap:
I'm in the minority here, but I'm happy with the subtleties of how CxT develop. I don't need to see a kiss, or what goes on in the bedroom. Ironically, we already see more of their bedroom than any other FF couple. Tifa's bedroom as a child (panty heist!)
Waking up under the Highwind, alone together in CoT, and now in 7R with so many bedroom scenes...Do we need to see Cecil and Rosa having kids before they are 'canon'? Squall and Rinoa don't live together yet, maybe their teenage summer love will fade. Zidane and Garnet finally hug after months apart. What commitment is shown there? And yet with Cloti, despite the bedroom shenanigans, despite their shared domestic life, despite their commitments, fans still want... a kiss onscreen? I don't get that. Well I get it, but I'm happy being in the minority.
That's not to say I don't want more. Sure, I'd like to see them bonding more as a family. Seeing Cloud being positive and supporting Tifa through her own tough times ("I'll be there to remind you..."), instead of reading about it in a novella translated on the internet (thanks for that, by the way).
And I'd like more of them fighting back to back, helping each other and accepting that help. Like what @Yumelinh shared above. Not this crap:
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Eerie
Fire and Blood
Yeah @JT77fp cloti is the pair that probably has the most going on for them (because FFVII has been extended way beyond the initial game, to be fair), but the one couple that has so many people dissing it as "non-canon" or "it's all optional". It's not that their situation isn't enough for me, it's more like, I want it to be inevitable so that people will stop saying "it's optional" and half of the players missing that they have sex under the Highwind. I just want people to aknowledge it's the end pair damn it, no matter Cloud's feelings for Aerith.
I think it comes down to a lot of people miscontruing "having the choice to show preference for one girl" with "it's optional". I am GLAD that there is less choice in the Remake, because that erases a lot of that notion - the real choice is who you wake up in the sewers lmao.
I think it comes down to a lot of people miscontruing "having the choice to show preference for one girl" with "it's optional". I am GLAD that there is less choice in the Remake, because that erases a lot of that notion - the real choice is who you wake up in the sewers lmao.
Graymouse
Pro Adventurer
Nobody answered my pop quiz. I'm dropping you all into the sewer! Enjoy the sights and smells!
I'm in the minority here, but I'm happy with the subtleties of how CxT develop. I don't need to see a kiss, or what goes on in the bedroom. Ironically, we already see more of their bedroom than any other FF couple. Tifa's bedroom as a child (panty heist!)
Do we need to see Cecil and Rosa having kids before they are 'canon'? Squall and Rinoa don't live together yet, maybe their teenage summer love will fade. Zidane and Garnet finally hug after months apart. What commitment is shown there? And yet with Cloti, despite the bedroom shenanigans, despite their shared domestic life, despite their commitments, fans still want... a kiss onscreen? I don't get that. Well I get it, but I'm happy being in the minority.
That's not to say I don't want more. Sure, I'd like to see them bonding more as a family. Seeing Cloud being positive and supporting Tifa through her own tough times ("I'll be there to remind you..."), instead of reading about it in a novella translated on the internet (thanks for that, by the way).
And I'd like more of them fighting back to back, helping each other and accepting that help. Like what @Yumelinh shared above. Not this crap:
View attachment 6868
Actually you bring up a very valid point that I haven't thought of until I read your post. Out of all the FF couples, why is it that Cloud X Tifa are the hardest to accept as the canon couple. No other couple in the FF universe is this way. We have countless reference books that have them literally (I hate using literally figuratively like a valley girl but...) being together in a romantic way countless times.
I mean for pete's sake these two have done everything short of getting freaking married or kiss on camera. Even then, I think honestly still think they will be viewed as being in a platonic relationship. Here is a short list of just some of these things:
Had sex under the highwind and I could only assume on multiple occasions afterwards
Share the same bed
Hugged
Saved each other multiple times
Touch each other, even when not necessary
Have their heads 100% completely filled with only each other
Raising two kids together
living together under the same roof
What more do these two have to do?
insanehobbit
Pro Adventurer
Okiedokie -- I thought it would be fun (she says 48 hours later) to do a visual analysis of the three Ch. 14 resolutions. There's already been a ton of great discussion about what the characters are saying and doing, so I won't delve into that much. Instead, my focus is going to be on the visual language -- my impression of what the director is trying to convey and how they're using specific cinematic techniques to achieve that effect. Since this does go to the heart of the scene's intent, I will inevitably touch on a few story/character elements.
I hope this was at least somewhat interesting for you guys. Leaving this as mostly a shot breakdown (with some editorializing) without any of my "analysis" clogging it up since this post is long enough as it is. But I would really love to hear all of your thoughts, if any.
Also happy to answer questions/clarify if anything is unclear. I'm off to bed, so I'm sure when I try re-reading this in the morning, it'll be completely incomprehensible to me as well.
I tried my best to not make this too technical and pedantic but uh, I will let you be the judge of how successful that was. Most of the terms I use are pretty self-explanatory. The only term you really need to know is what a "shot" is in filmmaking. Honestly, the Wikipedia definition explains it better than I ever could. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_(filmmaking)
I won't pretend that I'm an objective observer, but I did try to anchor my analysis by doing a shot length analysis for each scene (using the tool from http://www.cinemetrics.lv/ which also has some further reading about the importance of shot length/average shots per second). Mostly so I can notice the variance in shot length. If a shot is particularly long or short, it might be important. It also helped me realize that the scenes were fairly short (only about 30~ shots each), so I ended up doing a shot by shot breakdown of each scene, to make sure I wasn't just cherry-picking.
Rambling preamble over, I will start with Barret's resolution.
(Please see below for a giant powerpoint slide with a breakdown of every shot in this scene - plus the shot analysis from Cinemetrics -- you may notice the shot number on the cinemetrics is slightly off, which means I probably fucked up at some point, but I am too lazy to do it again, and I honestly don't think it changes much).
The first few shots establish the tempo/dynamic of the scene. Shot (1) we have Cloud moving in the background, and the focus immediately shifts to Barret when he starts speaking. Note that we cut to shot (2) where Cloud is the focus when Cloud responds. Barret speaks right before we cut to shot (3) a close up of his hand and chest, notably the shortest shot in the entire scene -- before almost immediately cutting to shot (4) a close up of his face.
I'll call this the intro of the scene - we understand this is a scene that will primarily be about Barret talking and Cloud listening. With the close-ups of Barret's hand and face, it's his feelings that we should be paying attention to going forward.
We go from a close up in (4) to a lovely wide shot in (5). This serves as a moment of transition, as well as a way to establish the geography of the characters. Note that they are turned away from one another in this shot, but also note the position of the two in the frame. They are both in the same lower right third, so there isn't any visual tension here so to speak. We aren't looking at this shot anticipating that they will be moving towards one another.
We cut to (6), which is Barret with his back towards us as he starts talking about the Avalanche members. He's not moving, so the camera roves to make up for that. Since we only see his back, we're led to focus on his words but also to anticipate the look on his face. Shot (7) gives us that with close up of Barret as he talks. Cloud is in the background as he talks about Stamp, but notably we cut to shot (8) a close up of Cloud when we see him react. Again, this establishes some separation between the characters. We're supposed to pay attention to how Barret's words affect Cloud himself as opposed to Cloud's relationship with Barret.
(9) goes back to Barret and then a quick cut as he turns his head to wider shot (10) of Barret as he talks about Al. (11) is Cloud's back - again the camera roves, perhaps we're supposed to wonder what Cloud is thinking, perhaps it's supposed to be a pretty shot. (12) is new one - Barret and Cloud share the same frame, but this time, Cloud's face is obscured. Our focus is still on Barret, but Barret's focus is on Cloud.
(13) another wide establishing shot of their positions - this more to showcase the flowers that Barret is discussing. (14) echos (7), though this time Barret is turned away from the camera and towards Cloud. Whatever he's talking about (it just so happens to be about Tifa...hmmm), he is expecting a reaction from Cloud.
Which we definitely get in (15), which again is an echo of (8). Our focus is entirely on Cloud and how he reacts.
(16) is another wide establishing shot, but for the first time, Cloud and Barret are actually looking at each other as they speak. Now that they're actually looking at one another, this feels more like a classic scene of dialogue (even though Cloud doesn't respond, lol) (17), (18) and (19) are kinda of the standard conversational shot-reverse shot.
We cut from a close-up of Barret's face in shot (19) to a dramatic fist clench in (20) - this will have us recall the earlier close up of his fist and note things have changed. Cloud is in the background of this shot, but he's blurred out, so his feeling are not important here, but notably, the two of them share the frame more frequently here on out.
(21) has Barret looking at Cloud. (22) is another very quick close-up shot that serves as another transition - indicting we are now at the ending of the scene.
(23) - the camera follows Barret as he walks towards Cloud. Notably the only anyone makes towards one another in this entire scene. (24) is a nice aerial establishing shot - it's pretty I guess. (25) cuts to (26) when Barret reacts to Cloud, though again he is the only one in the frame. (27) - Cloud in the frame alone as he speaks - (28a) we start off with just Barret in the frame as he reacts - then the camera pulls back as Cloud joins them as they walk off together. Notably, the camera is moving in the opposite direction of the characters. It's like one of those "walking off into the sunset" endings. This story is done. There isn't anything here left to be resolved for later.
--
Moving on to Aerith's resolution scene, which I found absolutely fascinating:
The first three shots quickly establishes what we're working with here - close up of Aerith (1), to close up of Cloud's reaction (2) to a wide shot establishing shot of the two of them (3) - we hold on three a little longer as Cloud asks if this is a dream.
Probably - despite that, the following shots (4 through 9) do not play out in a particularly dreamlike manner - in fact they are the closest we get to a classic shot-reverse shot conversation dynamic in all of the resolution scenes. Which makes sense, it is a conversation. Each shot thus focuses on the person who is speaking.
I will point out in (7) and (8) both characters technically share the frame, though the non-speaking party's face is completely obscured so we're not supposed to pay attention to them nor really even try to figure out what they're thinking.
We make a pretty noticeable cut from Aerith's face in (9) to (10) another wide establishing shot, though it's a bit odd. Cloud is in the foreground, though his back is turned to us. Aerith is in the background, though we can see her face. There is definitely tension in this scene, but it doesn't feel like the type that will be resolved by the characters moving physically closer together. Rather, it's the tension in what they're saying.
Quick cut to (11) - Aerith's reaction, a side shot where we know her she's looking at Cloud. Our focus is on her but her focus is on Cloud. Cut to (12) background shot of the house - this serves as a transition to the next stage of this scene.
(13) Aerith is talking to Cloud while moving towards him - this is about the relationship between the two of them. (14) - Cloud answers -- interestingly enough Aerith's head is technically in the frame, but completely out of focus and we do not see her face.
We cut to (15) when Aerith answers, and again our focus is entirely on her. We follow her movement as she turns towards the sky. We cut on that turn to a shot (16) featuring both Aerith and Cloud turning to look at the sky. Notably, this is the first shot this entire scene where we can clearly see Cloud and Aerith's faces in the same. Also note that they are not looking at each other but at something off-screen.
Aerith walks towards the camera, and we follow her movement as we cut to (17). Aerith is praying, but is still otherwise. The camera moves while she remains still. We then cut to a close up (18) of her mid-prayer.
Cut to a wide shot (19), where we see Cloud standing behind her. He's speaking, but we can't see his face so we don't know how he's feeling. (Side note shot (19) is very similar to shot (5) in Barret's resolution - I don't think this was intentional, and if it was, I have no idea what that intent was, though I will also add that there nothing remotely similar in Tifa's resolution)
Aerith responds, and then we cut to (20), which is probably the most interesting shot in this entire scene and one of the longest. Specifically notice where Aerith is in the frame - almost the very center. Wes Anderson(s) aside, this is a very unconventional way to frame a shot. And as you can see from all the earlier (and latter) shots in this scene, it's very unconventional for this scene, but clearly deliberate. Aerith is pretty much looking directly at the camera too. This definitely feels like "breaking the fourth wall" moment. Whatever Aerith is saying, she is at least in part addressing it to the audience.
Very quick cut to (21) for Cloud's response. Then we immediately cut back to Aerith in (22). She's mostly quiet here as the camera zooms in on her face and conflicting emotions. We cut again to (23) for Cloud's supportive dialogue. Very quick cut to Aerith's reaction (24) and immediately an extremely wide shot (25) of the night sky as Aerith moves towards Cloud. Another transition.
(26) Shot of Cloud's reaction as Aerith speaks, (27) reverse shot of Aerith as she continues - this is another one of the longer shots in this scene. (28) cut to the ground, clearly a transition shot and a very important one because the next shot is...
(29) - the infamous "You can't fall in love with me" line - again note the center framing. Compare it to her position throughout all of (27). Again, this is deliberate, and leads me to think that this is indeed as much of a message to the viewer as it is to Cloud.
Contrast to (30), Cloud's immediate reaction - he's not at the center, he's in the right third. Aerith reaches for his face and we cut to (31). She's back in the left third of the frame. The angle is a bit awkward, but this is her talking to just Cloud now, not the audience.
(32) is all about Cloud's reaction. We see him reach for her (32a) and then his face (32b) when it's finally confirmed that she's not actually there.
Cut to (33), which is a wide shot where can only see their backs. We wait a beat until Cloud asks "Do I get a say in all this?" If this is meant to be a love confession, it certainly an avant-garde way to shoot it. It would be one thing if we immediately cut to a close up of Cloud's face to see what he's feeling, but we hold on the same shot where Aerith follows up with a line that more or less changes the subject.
(34) we do see Cloud's face now, but I would say he's followed her change of subject. (35a) reverse shot of Aerith as she answers to (35b) a jarring fade to white for the end of the scene, which is pretty fitting for a dream sequence.
--
Two thousand words later (what is wrong with me!!), it is finally time for Tifa's resolution:
One you thing you will immediately notice is that the first shot (1) is the longest in the entire scene. Cloud approaches Tifa in a way that seems similar to how he approaches Barret in his resolution, however, the rest of it plays out quite distinctly. (1a) Cloud addresses Tifa. We can see her in the frame, but her face is partially obscured and out of focus. (1b) - Tifa responds, instead of cutting away to a different shot like in the other resolutions, we stay in the same shot. Instead the shot shifts focus from Cloud to Tifa (you can see how blurred Cloud is in (1b) compared to (1a)). (1c) another focus shift within the very same shot. Cloud answers and the focus moves from Tifa back to him.
Now again, this shot is much longer than the other shots in this scene, so it's not so much establishing the tempo of this scene as it is the dynamic. My reading is that this first shot establishes that this scene is as much about Cloud as it is about Tifa and it is as much about the relationship between the two characters as it is about the characters themselves.
We finally cut to (2), notably the only shot where we can only see the backs of both characters. Though with Cloud in the foreground of the frame, we are drawn to the direction he is facing, which is towards Tifa, who is still facing away.
Quick cut to (3) the back of Tifa's head. She says something, but we can't see her face, so we have no idea what she's feeling, but we're curious.
Cut to (4a) Cloud tries to play it cool in the background -- notably we see Tifa's face move into the frame in (4b), but we cut to (5) a shot of her feet, before we can see the look on her face.
(6) wide establishing shot as Tifa asks her question. We see the positions of the two characters, but it's a pretty short shot, and we still don't really get to see Tifa's face. What is she thinking!?
Instead we cut to Cloud (7) reacting, we follow his head turn as we cut to (8), oh hey look at that, they're finally facing each other. We finally get a look at Tifa's face but again we cut away fairly quickly cut to (9). I will try to give them the benefit of the doubt and say this isn't just a pervy shot of her chest, but another way to obscure Tifa's face. We do slowly pan up and get a look at her as she speaks now.
Cut to (10) Cloud's reaction and then (11) - that flowers that she's discussing, pretty self-explanatory.
(12) another shot of the two of them. Tifa's speaking, yet she's facing the side and her face is largely obscured by her hair. Meanwhile, we get a pretty good look at Cloud's face and can track his reaction.
(13) is pretty similar to (2). I would say Tifa is the main subject of this scene, but we are still supposed to note that Cloud is looking at her.
(14) finally a fairly short but clear shot of her face. Here she's finally able to let off her chest what she's wanted to say all along. We then cut right to (15) - dramatic fist clench Tifa-edition.
We cut immediately to (16) the the first shot of the longest sequence in this scene, which I shall call the "prelude to the hug." (16) we watch Cloud slowly turn his head as he realizes how emotional Tifa is. We cut from this close up of Cloud to (17), a wide shot with continuity. Cloud is still in the same position, but now we can see what he's looking at.
(17) is another one of the longer shots in this sequence. It may feel longer than it actually is, because the camera is completely still for the first half of the shot (17a), until Tifa starts moving towards Cloud (17b) and the camera slowly follows her movement. As Tifa makes contact, we cut to (18), a close up with continuity, the characters are the same positions as the previous shot, we've basically just zoomed in. (18) is another very long shot. Our focus is on Cloud's face first, and then we slowly pan down to see the lack of reaction in his body.
Quick cut to (19) - a wider shot from a different angle. We can see clearly that he's not moving. (20) Close up of that same angle - focusing on his face. Another quick shot.
In this sequence, we got two long shots, followed by two quick shots. We had a pretty well-established tempo early on, but with this "prelude to the hug" sequence, it's been all over the place. We really don't know what to expect next, which ramps up the tension. It's not just Cloud's (in)action that has the audience screaming at him to hug her. The scene is structured to achieve that effect.
Now we're cutting from the close up of Cloud's face to (21), which is from a completely new angle we haven't seen before. We're also now focused on their bodies. The camera roves down to Cloud's hands, which are doing absolutely nothing. Get your shit together, boy!
(22) a wide shot of another new angle - another way to see Cloud doing nothing. He looks up and we cut to a close up (23) of the boy looking pretty emotional and maybe actually making up his mind. Cut to (24a) -- here we fucking go, this is a similar shot to (21), but a slightly different angle. More importantly, the camera doesn't need to do much moving this time, because Cloud's hands are doing the moving now and he finally fucking hugs her in (24b). We pan up and hold for a brief bit, just so we can confirm that he actually fucking did it.
(25) close up of Cloud's face mid-hug. He looks up and we cut to (26a) - instead of following his movement, the camera slowly pans down and away from the pair. We just went through a very tense series of shots, so this diffuses that tension. At the time, this is a device pretty commonly used for intimate moments. This is a moment for the two of them, not for us. It's almost too voyeuristic to keep looking, so we look away. Instead we hold a bit on the water in (26b). It's a fair period of time, so I do imagine it might be a Lifestream reference.
(26) felt like a pretty natural place to end the scene, so now that we've cut back to a very lovely wide shot (27) of the hug, it's bit like uh-oh, what's happening now.
Cut to (28) another close up of Cloud's face as Tifa speaks, as he very slowly realizes he hugged too hard. He starts to move away and we cut on his movement to (29), where the action continues, but from a different angle so we can more clearly see their movement away from each other.
Cut to (30) - Tifa berating herself for getting emotional. Notably, this is the first shot where Tifa is clearly the focus of shot (15) - hmmm.
Cut to (31) Cloud silently reacting to her words, notably when he finally decides to speak, he turns and we cut to (32), another shot with the two of them. They looked a bit distant in (29), but from this perspective, we can see that they are still quite close. With both of them in the shot, whatever Cloud is saying is as much for himself as it is for Tifa. We're still supposed to be thinking about their relationship with one another.
(33) Tifa's reaction, the penultimate shot - similar to the last shot in Aerith's resolution, but notably closer. I would say it's fair to assume that both are from Cloud's POV.
(34) last shot of the scene. A similar wide shot to the last shot of Barret's resolution, with the camera panning up and away. Notably here, the camera is moving while the characters are not. What's happening between them while we're panning away? With the Barret resolution, we already know, with Tifa's resolution it remains unresolved.
I won't pretend that I'm an objective observer, but I did try to anchor my analysis by doing a shot length analysis for each scene (using the tool from http://www.cinemetrics.lv/ which also has some further reading about the importance of shot length/average shots per second). Mostly so I can notice the variance in shot length. If a shot is particularly long or short, it might be important. It also helped me realize that the scenes were fairly short (only about 30~ shots each), so I ended up doing a shot by shot breakdown of each scene, to make sure I wasn't just cherry-picking.
Rambling preamble over, I will start with Barret's resolution.
(Please see below for a giant powerpoint slide with a breakdown of every shot in this scene - plus the shot analysis from Cinemetrics -- you may notice the shot number on the cinemetrics is slightly off, which means I probably fucked up at some point, but I am too lazy to do it again, and I honestly don't think it changes much).
The first few shots establish the tempo/dynamic of the scene. Shot (1) we have Cloud moving in the background, and the focus immediately shifts to Barret when he starts speaking. Note that we cut to shot (2) where Cloud is the focus when Cloud responds. Barret speaks right before we cut to shot (3) a close up of his hand and chest, notably the shortest shot in the entire scene -- before almost immediately cutting to shot (4) a close up of his face.
I'll call this the intro of the scene - we understand this is a scene that will primarily be about Barret talking and Cloud listening. With the close-ups of Barret's hand and face, it's his feelings that we should be paying attention to going forward.
We go from a close up in (4) to a lovely wide shot in (5). This serves as a moment of transition, as well as a way to establish the geography of the characters. Note that they are turned away from one another in this shot, but also note the position of the two in the frame. They are both in the same lower right third, so there isn't any visual tension here so to speak. We aren't looking at this shot anticipating that they will be moving towards one another.
We cut to (6), which is Barret with his back towards us as he starts talking about the Avalanche members. He's not moving, so the camera roves to make up for that. Since we only see his back, we're led to focus on his words but also to anticipate the look on his face. Shot (7) gives us that with close up of Barret as he talks. Cloud is in the background as he talks about Stamp, but notably we cut to shot (8) a close up of Cloud when we see him react. Again, this establishes some separation between the characters. We're supposed to pay attention to how Barret's words affect Cloud himself as opposed to Cloud's relationship with Barret.
(9) goes back to Barret and then a quick cut as he turns his head to wider shot (10) of Barret as he talks about Al. (11) is Cloud's back - again the camera roves, perhaps we're supposed to wonder what Cloud is thinking, perhaps it's supposed to be a pretty shot. (12) is new one - Barret and Cloud share the same frame, but this time, Cloud's face is obscured. Our focus is still on Barret, but Barret's focus is on Cloud.
(13) another wide establishing shot of their positions - this more to showcase the flowers that Barret is discussing. (14) echos (7), though this time Barret is turned away from the camera and towards Cloud. Whatever he's talking about (it just so happens to be about Tifa...hmmm), he is expecting a reaction from Cloud.
Which we definitely get in (15), which again is an echo of (8). Our focus is entirely on Cloud and how he reacts.
(16) is another wide establishing shot, but for the first time, Cloud and Barret are actually looking at each other as they speak. Now that they're actually looking at one another, this feels more like a classic scene of dialogue (even though Cloud doesn't respond, lol) (17), (18) and (19) are kinda of the standard conversational shot-reverse shot.
We cut from a close-up of Barret's face in shot (19) to a dramatic fist clench in (20) - this will have us recall the earlier close up of his fist and note things have changed. Cloud is in the background of this shot, but he's blurred out, so his feeling are not important here, but notably, the two of them share the frame more frequently here on out.
(21) has Barret looking at Cloud. (22) is another very quick close-up shot that serves as another transition - indicting we are now at the ending of the scene.
(23) - the camera follows Barret as he walks towards Cloud. Notably the only anyone makes towards one another in this entire scene. (24) is a nice aerial establishing shot - it's pretty I guess. (25) cuts to (26) when Barret reacts to Cloud, though again he is the only one in the frame. (27) - Cloud in the frame alone as he speaks - (28a) we start off with just Barret in the frame as he reacts - then the camera pulls back as Cloud joins them as they walk off together. Notably, the camera is moving in the opposite direction of the characters. It's like one of those "walking off into the sunset" endings. This story is done. There isn't anything here left to be resolved for later.
--
Moving on to Aerith's resolution scene, which I found absolutely fascinating:
The first three shots quickly establishes what we're working with here - close up of Aerith (1), to close up of Cloud's reaction (2) to a wide shot establishing shot of the two of them (3) - we hold on three a little longer as Cloud asks if this is a dream.
Probably - despite that, the following shots (4 through 9) do not play out in a particularly dreamlike manner - in fact they are the closest we get to a classic shot-reverse shot conversation dynamic in all of the resolution scenes. Which makes sense, it is a conversation. Each shot thus focuses on the person who is speaking.
I will point out in (7) and (8) both characters technically share the frame, though the non-speaking party's face is completely obscured so we're not supposed to pay attention to them nor really even try to figure out what they're thinking.
We make a pretty noticeable cut from Aerith's face in (9) to (10) another wide establishing shot, though it's a bit odd. Cloud is in the foreground, though his back is turned to us. Aerith is in the background, though we can see her face. There is definitely tension in this scene, but it doesn't feel like the type that will be resolved by the characters moving physically closer together. Rather, it's the tension in what they're saying.
Quick cut to (11) - Aerith's reaction, a side shot where we know her she's looking at Cloud. Our focus is on her but her focus is on Cloud. Cut to (12) background shot of the house - this serves as a transition to the next stage of this scene.
(13) Aerith is talking to Cloud while moving towards him - this is about the relationship between the two of them. (14) - Cloud answers -- interestingly enough Aerith's head is technically in the frame, but completely out of focus and we do not see her face.
We cut to (15) when Aerith answers, and again our focus is entirely on her. We follow her movement as she turns towards the sky. We cut on that turn to a shot (16) featuring both Aerith and Cloud turning to look at the sky. Notably, this is the first shot this entire scene where we can clearly see Cloud and Aerith's faces in the same. Also note that they are not looking at each other but at something off-screen.
Aerith walks towards the camera, and we follow her movement as we cut to (17). Aerith is praying, but is still otherwise. The camera moves while she remains still. We then cut to a close up (18) of her mid-prayer.
Cut to a wide shot (19), where we see Cloud standing behind her. He's speaking, but we can't see his face so we don't know how he's feeling. (Side note shot (19) is very similar to shot (5) in Barret's resolution - I don't think this was intentional, and if it was, I have no idea what that intent was, though I will also add that there nothing remotely similar in Tifa's resolution)
Aerith responds, and then we cut to (20), which is probably the most interesting shot in this entire scene and one of the longest. Specifically notice where Aerith is in the frame - almost the very center. Wes Anderson(s) aside, this is a very unconventional way to frame a shot. And as you can see from all the earlier (and latter) shots in this scene, it's very unconventional for this scene, but clearly deliberate. Aerith is pretty much looking directly at the camera too. This definitely feels like "breaking the fourth wall" moment. Whatever Aerith is saying, she is at least in part addressing it to the audience.
Very quick cut to (21) for Cloud's response. Then we immediately cut back to Aerith in (22). She's mostly quiet here as the camera zooms in on her face and conflicting emotions. We cut again to (23) for Cloud's supportive dialogue. Very quick cut to Aerith's reaction (24) and immediately an extremely wide shot (25) of the night sky as Aerith moves towards Cloud. Another transition.
(26) Shot of Cloud's reaction as Aerith speaks, (27) reverse shot of Aerith as she continues - this is another one of the longer shots in this scene. (28) cut to the ground, clearly a transition shot and a very important one because the next shot is...
(29) - the infamous "You can't fall in love with me" line - again note the center framing. Compare it to her position throughout all of (27). Again, this is deliberate, and leads me to think that this is indeed as much of a message to the viewer as it is to Cloud.
Contrast to (30), Cloud's immediate reaction - he's not at the center, he's in the right third. Aerith reaches for his face and we cut to (31). She's back in the left third of the frame. The angle is a bit awkward, but this is her talking to just Cloud now, not the audience.
(32) is all about Cloud's reaction. We see him reach for her (32a) and then his face (32b) when it's finally confirmed that she's not actually there.
Cut to (33), which is a wide shot where can only see their backs. We wait a beat until Cloud asks "Do I get a say in all this?" If this is meant to be a love confession, it certainly an avant-garde way to shoot it. It would be one thing if we immediately cut to a close up of Cloud's face to see what he's feeling, but we hold on the same shot where Aerith follows up with a line that more or less changes the subject.
(34) we do see Cloud's face now, but I would say he's followed her change of subject. (35a) reverse shot of Aerith as she answers to (35b) a jarring fade to white for the end of the scene, which is pretty fitting for a dream sequence.
--
Two thousand words later (what is wrong with me!!), it is finally time for Tifa's resolution:
One you thing you will immediately notice is that the first shot (1) is the longest in the entire scene. Cloud approaches Tifa in a way that seems similar to how he approaches Barret in his resolution, however, the rest of it plays out quite distinctly. (1a) Cloud addresses Tifa. We can see her in the frame, but her face is partially obscured and out of focus. (1b) - Tifa responds, instead of cutting away to a different shot like in the other resolutions, we stay in the same shot. Instead the shot shifts focus from Cloud to Tifa (you can see how blurred Cloud is in (1b) compared to (1a)). (1c) another focus shift within the very same shot. Cloud answers and the focus moves from Tifa back to him.
Now again, this shot is much longer than the other shots in this scene, so it's not so much establishing the tempo of this scene as it is the dynamic. My reading is that this first shot establishes that this scene is as much about Cloud as it is about Tifa and it is as much about the relationship between the two characters as it is about the characters themselves.
We finally cut to (2), notably the only shot where we can only see the backs of both characters. Though with Cloud in the foreground of the frame, we are drawn to the direction he is facing, which is towards Tifa, who is still facing away.
Quick cut to (3) the back of Tifa's head. She says something, but we can't see her face, so we have no idea what she's feeling, but we're curious.
Cut to (4a) Cloud tries to play it cool in the background -- notably we see Tifa's face move into the frame in (4b), but we cut to (5) a shot of her feet, before we can see the look on her face.
(6) wide establishing shot as Tifa asks her question. We see the positions of the two characters, but it's a pretty short shot, and we still don't really get to see Tifa's face. What is she thinking!?
Instead we cut to Cloud (7) reacting, we follow his head turn as we cut to (8), oh hey look at that, they're finally facing each other. We finally get a look at Tifa's face but again we cut away fairly quickly cut to (9). I will try to give them the benefit of the doubt and say this isn't just a pervy shot of her chest, but another way to obscure Tifa's face. We do slowly pan up and get a look at her as she speaks now.
Cut to (10) Cloud's reaction and then (11) - that flowers that she's discussing, pretty self-explanatory.
(12) another shot of the two of them. Tifa's speaking, yet she's facing the side and her face is largely obscured by her hair. Meanwhile, we get a pretty good look at Cloud's face and can track his reaction.
(13) is pretty similar to (2). I would say Tifa is the main subject of this scene, but we are still supposed to note that Cloud is looking at her.
(14) finally a fairly short but clear shot of her face. Here she's finally able to let off her chest what she's wanted to say all along. We then cut right to (15) - dramatic fist clench Tifa-edition.
We cut immediately to (16) the the first shot of the longest sequence in this scene, which I shall call the "prelude to the hug." (16) we watch Cloud slowly turn his head as he realizes how emotional Tifa is. We cut from this close up of Cloud to (17), a wide shot with continuity. Cloud is still in the same position, but now we can see what he's looking at.
(17) is another one of the longer shots in this sequence. It may feel longer than it actually is, because the camera is completely still for the first half of the shot (17a), until Tifa starts moving towards Cloud (17b) and the camera slowly follows her movement. As Tifa makes contact, we cut to (18), a close up with continuity, the characters are the same positions as the previous shot, we've basically just zoomed in. (18) is another very long shot. Our focus is on Cloud's face first, and then we slowly pan down to see the lack of reaction in his body.
Quick cut to (19) - a wider shot from a different angle. We can see clearly that he's not moving. (20) Close up of that same angle - focusing on his face. Another quick shot.
In this sequence, we got two long shots, followed by two quick shots. We had a pretty well-established tempo early on, but with this "prelude to the hug" sequence, it's been all over the place. We really don't know what to expect next, which ramps up the tension. It's not just Cloud's (in)action that has the audience screaming at him to hug her. The scene is structured to achieve that effect.
Now we're cutting from the close up of Cloud's face to (21), which is from a completely new angle we haven't seen before. We're also now focused on their bodies. The camera roves down to Cloud's hands, which are doing absolutely nothing. Get your shit together, boy!
(22) a wide shot of another new angle - another way to see Cloud doing nothing. He looks up and we cut to a close up (23) of the boy looking pretty emotional and maybe actually making up his mind. Cut to (24a) -- here we fucking go, this is a similar shot to (21), but a slightly different angle. More importantly, the camera doesn't need to do much moving this time, because Cloud's hands are doing the moving now and he finally fucking hugs her in (24b). We pan up and hold for a brief bit, just so we can confirm that he actually fucking did it.
(25) close up of Cloud's face mid-hug. He looks up and we cut to (26a) - instead of following his movement, the camera slowly pans down and away from the pair. We just went through a very tense series of shots, so this diffuses that tension. At the time, this is a device pretty commonly used for intimate moments. This is a moment for the two of them, not for us. It's almost too voyeuristic to keep looking, so we look away. Instead we hold a bit on the water in (26b). It's a fair period of time, so I do imagine it might be a Lifestream reference.
(26) felt like a pretty natural place to end the scene, so now that we've cut back to a very lovely wide shot (27) of the hug, it's bit like uh-oh, what's happening now.
Cut to (28) another close up of Cloud's face as Tifa speaks, as he very slowly realizes he hugged too hard. He starts to move away and we cut on his movement to (29), where the action continues, but from a different angle so we can more clearly see their movement away from each other.
Cut to (30) - Tifa berating herself for getting emotional. Notably, this is the first shot where Tifa is clearly the focus of shot (15) - hmmm.
Cut to (31) Cloud silently reacting to her words, notably when he finally decides to speak, he turns and we cut to (32), another shot with the two of them. They looked a bit distant in (29), but from this perspective, we can see that they are still quite close. With both of them in the shot, whatever Cloud is saying is as much for himself as it is for Tifa. We're still supposed to be thinking about their relationship with one another.
(33) Tifa's reaction, the penultimate shot - similar to the last shot in Aerith's resolution, but notably closer. I would say it's fair to assume that both are from Cloud's POV.
(34) last shot of the scene. A similar wide shot to the last shot of Barret's resolution, with the camera panning up and away. Notably here, the camera is moving while the characters are not. What's happening between them while we're panning away? With the Barret resolution, we already know, with Tifa's resolution it remains unresolved.
I hope this was at least somewhat interesting for you guys. Leaving this as mostly a shot breakdown (with some editorializing) without any of my "analysis" clogging it up since this post is long enough as it is. But I would really love to hear all of your thoughts, if any.
Also happy to answer questions/clarify if anything is unclear. I'm off to bed, so I'm sure when I try re-reading this in the morning, it'll be completely incomprehensible to me as well.
iamhorde
Pro Adventurer
@insanehobbit wow, I'm glad you fulfilled your 10k word count again. Thanks for going through all that effort and giving us this awesome visual analysis. I don't know much about the details of film-making so not much for me to add there but I do enjoy reading all of it.
On that point about "Do I get a say in all this?" seen as a love confession by some, it seems that in Japanese, Cloud says something along the lines of "It's quite one sided" which to me, doesn't seems more like a statement than any confession at all. In fact even the line in English is something I would say when someone utters something I find rather presumptuous. But perhaps it's just my shipping brain talking.
On that last scene for Tifa's resolution, I believe there was a post here few pages back or perhaps it was on Twitter where people pointed out that you could hear the metal clanging sound that occurs when Cloud moves / walks, suggesting that as the camera panned up, Cloud and Tifa were either walking back or perhaps towards each other
Also, I came across this on Instagram claiming that there are "hidden dialogues" between Cloud and Tifa that gets triggered sometimes.
On that point about "Do I get a say in all this?" seen as a love confession by some, it seems that in Japanese, Cloud says something along the lines of "It's quite one sided" which to me, doesn't seems more like a statement than any confession at all. In fact even the line in English is something I would say when someone utters something I find rather presumptuous. But perhaps it's just my shipping brain talking.
On that last scene for Tifa's resolution, I believe there was a post here few pages back or perhaps it was on Twitter where people pointed out that you could hear the metal clanging sound that occurs when Cloud moves / walks, suggesting that as the camera panned up, Cloud and Tifa were either walking back or perhaps towards each other
Also, I came across this on Instagram claiming that there are "hidden dialogues" between Cloud and Tifa that gets triggered sometimes.
gilbaxnomfux
Lv. 1 Adventurer
Guess they'll have to Kiss on screen or the least when it comes to the Highwind High Affection Scene, the Devs should really go the Xenogears route like this scene:
skip to 3:46 to see what I mean
@insanehobbit That's an amazing breakdown! Are you a filmmaker/involved in filmmaking by any chance? As a cinema buff myself, stuff like this really gets my brain going.
Also @gilbaxnomfux, it's funny because that Xenogears scene is used in Tres's LTD article as a direct comparison to the OG Highwind scene. It's quite similar, in many ways, though definitely more explicit. What I wouldn't give for a "morning after" scene like that one with Cloud and Tifa just chatting before the sun rises while under the covers, lol.
Also @gilbaxnomfux, it's funny because that Xenogears scene is used in Tres's LTD article as a direct comparison to the OG Highwind scene. It's quite similar, in many ways, though definitely more explicit. What I wouldn't give for a "morning after" scene like that one with Cloud and Tifa just chatting before the sun rises while under the covers, lol.
@insanehobbit that really was an insane post! I'm glad you framed it as a cinematic analysis. If you had written all that just to prove a ship.... .... 
Please tell us you're professionally involved in the film or game industry. This is way beyond hobby level intensity!
Aerith frame 20. Agree it's a bit of a weird shot. I noticed that too, looking right at the camera, talking to...us?
I love your lead up to the hug. It was like calling a horse race, or commentating a football game!
Please tell us you're professionally involved in the film or game industry. This is way beyond hobby level intensity!Aerith frame 20. Agree it's a bit of a weird shot. I noticed that too, looking right at the camera, talking to...us?
I love your lead up to the hug. It was like calling a horse race, or commentating a football game!
Yumelinh
Pro Adventurer
Nobody answered my pop quiz. I'm dropping you all into the sewer! Enjoy the sights and smells!
I'm in the minority here, but I'm happy with the subtleties of how CxT develop. I don't need to see a kiss, or what goes on in the bedroom. Ironically, we already see more of their bedroom than any other FF couple. Tifa's bedroom as a child (panty heist!)
Do we need to see Cecil and Rosa having kids before they are 'canon'? Squall and Rinoa don't live together yet, maybe their teenage summer love will fade. Zidane and Garnet finally hug after months apart. What commitment is shown there? And yet with Cloti, despite the bedroom shenanigans, despite their shared domestic life, despite their commitments, fans still want... a kiss onscreen? I don't get that. Well I get it, but I'm happy being in the minority.
That's not to say I don't want more. Sure, I'd like to see them bonding more as a family. Seeing Cloud being positive and supporting Tifa through her own tough times ("I'll be there to remind you..."), instead of reading about it in a novella translated on the internet (thanks for that, by the way).
And I'd like more of them fighting back to back, helping each other and accepting that help. Like what @Yumelinh shared above. Not this crap:
View attachment 6868
I can excuse Tifa for this particular scene because having Character A that is often the one who understands Character B more saying for the rest of the team (or to themselves) that they can't interfere in a certain fight because "It's personal" for character B and/or something they need to overcome on their own is such a recurring anime trope lol I wasn't even surprised they used this
But yeah, hope this time around we get to see the team against the world. As it should be
ForceStealer
Double Growth
I can excuse Tifa for this particular scene because having Character A that is often the one who understands Character B more saying for the rest of the team (or to themselves) that they can't interfere in a certain fight because "It's personal" for character B and/or something they need to overcome on their own is such a recurring anime trope lol I wasn't even surprised they used this
But yeah, hope this time around we get to see the team against the world. As it should be
Also, I feel like it should be pointed out that when Tifa said this, I don't think she was expecting a fight with Sephiroth. It was just Kadaj and the fight made it pretty clear that Cloud absolutely did not need help against him.
Had Sephiroth not dropped a giant negative lifestream storm around him when he showed up, I'm pretty confident the rest of the party would have jumped in to help.
Graymouse
Pro Adventurer
Sometimes you forget that Tifa and Cloud are such complex characters that play off each other so well. It is no wonder why they are so loved. These characters seem to have their stories written around each other so tightly that if you remove one or the other the story wouldn't make any sense.
Who knew that the girl next door would have such an impact on Cloud that he would go to the ends of the world for her...
Who knew that the girl next door would have such an impact on Cloud that he would go to the ends of the world for her...
Graymouse
Pro Adventurer
To go back a few pages, on the above discussion, I just ran across a video that might help explain this.
I think this is what Tifa was referring to during the "alone at last" scene. If you think about it, Cloud does asks Tifa if she needed to take a break. In which she responds that Marle isn't always right.
(I really think that in this video Marle was telling Tifa and Cloud to go to bed and get some sleep. You know, go sleep with each other in more or less words. To umh you know, loosen the stress that has built up for the past 5 years. yeah...yeah... that's good.)
Besides, at the end of the conversation Marle says "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Why would that sentence be added to the conversation. It wasn't needed.Anyways...
odekopeko
Pro Adventurer
- AKA
- Peko
Wow, @insanehobbit, just wow. I'm going to need to come back and reread it after I've taken a proper nap because there's so much to digest from your analysis of the camerawork done in the Resolution Scene Events.
I just really love that scene. The expression Cloud makes when he asked her, "Do you have any fancy clothes?" is just so precious. There's a bit of a smile at the corner of his lips. It felt like he was teasing her a little there. I just found that exchange so darn cute.
Edit: Here's him giving Tifa that cute af smile. He can't even hide it.
@iamhorde already mentioned the metal clanging from Cloud's gear, but I thought I heard their footsteps as well. I always assumed they walked back together.
Haha, it could be that. Or maybe Tifa doesn't agree with Marle that Cloud's just a guy with a big sword and no skills. She left the room looking pretty happy after their conversation.
I just really love that scene. The expression Cloud makes when he asked her, "Do you have any fancy clothes?" is just so precious. There's a bit of a smile at the corner of his lips. It felt like he was teasing her a little there. I just found that exchange so darn cute.
Edit: Here's him giving Tifa that cute af smile. He can't even hide it.
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insanehobbit
Pro Adventurer
@minami758 @JT77fp You guessed correctly! I work in the film/tv industry, though primarily with writers so I'm much more comfortable word vomiting about story analysis as I usually do than what I just did above. This sort of shot by shot breakdown is a bit out of my wheelhouse, but it was actually a pretty fun and educational endeavor for me personally (despite how time-consuming it ended up being). I won't try to claim any particular expertise here though. This is pretty much all stuff I've learned through osmosis over the years by having a Criterion Channel subscription and being friends with the kind of people who will literally have a 2 hour long discussion about aspect ratios, lol.
The Japanese dialogue would definitely seems like a better fit for the blocking of that particular shot though it still does feel a bit stilted. Aerith drops a pretty big bomb on him (two really, if you think about it) and they just....never address it again (within the resolution or even after)
Ah, you're right. The video I was working with I had ripped with no sound, so I could focus exclusively on the visuals of the scenes. Regardless, I do think the visual ellipsis we get is quite interesting in itself, which I'll get into a bit below.
LOL only because I realized I had to go to sleep before I could get to the ship proofz portion of my ramble. Now that I've watched and rewatched all three resolutions a troubling number of times, and "showed my work" as such in my last post, I can finally articulate my theory about "How the Chapter 14 Resolutions Collectively Prove that Cloud is in Love with Tifa and the Game Wants You to Notice". Just kidding (...I think)
In all seriousness, I do want to do a more holistic analysis of the three resolutions and what I think the devs were trying to convey. My last post kinda felt like me just regurgitating a bunch of statistics without ever explaining "So What?"
Okay, now you can have me committed
The Japanese dialogue would definitely seems like a better fit for the blocking of that particular shot though it still does feel a bit stilted. Aerith drops a pretty big bomb on him (two really, if you think about it) and they just....never address it again (within the resolution or even after)
On that last scene for Tifa's resolution, I believe there was a post here few pages back or perhaps it was on Twitter where people pointed out that you could hear the metal clanging sound that occurs when Cloud moves / walks, suggesting that as the camera panned up, Cloud and Tifa were either walking back or perhaps towards each other
Ah, you're right. The video I was working with I had ripped with no sound, so I could focus exclusively on the visuals of the scenes. Regardless, I do think the visual ellipsis we get is quite interesting in itself, which I'll get into a bit below.
If you had written all that just to prove a ship.... ....
LOL only because I realized I had to go to sleep before I could get to the ship proofz portion of my ramble. Now that I've watched and rewatched all three resolutions a troubling number of times, and "showed my work" as such in my last post, I can finally articulate my theory about "How the Chapter 14 Resolutions Collectively Prove that Cloud is in Love with Tifa and the Game Wants You to Notice". Just kidding (...I think)
In all seriousness, I do want to do a more holistic analysis of the three resolutions and what I think the devs were trying to convey. My last post kinda felt like me just regurgitating a bunch of statistics without ever explaining "So What?"
Barret's resolution is the one I struggled with the most. There are a lot of interesting and unique visuals at play, but I just couldn't figure out what they were trying to convey. I then realized that this was a consequence of the "story" the scene was trying to tell, or rather, the lack of.
Which is not to say it's a bad scene. I personally love it, and I'm glad we got it, but compared to the other two resolutions, there is an inherent lack of tension and conflict. We do start the scene with Barret being unable to sleep, and then feeling better after talking to Cloud, but I don't think the scene fundamentally changes our understanding of Barret's character, Cloud's character, nor the relationship between the two of them. Instead, it confirms something we pretty much know at this point: the two of them are bros.
My takeaway is that all the sweeping camera movements and lovely overhead shots are primarily there to keep the audience visually engaged in an otherwise very expository scene.
One thing that did stand out to me (and I feel comfortable sharing it in the Cloti FC) is that the dynamic between Cloud and Barret shifts (at least within the context of this scene) the moment that Barret mentions Tifa's name. Not only are they facing each other, but whereas the scene repeated a couple of visual beats prior to this moment, we get a new set of shots and angles moving forward. Cloud and Barret also share the frame more often, indicating they've grown just a tiny bit closer.
By no means am I saying this scene is actually about Tifa or Cloud and Tifa's relationship. By glancing at the thumbnails, it's obvious Barret has the bulk of the screentime here, and this is scene is clearly about Barret and his feelings. Cloud, on the other hand, is a fairly static character throughout this scene. The only time we see a reaction from him is when Tifa is mentioned (and the camera wants us to pay attention to this by cutting to him the moment he reacts). Barret also mentions both Jessie and Aerith by name in this scene, but neither Cloud nor the "camera" gives those instances the same treatment.
Am I over-analyzing this? Duh, but at the same time, this doesn't really tell us anything we didn't already know about Cloud. In an otherwise normal, genial conversation, mentioning Tifa (especially in the context of potential romantic competition) will provoke a reaction out of him.
---
Onto Aerith's resolution, which is by far the most controversial of the three, and I can see why.
I'll start by saying that with all the stuff surrounding the Whispers, and Fate and Aerith's knowledge of events that have yet to transpire, her depiction in the the Remake really feels like they're leaning into her as a Christ-like figure. This time around, it seems like she is aware of the sacrifice she will have to make. It's not something that just happens to her like it did in the OG.
To take that analogy further, Aerith's resolution scene very much feels like her 'Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane' moment. This is the night when Jesus knows he is about to be arrested and crucified. His knows his life on Earth has been leading up to that moment, and yet when it comes, he agonizes over it before finally accepting his fate.
While Sephiroth does not kill Aerith at the end of this game, the team coming to her rescue at the Shinra building does set off the series of events that will lead to her death. Her fun, flirty side pretty much disappears after this moment, which was not the case in the OG.
More than anything else, this scene has a deep sense of melancholy. If you look at the shot analysis graph, there are more long shots in this scene (10 seconds+) than in the other resolutions. Aerith is the sole or main subject in almost all of these shots. This scene is about Aerith's feelings as she's coming to terms with her fate. At the same time, with all these long interrupted takes, the game is also giving the audience the time and space to feel for her too and contemplate what she might be thinking in the moment.
In terms of how this scene plays out chronologically, I see it in 3 distinct parts.
Act 1 goes from shot (1) through (16). Here we still see a bit of the fun and flirty Aerith we've gotten to know throughout the game. She tries to convince Cloud that she does not need to be rescued, but it's a weak effort. She can't even convince herself.
Act 2 begins with (16) as she and Cloud turn towards the night sky. It's a pretty chatty scene up to this point, but there's no dialogue as Aerith turns to sky and prays. She talks about death, she talks about fate. She has agonized, but now she has accepted her fate. She looks to the viewer as if to say -- this will hurt, but this is her choice. Now, let's make the most of the time that we have left.
Act 3 begins with (22) as she turns to address Cloud. She has accepted her fate, and now she wants him to accept it too. To take this Jesus analogy all the way, we can think of her message to Cloud like Jesus's message to his disciples before he is arrested. She tells him that their time together is coming to an end and also hints at a future version of himself that he does not like. Obviously, Peter betraying Christ thrice before the rooster crows is in no way comparable to Cloud not being his real self, but the analogy kinda works up until then. And obviously, what Aerith says to Cloud is much more romantic in nature.
Act 3 is also really the only time this entire scene where Cloud's emotions are the focus. And what does he do with this information? Honestly, he just seems confused and frustrated, and this isn't resolved by the end of the scene. Does his character fundamentally change throughout the course of this resolution? Kind of? He starts off the scene pretty determined to rescue Aerith and ends the scene declaring that he is indeed going to rescue Aerith. He now just has the added baggage of being confused by his feelings for Aerith and also what Aerith may be implying about himself.
Religious allusions aside, Aerith's resolution scene is all about Aerith. I would say her character fundamentally transforms over the course of this scene. Cloud and his relationship Aerith also change, but the Aerith's personal evolution is far more drastic, imo.
---
Tifa's resolution is comparatively straightforward. It should come as no surprise that this the one I've rewatched the most before doing this analysis, but dissecting all three scenes and thus being able to compare them has been fairly enlightening.
Put the three shot breakdowns side by side, and one thing you might notice is that while Barret and Aerith are clearly the stars of their respective resolution, the same cannot be said for Tifa and her resolution.
We can actually quantify this:
-In Barret's resolution, he is the primary subject in (14/28) shots. For Aerith, it's (18/35). Tifa is in (9/34)
-How many shots have Cloud as the primary subject in these resolutions?: Barret's - (6/28); Aerith's - (10/35); Tifa's - (12/34)
-How many shots have both characters featured more or less equally?: Barret's - (8/28); Aerith's - (6/35); Tifa's - (12/34)
(obviously # of shots is not a perfect proxy for screentime, it gives us a good ballpark)
Unlike the other two resolutions, Tifa's scene is as much about Tifa as it is about Cloud as it is about their relationship together. More so than the other resolutions, the devs want us to think about the relationship between the two characters here. Now whether that relationship is romantic, platonic, or whatever, is up to the viewer.
I think we can also split Tifa's resolution into three distinct acts:
Act one - we start off the scene tracking Tifa's emotional arc. She can't sleep. There's clearly something that she needs to get off her chest, but she's Tifa, and being Tifa, she's going to take the scenic route getting to what she really wants to say. She starts on neutral ground - they're literally in a field of flowers so she comments on the flower Cloud gave her. Of course, that's not what she really wants to talk about, but she has to ease her way into it. Visually, Tifa's face is often distant or obscured. We want to know what she's really feeling, but she doesn't want to let us know. None of these shots here are intended to be from Cloud's POV, but based on certain angles and cuts, we can surmise these feelings are obscure to him as well.
Finally, we see her fist clench. She's going to do it. The person who never talks about her own feelings, always puts the well-being of others over herself, admits her own emotional devastation. This is a bold, brave step for her, but her next move is even braver.
Throughout the game, we've seen that (outside of action/life or death moments), Tifa has always been the one to put the distance between herself and Cloud. It's not because she doesn't like him. Rather, it's the opposite. He's her childhood crush. He's the only remaining tether she has to her past. By some sheer stroke of luck, he's come back into her life, and yet something is not quite right. She walks on eggshells around him. She wants him to stay, but she fears if that want is too obvious, that will make him leave. Tifa doesn't like being vulnerable in general. She's absolutely terrified of being vulnerable in front of Cloud.
And yet she is. Both emotionally, and now physically. She is the one who closes the distance between them this time -- almost. She gets them 99% of the way there, but Cloud has to be the one to take that last step.
Thus we move into Act 2 - as detailed in the Ultimania, this is where True!Cloud is trying to break out and take that final step. All throughout the game, he's constantly saving her from physical harm. That's something he's comfortable doing, playing the type of hero he thinks she wants. But he's also equally, if not more so, concerned about her emotional well-being. But he doesn't know what to do here other than say her name and clench his fist. He's not sure how to comfort her, and he doesn't feel like he deserves to. She was always that perfect, unobtainable someone to him as a child.
He's afraid he'll fail if he tries to comfort. But now, with her being so emotionally vulnerable and desperately needing comfort, he'll fail if he doesn't try. So after several excruciating moments, he finally hugs her. Our focus is still on him after the hug. As happy as we are that Tifa finally got her hug, she already had her big moment earlier. This one is about Cloud. You did it, boy!
As I mentioned earlier, the first pan away from the hug feels like a natural place to end the scene, but I realized that would give a sense of finality to their relationship that we know is not the case. They have a long road yet to travel.
So we begin Act 3 - where Cloud realizes he hugged Tifa too hard. His greatest fear is realized, he fucked it up. While Tifa doesn't seem to think so, the moment is lost. There's distance between them again. Not nearly as much as before. They still want to close that distance. We want to see them close that distance, but we don't get that in this scene. Their story is to be continued.
In summary, I would say Tifa's resolution is a pivotal moment of character development for both Tifa and Cloud. Two people who are terrified of being vulnerable allow themselves to be vulnerable in front of each other. And as is true for the entire Compilation, so much of their development as individuals is wrapped up in their relationship with each other.
Which is not to say it's a bad scene. I personally love it, and I'm glad we got it, but compared to the other two resolutions, there is an inherent lack of tension and conflict. We do start the scene with Barret being unable to sleep, and then feeling better after talking to Cloud, but I don't think the scene fundamentally changes our understanding of Barret's character, Cloud's character, nor the relationship between the two of them. Instead, it confirms something we pretty much know at this point: the two of them are bros.
My takeaway is that all the sweeping camera movements and lovely overhead shots are primarily there to keep the audience visually engaged in an otherwise very expository scene.
One thing that did stand out to me (and I feel comfortable sharing it in the Cloti FC) is that the dynamic between Cloud and Barret shifts (at least within the context of this scene) the moment that Barret mentions Tifa's name. Not only are they facing each other, but whereas the scene repeated a couple of visual beats prior to this moment, we get a new set of shots and angles moving forward. Cloud and Barret also share the frame more often, indicating they've grown just a tiny bit closer.
By no means am I saying this scene is actually about Tifa or Cloud and Tifa's relationship. By glancing at the thumbnails, it's obvious Barret has the bulk of the screentime here, and this is scene is clearly about Barret and his feelings. Cloud, on the other hand, is a fairly static character throughout this scene. The only time we see a reaction from him is when Tifa is mentioned (and the camera wants us to pay attention to this by cutting to him the moment he reacts). Barret also mentions both Jessie and Aerith by name in this scene, but neither Cloud nor the "camera" gives those instances the same treatment.
Am I over-analyzing this? Duh, but at the same time, this doesn't really tell us anything we didn't already know about Cloud. In an otherwise normal, genial conversation, mentioning Tifa (especially in the context of potential romantic competition) will provoke a reaction out of him.
---
Onto Aerith's resolution, which is by far the most controversial of the three, and I can see why.
I'll start by saying that with all the stuff surrounding the Whispers, and Fate and Aerith's knowledge of events that have yet to transpire, her depiction in the the Remake really feels like they're leaning into her as a Christ-like figure. This time around, it seems like she is aware of the sacrifice she will have to make. It's not something that just happens to her like it did in the OG.
To take that analogy further, Aerith's resolution scene very much feels like her 'Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane' moment. This is the night when Jesus knows he is about to be arrested and crucified. His knows his life on Earth has been leading up to that moment, and yet when it comes, he agonizes over it before finally accepting his fate.
While Sephiroth does not kill Aerith at the end of this game, the team coming to her rescue at the Shinra building does set off the series of events that will lead to her death. Her fun, flirty side pretty much disappears after this moment, which was not the case in the OG.
More than anything else, this scene has a deep sense of melancholy. If you look at the shot analysis graph, there are more long shots in this scene (10 seconds+) than in the other resolutions. Aerith is the sole or main subject in almost all of these shots. This scene is about Aerith's feelings as she's coming to terms with her fate. At the same time, with all these long interrupted takes, the game is also giving the audience the time and space to feel for her too and contemplate what she might be thinking in the moment.
In terms of how this scene plays out chronologically, I see it in 3 distinct parts.
Act 1 goes from shot (1) through (16). Here we still see a bit of the fun and flirty Aerith we've gotten to know throughout the game. She tries to convince Cloud that she does not need to be rescued, but it's a weak effort. She can't even convince herself.
Act 2 begins with (16) as she and Cloud turn towards the night sky. It's a pretty chatty scene up to this point, but there's no dialogue as Aerith turns to sky and prays. She talks about death, she talks about fate. She has agonized, but now she has accepted her fate. She looks to the viewer as if to say -- this will hurt, but this is her choice. Now, let's make the most of the time that we have left.
Act 3 begins with (22) as she turns to address Cloud. She has accepted her fate, and now she wants him to accept it too. To take this Jesus analogy all the way, we can think of her message to Cloud like Jesus's message to his disciples before he is arrested. She tells him that their time together is coming to an end and also hints at a future version of himself that he does not like. Obviously, Peter betraying Christ thrice before the rooster crows is in no way comparable to Cloud not being his real self, but the analogy kinda works up until then. And obviously, what Aerith says to Cloud is much more romantic in nature.
Act 3 is also really the only time this entire scene where Cloud's emotions are the focus. And what does he do with this information? Honestly, he just seems confused and frustrated, and this isn't resolved by the end of the scene. Does his character fundamentally change throughout the course of this resolution? Kind of? He starts off the scene pretty determined to rescue Aerith and ends the scene declaring that he is indeed going to rescue Aerith. He now just has the added baggage of being confused by his feelings for Aerith and also what Aerith may be implying about himself.
Religious allusions aside, Aerith's resolution scene is all about Aerith. I would say her character fundamentally transforms over the course of this scene. Cloud and his relationship Aerith also change, but the Aerith's personal evolution is far more drastic, imo.
---
Tifa's resolution is comparatively straightforward. It should come as no surprise that this the one I've rewatched the most before doing this analysis, but dissecting all three scenes and thus being able to compare them has been fairly enlightening.
Put the three shot breakdowns side by side, and one thing you might notice is that while Barret and Aerith are clearly the stars of their respective resolution, the same cannot be said for Tifa and her resolution.
We can actually quantify this:
-In Barret's resolution, he is the primary subject in (14/28) shots. For Aerith, it's (18/35). Tifa is in (9/34)
-How many shots have Cloud as the primary subject in these resolutions?: Barret's - (6/28); Aerith's - (10/35); Tifa's - (12/34)
-How many shots have both characters featured more or less equally?: Barret's - (8/28); Aerith's - (6/35); Tifa's - (12/34)
(obviously # of shots is not a perfect proxy for screentime, it gives us a good ballpark)
Unlike the other two resolutions, Tifa's scene is as much about Tifa as it is about Cloud as it is about their relationship together. More so than the other resolutions, the devs want us to think about the relationship between the two characters here. Now whether that relationship is romantic, platonic, or whatever, is up to the viewer.
I think we can also split Tifa's resolution into three distinct acts:
Act one - we start off the scene tracking Tifa's emotional arc. She can't sleep. There's clearly something that she needs to get off her chest, but she's Tifa, and being Tifa, she's going to take the scenic route getting to what she really wants to say. She starts on neutral ground - they're literally in a field of flowers so she comments on the flower Cloud gave her. Of course, that's not what she really wants to talk about, but she has to ease her way into it. Visually, Tifa's face is often distant or obscured. We want to know what she's really feeling, but she doesn't want to let us know. None of these shots here are intended to be from Cloud's POV, but based on certain angles and cuts, we can surmise these feelings are obscure to him as well.
Finally, we see her fist clench. She's going to do it. The person who never talks about her own feelings, always puts the well-being of others over herself, admits her own emotional devastation. This is a bold, brave step for her, but her next move is even braver.
Throughout the game, we've seen that (outside of action/life or death moments), Tifa has always been the one to put the distance between herself and Cloud. It's not because she doesn't like him. Rather, it's the opposite. He's her childhood crush. He's the only remaining tether she has to her past. By some sheer stroke of luck, he's come back into her life, and yet something is not quite right. She walks on eggshells around him. She wants him to stay, but she fears if that want is too obvious, that will make him leave. Tifa doesn't like being vulnerable in general. She's absolutely terrified of being vulnerable in front of Cloud.
And yet she is. Both emotionally, and now physically. She is the one who closes the distance between them this time -- almost. She gets them 99% of the way there, but Cloud has to be the one to take that last step.
Thus we move into Act 2 - as detailed in the Ultimania, this is where True!Cloud is trying to break out and take that final step. All throughout the game, he's constantly saving her from physical harm. That's something he's comfortable doing, playing the type of hero he thinks she wants. But he's also equally, if not more so, concerned about her emotional well-being. But he doesn't know what to do here other than say her name and clench his fist. He's not sure how to comfort her, and he doesn't feel like he deserves to. She was always that perfect, unobtainable someone to him as a child.
He's afraid he'll fail if he tries to comfort. But now, with her being so emotionally vulnerable and desperately needing comfort, he'll fail if he doesn't try. So after several excruciating moments, he finally hugs her. Our focus is still on him after the hug. As happy as we are that Tifa finally got her hug, she already had her big moment earlier. This one is about Cloud. You did it, boy!
As I mentioned earlier, the first pan away from the hug feels like a natural place to end the scene, but I realized that would give a sense of finality to their relationship that we know is not the case. They have a long road yet to travel.
So we begin Act 3 - where Cloud realizes he hugged Tifa too hard. His greatest fear is realized, he fucked it up. While Tifa doesn't seem to think so, the moment is lost. There's distance between them again. Not nearly as much as before. They still want to close that distance. We want to see them close that distance, but we don't get that in this scene. Their story is to be continued.
In summary, I would say Tifa's resolution is a pivotal moment of character development for both Tifa and Cloud. Two people who are terrified of being vulnerable allow themselves to be vulnerable in front of each other. And as is true for the entire Compilation, so much of their development as individuals is wrapped up in their relationship with each other.
Okay, now you can have me committed
Eerie
Fire and Blood
@insanehobbit that is such a great post, thank you! I’m saving my answer for later cause I feel I need to break that down properly! Edit: awe you’ve done a better job than what I could have, but the interesting point is certainly that in the Ultimania, in the resolutions part, only Tifa’s resolution shows Cloud (since they show the hug), so I’ve notices and thought this was a rather interesting choice. For comparison Barret is shot 26 and Aerith’s is 35a, Tifa’s 24b. Like, I felt they could have chosen easily a later shot for her, that “her” pain was not erased yet (which is what this is primarily about), but they went for this specific hug shot.
Since Nojima talked about how much Cloud wanted to comfort Tifa, I felt that this was also his resolution - the epitome of several chapters of him noticing Tifa’s pain, learning how to comfort, and finally doing it. To me this was an as important Tifa moment then a Cloud moment, and finally a cloti moment by having them closing that distance, which allowed both of them to be reunited and give/receive that comfort. It’s even more interesting since Tifa’s theme is both of them talking together with the reunion theme. As such, I feel that the Ultimania definitely singles out the Tifa resolution by putting something that is really romantic as a gesture (even if it’s not in this case), but also showing that Cloud is really important there, that he also is in the shot contrarily to the other 2 resolutions’ shots.
And definitely this shows in your analysis, so thank you for sharing!
@odekopeko haha Cloud is so proud of himself ?
Since Nojima talked about how much Cloud wanted to comfort Tifa, I felt that this was also his resolution - the epitome of several chapters of him noticing Tifa’s pain, learning how to comfort, and finally doing it. To me this was an as important Tifa moment then a Cloud moment, and finally a cloti moment by having them closing that distance, which allowed both of them to be reunited and give/receive that comfort. It’s even more interesting since Tifa’s theme is both of them talking together with the reunion theme. As such, I feel that the Ultimania definitely singles out the Tifa resolution by putting something that is really romantic as a gesture (even if it’s not in this case), but also showing that Cloud is really important there, that he also is in the shot contrarily to the other 2 resolutions’ shots.
And definitely this shows in your analysis, so thank you for sharing!
@odekopeko haha Cloud is so proud of himself ?
Edley
Pray for Sound
- AKA
- Issac Dian, Dudley, Chev Chelios
Sorry @insanehobbit I completely forgot you posted the drawing here before lol
All of this just in Part 1! ;--;
That glare at the end:
Nah, Avalanche knows Cloud's going to fight Sephiroth. We just get the screenwriting equivalent of covering a plot hole with wax paper.
https://thelifestream.net/advent-children/the-advent-children-complete-script/ said:
So from the filmmakers POV this scene is doing a bit of heavy lifting:
1. Tell the audience Kadaj is only a precursor to Sephiroth returning.
2. Tell the audience that Avalanche will not be involved in the Cloud v. Sephiroth fight.
3. Tell the audience that the video game version of these characters are better than the current ones.
I'm sure 15 years ago it was cost prohibitive to animate the rest of Avalanche into the last battle, but this scene is painful on multiple levels. We just saw Avalanche team up to take down a giant dragon, so they're not that rusty. Cloud's geostigma was healed in literally the scene prior with no one to witness it. But Tifa and Vincent have a hunch that Cloud's better off soloing the resurrected demigod who tried to destroy the planet with a giant rock from outer space. So let's go with that?
This is what happens when a video game company writes a film to set pieces rather than characters and story. They could have salvaged it too, just have the airship show up just as the reunion is occurring and have Sephiroth flick the thing away with one of his nega-lifestream tornadoes.
Graymouse
Pro Adventurer
@insanehobbit Great analysis as always. It must have taken you a really long time to type all that out. I enjoyed reading it. Afterwards I went on youtube looking at videos of the three resolutions and I scrolled down to the comments sections and quickly realized that there are a lot of people who need to read the FF7R Ultimania. I am really looking forward to it being translated over into English.
@minami758 @JT77fp You guessed correctly! I work in the film/tv industry, though primarily with writers so I'm much more comfortable word vomiting about story analysis as I usually do than what I just did above. This sort of shot by shot breakdown is a bit out of my wheelhouse, but it was actually a pretty fun and educational endeavor for me personally (despite how time-consuming it ended up being). I won't try to claim any particular expertise here though. This is pretty much all stuff I've learned through osmosis over the years by having a Criterion Channel subscription and being friends with the kind of people who will literally have a 2 hour long discussion about aspect ratios, lol.
The Japanese dialogue would definitely seems like a better fit for the blocking of that particular shot though it still does feel a bit stilted. Aerith drops a pretty big bomb on him (two really, if you think about it) and they just....never address it again (within the resolution or even after)
Ah, you're right. The video I was working with I had ripped with no sound, so I could focus exclusively on the visuals of the scenes. Regardless, I do think the visual ellipsis we get is quite interesting in itself, which I'll get into a bit below.
LOL only because I realized I had to go to sleep before I could get to the ship proofz portion of my ramble. Now that I've watched and rewatched all three resolutions a troubling number of times, and "showed my work" as such in my last post, I can finally articulate my theory about "How the Chapter 14 Resolutions Collectively Prove that Cloud is in Love with Tifa and the Game Wants You to Notice". Just kidding (...I think)
In all seriousness, I do want to do a more holistic analysis of the three resolutions and what I think the devs were trying to convey. My last post kinda felt like me just regurgitating a bunch of statistics without ever explaining "So What?"
Barret's resolution is the one I struggled with the most. There are a lot of interesting and unique visuals at play, but I just couldn't figure out what they were trying to convey. I then realized that this was a consequence of the "story" the scene was trying to tell, or rather, the lack of.
Which is not to say it's a bad scene. I personally love it, and I'm glad we got it, but compared to the other two resolutions, there is an inherent lack of tension and conflict. We do start the scene with Barret being unable to sleep, and then feeling better after talking to Cloud, but I don't think the scene fundamentally changes our understanding of Barret's character, Cloud's character, nor the relationship between the two of them. Instead, it confirms something we pretty much know at this point: the two of them are bros.
My takeaway is that all the sweeping camera movements and lovely overhead shots are primarily there to keep the audience visually engaged in an otherwise very expository scene.
One thing that did stand out to me (and I feel comfortable sharing it in the Cloti FC) is that the dynamic between Cloud and Barret shifts (at least within the context of this scene) the moment that Barret mentions Tifa's name. Not only are they facing each other, but whereas the scene repeated a couple of visual beats prior to this moment, we get a new set of shots and angles moving forward. Cloud and Barret also share the frame more often, indicating they've grown just a tiny bit closer.
By no means am I saying this scene is actually about Tifa or Cloud and Tifa's relationship. By glancing at the thumbnails, it's obvious Barret has the bulk of the screentime here, and this is scene is clearly about Barret and his feelings. Cloud, on the other hand, is a fairly static character throughout this scene. The only time we see a reaction from him is when Tifa is mentioned (and the camera wants us to pay attention to this by cutting to him the moment he reacts). Barret also mentions both Jessie and Aerith by name in this scene, but neither Cloud nor the "camera" gives those instances the same treatment.
Am I over-analyzing this? Duh, but at the same time, this doesn't really tell us anything we didn't already know about Cloud. In an otherwise normal, genial conversation, mentioning Tifa (especially in the context of potential romantic competition) will provoke a reaction out of him.
---
Onto Aerith's resolution, which is by far the most controversial of the three, and I can see why.
I'll start by saying that with all the stuff surrounding the Whispers, and Fate and Aerith's knowledge of events that have yet to transpire, her depiction in the the Remake really feels like they're leaning into her as a Christ-like figure. This time around, it seems like she is aware of the sacrifice she will have to make. It's not something that just happens to her like it did in the OG.
To take that analogy further, Aerith's resolution scene very much feels like her 'Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane' moment. This is the night when Jesus knows he is about to be arrested and crucified. His knows his life on Earth has been leading up to that moment, and yet when it comes, he agonizes over it before finally accepting his fate.
While Sephiroth does not kill Aerith at the end of this game, the team coming to her rescue at the Shinra building does set off the series of events that will lead to her death. Her fun, flirty side pretty much disappears after this moment, which was not the case in the OG.
More than anything else, this scene has a deep sense of melancholy. If you look at the shot analysis graph, there are more long shots in this scene (10 seconds+) than in the other resolutions. Aerith is the sole or main subject in almost all of these shots. This scene is about Aerith's feelings as she's coming to terms with her fate. At the same time, with all these long interrupted takes, the game is also giving the audience the time and space to feel for her too and contemplate what she might be thinking in the moment.
In terms of how this scene plays out chronologically, I see it in 3 distinct parts.
Act 1 goes from shot (1) through (16). Here we still see a bit of the fun and flirty Aerith we've gotten to know throughout the game. She tries to convince Cloud that she does not need to be rescued, but it's a weak effort. She can't even convince herself.
Act 2 begins with (16) as she and Cloud turn towards the night sky. It's a pretty chatty scene up to this point, but there's no dialogue as Aerith turns to sky and prays. She talks about death, she talks about fate. She has agonized, but now she has accepted her fate. She looks to the viewer as if to say -- this will hurt, but this is her choice. Now, let's make the most of the time that we have left.
Act 3 begins with (22) as she turns to address Cloud. She has accepted her fate, and now she wants him to accept it too. To take this Jesus analogy all the way, we can think of her message to Cloud like Jesus's message to his disciples before he is arrested. She tells him that their time together is coming to an end and also hints at a future version of himself that he does not like. Obviously, Peter betraying Christ thrice before the rooster crows is in no way comparable to Cloud not being his real self, but the analogy kinda works up until then. And obviously, what Aerith says to Cloud is much more romantic in nature.
Act 3 is also really the only time this entire scene where Cloud's emotions are the focus. And what does he do with this information? Honestly, he just seems confused and frustrated, and this isn't resolved by the end of the scene. Does his character fundamentally change throughout the course of this resolution? Kind of? He starts off the scene pretty determined to rescue Aerith and ends the scene declaring that he is indeed going to rescue Aerith. He now just has the added baggage of being confused by his feelings for Aerith and also what Aerith may be implying about himself.
Religious allusions aside, Aerith's resolution scene is all about Aerith. I would say her character fundamentally transforms over the course of this scene. Cloud and his relationship Aerith also change, but the Aerith's personal evolution is far more drastic, imo.
---
Tifa's resolution is comparatively straightforward. It should come as no surprise that this the one I've rewatched the most before doing this analysis, but dissecting all three scenes and thus being able to compare them has been fairly enlightening.
Put the three shot breakdowns side by side, and one thing you might notice is that while Barret and Aerith are clearly the stars of their respective resolution, the same cannot be said for Tifa and her resolution.
We can actually quantify this:
-In Barret's resolution, he is the primary subject in (14/28) shots. For Aerith, it's (18/35). Tifa is in (9/34)
-How many shots have Cloud as the primary subject in these resolutions?: Barret's - (6/28); Aerith's - (10/35); Tifa's - (12/34)
-How many shots have both characters featured more or less equally?: Barret's - (8/28); Aerith's - (6/35); Tifa's - (12/34)
(obviously # of shots is not a perfect proxy for screentime, it gives us a good ballpark)
Unlike the other two resolutions, Tifa's scene is as much about Tifa as it is about Cloud as it is about their relationship together. More so than the other resolutions, the devs want us to think about the relationship between the two characters here. Now whether that relationship is romantic, platonic, or whatever, is up to the viewer.
I think we can also split Tifa's resolution into three distinct acts:
Act one - we start off the scene tracking Tifa's emotional arc. She can't sleep. There's clearly something that she needs to get off her chest, but she's Tifa, and being Tifa, she's going to take the scenic route getting to what she really wants to say. She starts on neutral ground - they're literally in a field of flowers so she comments on the flower Cloud gave her. Of course, that's not what she really wants to talk about, but she has to ease her way into it. Visually, Tifa's face is often distant or obscured. We want to know what she's really feeling, but she doesn't want to let us know. None of these shots here are intended to be from Cloud's POV, but based on certain angles and cuts, we can surmise these feelings are obscure to him as well.
Finally, we see her fist clench. She's going to do it. The person who never talks about her own feelings, always puts the well-being of others over herself, admits her own emotional devastation. This is a bold, brave step for her, but her next move is even braver.
Throughout the game, we've seen that (outside of action/life or death moments), Tifa has always been the one to put the distance between herself and Cloud. It's not because she doesn't like him. Rather, it's the opposite. He's her childhood crush. He's the only remaining tether she has to her past. By some sheer stroke of luck, he's come back into her life, and yet something is not quite right. She walks on eggshells around him. She wants him to stay, but she fears if that want is too obvious, that will make him leave. Tifa doesn't like being vulnerable in general. She's absolutely terrified of being vulnerable in front of Cloud.
And yet she is. Both emotionally, and now physically. She is the one who closes the distance between them this time -- almost. She gets them 99% of the way there, but Cloud has to be the one to take that last step.
Thus we move into Act 2 - as detailed in the Ultimania, this is where True!Cloud is trying to break out and take that final step. All throughout the game, he's constantly saving her from physical harm. That's something he's comfortable doing, playing the type of hero he thinks she wants. But he's also equally, if not more so, concerned about her emotional well-being. But he doesn't know what to do here other than say her name and clench his fist. He's not sure how to comfort her, and he doesn't feel like he deserves to. She was always that perfect, unobtainable someone to him as a child.
He's afraid he'll fail if he tries to comfort. But now, with her being so emotionally vulnerable and desperately needing comfort, he'll fail if he doesn't try. So after several excruciating moments, he finally hugs her. Our focus is still on him after the hug. As happy as we are that Tifa finally got her hug, she already had her big moment earlier. This one is about Cloud. You did it, boy!
As I mentioned earlier, the first pan away from the hug feels like a natural place to end the scene, but I realized that would give a sense of finality to their relationship that we know is not the case. They have a long road yet to travel.
So we begin Act 3 - where Cloud realizes he hugged Tifa too hard. His greatest fear is realized, he fucked it up. While Tifa doesn't seem to think so, the moment is lost. There's distance between them again. Not nearly as much as before. They still want to close that distance. We want to see them close that distance, but we don't get that in this scene. Their story is to be continued.
In summary, I would say Tifa's resolution is a pivotal moment of character development for both Tifa and Cloud. Two people who are terrified of being vulnerable allow themselves to be vulnerable in front of each other. And as is true for the entire Compilation, so much of their development as individuals is wrapped up in their relationship with each other.
Okay, now you can have me committed
I concur with the others saying that was a great post. I always feel that the early scenes with the flower explain why Tifa decides to be more pro-active with the hug, I think she makes the decision to do so because of the combination of "but now it's dead and buried, like our home, the bar, everything else" together with "holy shit, Aerith gave him that flower, I knew something was going on, it's happening again, I am losing the last thing I have left, I have to do something".
I fully believe that if Tifa wasn't in some way threatened by Aerith, she might not have had the courage to be so straightforward.
The scene really goes from "Aerith gave you flower" => "I am losing everything" => "Decision" => "fucking hug me!".
Likewise, when she touches him you also see about a 1000 thoughts go through Clouds mind as he desperately tries to wrack his brain for the correct thing to do. As if this is complicated, but his Soldier persona has no answer programmed in for this.
He's trying to answer "should I hug her" based on some sort of reasonable logical answer, "Is it the correct thing to do?" He's trying to think it through beyond the hug itself.
But the answer is the most simple one, don't think about it, don't 'pretend', just do what comes naturally IN THE MOMENT, just do what YOU want to do, what the real Cloud wants to do, which is "just freaking hug her".
I don't agree that his arms are doing nothing, they are slightly bent, they look like they're already stuck in between two states "should I, or shouldn't I". And the answer is "don't follow your brain, don't follow your fake persona, follow your heart". And then the conflict ends and his arms take a side, if you will.
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@insanehobbit great stuff! It really gave me an insight to crafting scenes and using the camera positions to emphasize emotions. Particularly with Aerith's:
But you're still crazy!
I can imagine there might be a bit of tense conversation that night at the dinner table.
Tifa: So Cloud, you wanna fool around after the kids go to bed? I'll put on those black stockings you like...
Cloud: Oh no thanks dear. I'm quite sore. I did just get shot you know.
Tifa: ...
Cloud: Yeah and skewered too. I'm getting a bit sick of that....getting skewered on the masamune. So you know, next time you think there's a chance I could get skewered again, even if it's just a little chance, please... for the love of God....throw me some fucking materia, woman!!
What you wrote there explained it very well. It gives a sense of melancholy, which I felt while watching, without being able to put my finger on it until I read that.
But you're still crazy!
Yah, so thanks for posting the entire dialogue and making us all relive it!
I can imagine there might be a bit of tense conversation that night at the dinner table.
Tifa: So Cloud, you wanna fool around after the kids go to bed? I'll put on those black stockings you like...
Cloud: Oh no thanks dear. I'm quite sore. I did just get shot you know.
Tifa: ...
Cloud: Yeah and skewered too. I'm getting a bit sick of that....getting skewered on the masamune. So you know, next time you think there's a chance I could get skewered again, even if it's just a little chance, please... for the love of God....throw me some fucking materia, woman!!
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odekopeko
Pro Adventurer
- AKA
- Peko
Some fanarts I saw today that I really liked: