Teaser Trailer Pros and Cons?

[templar7]

I feel quite satisfied with what this long awaited preview provided. Not blown away... Just satisfied and relieved.

 

Pros

• The environmental setting is spot on! 100%
• The Fade looks savage! 100%
• Tar Valon & Dragonmount...  Priceless

Cons

• Nynaeve looked a bit to cheerful?
• Music? Nothing compelling so far...

 

Thoughts?

  

Edited September 3, 2021 by templar7

[CaddySedai]

Honestly they could have had stick figures on a white background and I would have been "Yeeeeeeah, Wheel of Time finally!" That being said I agree with what you said, although with the cons I have to say they have made some character modifications to make the story more watch compelling. Like rand seems way less "naive" and innocent based on the more intimate scenes they teases. And yeah Nyn seemed a bit cheerful but maybe they plan to focus less on the "resting b***h face" aspect so people can visually interpret when she's actually annoyed lol. 

 

With that said I plan to treat a teaser with kids gloves and hope to learn a bit more in a full trailer before release. They usually have more dialogue so we can learn attitude.

 

though I gotta say Im stoked about the "Big Power" scene they showed. Its less "colorful" than the weaving I always pictured in my minds eye...but the flows and meshing is spot on. And I'm wondering if they plan to show that for all big power ...and maybe this is what a non-channeler sees...and maybe from a channelers view we might see more in depth weaving? Or maybe in Azn Prime Randland they are one in the same.. So many questions ?

[templar7]

14 minutes ago, CaddySedai said:

Honestly they could have had stick figures on a white background and I would have been "Yeeeeeeah, Wheel of Time finally!" That being said I agree with what you said, although with the cons I have to say they have made some character modifications to make the story more watch compelling. Like rand seems way less "naive" and innocent based on the more intimate scenes they teases. And yeah Nyn seemed a bit cheerful but maybe they plan to focus less on the "resting b***h face" aspect so people can visually interpret when she's actually annoyed lol. 

 

With that said I plan to treat a teaser with kids gloves and hope to learn a bit more in a full trailer before release. They usually have more dialogue so we can learn attitude.

 

though I gotta say Im stoked about the "Big Power" scene they showed. Its less "colorful" than the weaving I always pictured in my minds eye...but the flows and meshing is spot on. And I'm wondering if they plan to show that for all big power ...and maybe this is what a non-channeler sees...and maybe from a channelers view we might see more in depth weaving? Or maybe in Azn Prime Randland they are one in the same.. So many questions ?

Your first Comment on modification is well put and I see your point. Totally makes sense.

I'm also on page with you regarding channeling, and how it will be presented. Both from a character POV as well as a viewer.

[Borderlander]

9 hours ago, CaddySedai said:

though I gotta say Im stoked about the "Big Power" scene they showed. Its less "colorful" than the weaving I always pictured in my minds eye...but the flows and meshing is spot on. And I'm wondering if they plan to show that for all big power ...and maybe this is what a non-channeler sees...and maybe from a channelers view we might see more in depth weaving? 

 

I think this is a great call for a couple reasons:

 

1) The teaser shows Healing, Stopping Arrows in Mid-Air, and Calling Down Lightning, and, on the male side, Busting Out Of A Cage (am I missing anything?) and they all use the same generic-looking CGI for the One Power. No real differentiation whatsoever between what 'elements' are being used. Seems a little suspect. Very possible this is just a simplistic visual representation for the TV viewer... though what the other non-channeling characters 'see' remains to be seen. (I mean, they're not supposed to see anything, right? Let alone a bunch of silky strands of white magic floating through the air.)

 

Possible Counterpoint: The producers just decided all the in-depth stuff about 'weaving' is too much for normal viewers to make sense of, so they abandoned the five elements and the idea that separate 'thread's would be 'woven' together like a tapestry altogether. Some people have also suggested this might be the case so that casual viewers don't assume only the Red Ajah channels fire and the Blue Ajah channels water, etc. If that is the case.... ?

 

2) At some point, Rafe said the design team did an awesome job on what channeling looks like. (I forget what interview this was, but I definitely remember him saying they worked at it, came up with a great style/concept, and he was excited to share it.) What we saw in this teaser—generic air-bending that looks like the home screen on my Playstation—hardly seems like an artistic accomplishment worthy of that sort of hype/praise. 

 

Possible Counterpoint: Rafe says everybody is doing an amazing job, because he's a nice guy.

 

 

All that said... I sort of hate to admit it, but maybe this is what channeling looks like—and maybe it's supposed to! SinisterDeath posted a snippet from Robert Jordan in another forum that basically describes channeling almost exactly like what we saw in the teaser. No colors. No tapestry-like patterns. So... 

 

Maybe, just maybe, when Moiraine is teaching Egwene for the first time, or in other rare instances where the channeler is really focusing, the camera can 'zoom in' or go into 'channeler mode' and we can see them like almost at an atomic level 'weaving' fire and air and water and so forth into complex threads and patterns, but that would be CGI-heavy and probably not practical to do for more than a few shots. And then when they 'zoom out' again, it's just the nebulous silvery magic again.

 

 

[Agitel]

10 minutes ago, Borderlander said:

Maybe, just maybe, when Moiraine is teaching Egwene for the first time, or in other rare instances where the channeler is really focusing, the camera can 'zoom in' or go into 'channeler mode' and we can see them like almost at an atomic level 'weaving' fire and air and water and so forth into complex threads and patterns, but that would be CGI-heavy and probably not practical to do for more than a few shots. And then when they 'zoom out' again, it's just the nebulous silvery magic again.

 

This is what I'm hoping for. Explain it to the viewer while Moiraine is teaching, or Egwene/Nynaeve are being taught, and then start to introduce some color.

[Beidomon]

Pros:

- Could have been so much worse.

- I think Rand/Perrin/Mat all look pretty great.

- The action stuff looks high quality.

- The baddies look great.

- We're gonna see plenty or Reds and Logain in S1, which will be welcome additions.

- Shadar Logoth looks great.

- Egwene actually looks better than I thought. I'm less worried about her.

- What music there was sounded pretty great.

 

Cons:

- The faces, costumes, and colors look kinda YA-TV in my opinion. This and the W word are my biggest worries now.

- Several scenes in the trailer are adding content to S1 that wasn't in the books - and that's fine (see Logain) - as long as it's good content. But I dunno about the whole paint pool and shoving into river stuff.

- Not sold on Nynaeve's look and accent. We will see.

- Lan looks a little too young.

- Rand and Nyn are gettin' bizay. Not sure about that at all.

[templar7]

5 hours ago, Beidomon said:

Pros:

- Could have been so much worse.

- I think Rand/Perrin/Mat all look pretty great.

- The action stuff looks high quality.

- The baddies look great.

- We're gonna see plenty or Reds and Logain in S1, which will be welcome additions.

- Shadar Logoth looks great.

- Egwene actually looks better than I thought. I'm less worried about her.

- What music there was sounded pretty great.

 

Cons:

- The faces, costumes, and colors look kinda YA-TV in my opinion. This and the W word are my biggest worries now.

- Several scenes in the trailer are adding content to S1 that wasn't in the books - and that's fine (see Logain) - as long as it's good content. But I dunno about the whole paint pool and shoving into river stuff.

- Not sold on Nynaeve's look and accent. We will see.

- Lan looks a little too young.

- Rand and Nyn are gettin' bizay. Not sure about that at all.

Great points. The W word has always been, and remains my biggest fear for the show.

I only disagree on the Music (It did nothing for me) and costumes (I'm neutral)

Also, I'm pretty sure that was Egeween and Rand, not Nyn.

[Beidomon]

27 minutes ago, templar7 said:

Great points. The W word has always been, and remains my biggest fear for the show.

I only disagree on the Music (It did nothing for me) and costumes (I'm neutral)

Also, I'm pretty sure that was Egeween and Rand, not Nyn.

Ha ha oops. Yeah rAnd and Nyn would be problematic. 

[Guire]

Pros:

Casting looks very good from limited amount viewed.  I figured changes with agelessness and some ages of major characters would be adjusted.  So good so far.

 

Quality of filming looks excellent.

 

Horror elements look well thought out even if not my head cannon.

 

Cons:

Putting Emonds Field in narrow mountain valley instead of foothills to plains below mountains is going to really mess with Battle of 2 Rivers.  I hope the wonderful battle scenes from books don't get mangled.

 

Not in love with costuming.  Like the colors and materials.  Its more the actual cuts of some clothing seems weird.  Moraine's dress is great.  hated Siuan's dress and stole.  I wanted shawls and normal stole. 

 

[Ararana24]

So I started to look at this show as a different turning of the wheel than the books, and it's given my mind enough of a separation that I can sit down and actually enjoy this adaptation. 

 

Pros:

- Scenery looks fantastic. Seriously good. It's not how I pictured Tar Valon but I can get behind it. Emond's Field and Shadar Logoth are spot on for me.

- We haven't really gotten to see anything of the three boys, zero lines in the teaser, but Mat is rivaling Moraine as the most spot of casting for me. If there was one character I wanted them to absolutely nail, I would have chosen Mat. Barney is going to be a damn baller if this show gets far enough to cover his transformation in Shadow Rising. Kinda wish they didn't give him a full beard this early though.

- Pike as Moraine. What can I say, she's perfect. That is one face I'm completely okay with replacing my head cannon face.

- Didn't get to see much of the Trollocs but they look spot on. Myrddraal are way different, but the point comes across. 

 

 

Cons:

- Not a huge fan of the way channeling looks. We saw multiple weaves in the trailer from healing to flows of air to lightening and they all look like white misty smoke. I know that was probably going to be the hardest part of a live action adaptation but still a little disappointed the different elements aren't even different colors.

- Lan... yikes. Nothing against the actor, but he's way too small and thin to be Lan from my perspective who I always saw in my minds eye as a tank.

- Not super thrilled how Nyneave is coming across so far, both in appearance and attitude. 

- Also not a big fan that Nyneave is apparently teaching Egwene how to embrace Saidar. That's probably the first big story change we've seen. 

- So Tam al'thor killed Rob Stark, and I'm never going to get over that...

- Perrin... my favorite character of all time... I'll be patient and hope I'm proven wrong.

Edited September 4, 2021 by Ararana24

[templar7]

23 minutes ago, Ararana24 said:

So I started to look at this show as a different turning of the wheel than the books, and it's given my mind enough of a separation that I can sit down and actually enjoy this adaptation. 

 

Pros:

- Scenery looks fantastic. Seriously good. It's not how I pictured Tar Valon but I can get behind it. Emond's Field and Shadar Logoth are spot on for me.

- We haven't really gotten to see anything of the three boys, zero lines in the teaser, but Mat is rivaling Moraine as the most spot of casting for me. If there was one character I wanted them to absolutely nail, I would have chosen Mat. Barney is going to be a damn baller if this show gets far enough to cover his transformation in Shadow Rising. Kinda wish they didn't give him a full beard this early though.

- Pike as Moraine. What can I say, she's perfect. That is one face I'm completely okay with replacing my head cannon face.

- Didn't get to see much of the Trollocs but they look spot on. Myrddraal are way different, but the point comes across. 

 

 

Cons:

- Not a huge fan of the way channeling looks. We saw multiple weaves in the trailer from healing to flows of air to lightening and they all look like white misty smoke. I know that was probably going to be the hardest part of a live action adaptation but still a little disappointed the different elements aren't even different colors.

- Lan... yikes. Nothing against the actor, but he's way too small and thin to be Lan from my perspective who I always saw in my minds eye as a tank.

- Not super thrilled how Nyneave is coming across so far, both in appearance and attitude. 

- Also not a big fan that Nyneave is apparently teaching Egwene how to embrace Saidar. That's probably the first big story change we've seen. 

- So Tam al'thor killed Rob Stark, and I'm never going to get over that...

- Perrin... my favorite character of all time... I'll be patient and hope I'm proven wrong.

Spot on!!

Especially Mat! They nailed him 100%

I was ify on Perrin but I'm warming up.

And Lan... I'm with you. I see him as Bigger and older.

I think the Nyneave Egween scene is more of a Women's ritual of the Two Rivers.

[Zyxthior]

My thoughts on the criticism of the visual representation of channeling:  We're early on and most Aes Sedai weren't doing all that powerful of 'stuff' early on in the books (if memory serves Moraine was using her angreal during Winternight).  I think the visuals are intentionally understated now...so when that *others* begin to learn you will clearly differentiate their power levels from others.  I think they're specifically trying to downplay it a bit.

And will channeling Saidin look different from Saidar?  (And different from the TP?)

[Harldin]

Why does everyone think Lan should be built like the Rock? Elite Soldiers being great big muscle bound Hulks is pure Hollywood fallacy, the vast majority in history aren’t. Someone built like Johnson, Stallone or Schwarzegger wouldn’t last a day in Special Forces trg, carrying that much muscle around they would not have the endurance required. Personally I pictured Lan as being a bit taller but i think Henney’s build is spot on.

Edited September 4, 2021 by Harldin

[templar7]

55 minutes ago, Harldin said:

Why does everyone think Lan should be built like the Rock? Elite Soldiers being great big muscle bound Hulks is pure Hollywood fallacy, the vast majority in history aren’t. Someone built like Johnson, Stallone or Schwarzegger wouldn’t last a day in Special Forces trg, carrying that much muscle around they would  not have the endurance required. Personally I pictured Lan as being a bit taller but i think Henney’s build is spot on.

While I do Agree  that Lan isn't specifically described as being overly huge, I

have to say that after reading these books since 1997, its exactly the impression I get for the character's appearance and I cant blame book readers for feeling the same.

 

Though I do agree that  the bodybuilder frame doesn't accurately represent the general physique of most modern warriors, having two retired 22nd SAS soldiers in my family, I can say with certainty, that there are plenty of big SFs dudes that can can carry around plenty of weight on top of their own... trust me.

 

Having said that, I must agree with your assessment. Not quite tall enough... but aside from that, he fits.

. 

[Elder_Haman]

I think a smaller, more athletic Lan works better with they way they were moving during the fight scene. A big, tanky guy would have a much harder time executing the rolls and fluid movement that we saw there. 

 

[Guire]

Henny is 6'2".  I think some of that is Moraine being 6" messes up the height disparity.  I had some dead time at work last night and rewatched trailer too many times.  My head cannon is starting to adjust.  I think a couple episodes of show should fix the mis appearances for me if writing is well done.

[DragonFairy]

On 9/3/2021 at 2:50 PM, Beidomon said:

Pros:

- Could have been so much worse.

- I think Rand/Perrin/Mat all look pretty great.

- The action stuff looks high quality.

- The baddies look great.

- We're gonna see plenty or Reds and Logain in S1, which will be welcome additions.

- Shadar Logoth looks great.

- Egwene actually looks better than I thought. I'm less worried about her.

- What music there was sounded pretty great.

 

Cons:

- The faces, costumes, and colors look kinda YA-TV in my opinion. This and the W word are my biggest worries now.

- Several scenes in the trailer are adding content to S1 that wasn't in the books - and that's fine (see Logain) - as long as it's good content. But I dunno about the whole paint pool and shoving into river stuff.

- Not sold on Nynaeve's look and accent. We will see.

- Lan looks a little too young.

- Rand and Nyn are gettin' bizay. Not sure about that at all.

I think the EF boys look great! Especially when Mat smiles--he looks perfect. And he even tosses dice on the table!

 

What were you worried about with Egwene?

 

The  30-40 something AS look YA to you? I think some of the costumes are just a trend away from medieval looking dresses to coats and pants. Not a fan of the huge shoulders on a few of the dresses, but aside from that Siuan's dress is gorgeous. The Ajah colors in the collar is a great touch.

 

Ny's accent? She said 2 words. She wouldn't be smiling approvingly if she saw Rand and Egwene later though! (Not crazy about that either.)

 

Lan looks great, but a little gray at his temples wouldn't hurt.

 

I think the paint pool is Egwene's first prophetic dream.

[Frish]

Did anyone else think Tar Valon, and the White Tower in particular don't look nearly grand enough in scale?  I mean the city and tower portrayed in the trailer are quite something, but not nearly on the scale I imagined when reading the books.  Not even close. 

[CaddySedai]

2 hours ago, Frish said:

Did anyone else think Tar Valon, and the White Tower in particular don't look nearly grand enough in scale?  I mean the city and tower portrayed in the trailer are quite something, but not nearly on the scale I imagined when reading the books.  Not even close. 

 

Its because the city has been scaled down in size so the tower looked more impressive.

 

There's a great write up here: 

 

And he commented on something I too flipped out about...that the grove seems to have flipped to its opposite position. We'd love you to pop by that post too!

 

 

[Guest Wolfbrother31]

Pros: 

The Shadowspawn looked awesome. 

 

Shadar Logoth looked creepy. Really hope they lean into some of the scarier parts of WoT.

 

First image of Matt is throwing dice and smiling. Perfect.

 

Rand as puppy dog in love with Eg. Perfect. Also like that they aged up the characters and perhaps will write better romance than RJ did. 

 

Loved seeing wolves with Perrin. Alleviated some fears. 

 

Liked the initiation scenes with Eg. Looked cool. 

 

Loved Tam's voice. 

 

I'm adjusting to their rendition of Tar Valon. Not at all how I pictured the Tower, but I'm being won over. Looooved DM in the background. 

 

The Reds all had RBF. Perfect.

Suian looked cool. 

 

Liked that they're clearly expanding Logain's role. 

 

Cons:

 

The clearing scene did look a little YA and cheesy. [But the rest of the trailer didn't!] 

 

Didn't see Lolial, Thom, or Min. Next trailer?! 

 

Didn't see Lan in armor [I like Lan's look in the trailer & hope Daniel just nails Lan's ethos - that's most important to me] ... But want to see the iconic armored look of the book cover! 

 

Didn't see a Forsaken. 

 

Moiraine injured? What's up with that? 

 

The WayGate is way off look wise... I dunno. I'll adjust I guess. 

 

 

[DaddyFinn]

On 9/7/2021 at 6:30 AM, CaddySedai said:

And he commented on something I too flipped out about...that the grove seems to have flipped to its opposite position. We'd love you to pop by that post too!

I don't think so ? 

[CaddySedai]

1 hour ago, DaddyFinn said:

I don't think so ? 

 

And which way is Dragonmount oriented in that map relative to the Grove? The grove is SE. DM is west. 

 

If you look at the vanity shot posted by me in my thread and reposting here.  Or even in the breakdown post on the homepage you will note that there are three visible rooftops in the White Tower. The top of the tower itself, a smaller sized one. and a larger one. In my image below it will show that the smaller one points directly at DM. The Larger away from it. 

 

compare that to your posted image and note that said small tower faces the left of the image. So that side of the city (grove side) must be facing Dragonmount. 

 

So the map says we should have expected to see the grove in the bottom right of the image. Not the top left. 

 

So either the grove moved to the northwest side. Or Dragonmount moved east of the city. But both cannot be on the same city side according to the maps. 

 

I thought my original post was good about it but as always Adam crushes it. He includes pictures with markups and annotations and can explain it far better than I. I will repost his breakdown for reference:

 

Edited September 15, 2021 by CaddySedai
image insertion

[SinisterDeath]

Yea, they definitely mirrored the island.. for whatever reason.

[CaddySedai]

39 minutes ago, SinisterDeath said:

Yea, they definitely mirrored the island.. for whatever reason.

Probably increased property values. The Grove AND a view of Dragonmount. 
 

Thats Primo real estate. 

 

Lol, but for reals no idea why. 

[SinisterDeath]

59 minutes ago, CaddySedai said:

Lol, but for reals no idea why. 

When in doubt, blame the interns.