3 hours ago, Asha'man Shar'aman said:

I could be stupid, but where it this on the Amazon page? I looked everywhere and I don’t see it. 

3 hours ago, thievingsackofpotatoes said:

I'm having the same issue! Are people using a VPN? Wondering if it might be location based content.

It looks like some of the content on that page won't display unless you allow your browser to enforce DRM restrictions.

On 9/27/2021 at 2:06 AM, DaddyFinn said:

Lauren from Unraveling the Pattern has tried to make the weaves more colorful. Starts at 13:35. Maybe should be even more subtle but looks pretty good. Of course we don't know if the show will have different colors at some point.

Wow...I like his recolored weaves (link direct to time index) very much.  I hope the VFX people take note of them.

I'm a bit disappointed that the flows of the One Power all seem to be generically the same.  I'd at least like to see them be tinted differently, so that you could see distinct Air, Water and Spirit in the Healing, and Air and Fire in the lightning strike.

On 10/19/2019 at 4:29 AM, omrivm said:

Totally agree, I think that the way they will handle the One Power visualization could rise or fail the series. 

Linking my prior thread on that topic, for reference.

I usually think of it as an "augmented reality" sort of experience, where the channelers could "see" the Source/weaves/flows overlaid on top of their normal senses.

4 hours ago, Dagon Thyne said:

Rand doesn't actully "weave" anything to get out of the box.  He feels for when the shield is at it's weakness, and then just unleashes a wave of raw power to overwhelm it. 

 

I would say that that could be explained by that weaving is only a way to direct and focus the power to certain ends, but the power can be used in a more raw form, but it's much harder to control.  This would explain why Rand "accidently" stilled all the women who held his shield.

Breaking the shield was him exercising LTT's knot-bursting skill, plus flexing his own raw strength in the Power.  Bursting the box on the other hand, required channeling a flow of Air, and stilling the sisters was "crushing them ruthlessly with fists of Spirit".  I think I would technically call the latter two, at least, weaves, albeit weaves of a single flow of a single element.

I don't think the stilling was accidental; I think LTT put the weave for it in his head.

1 hour ago, Dagon Thyne said:

I think they should have literal threads of light, with different colors to represent each element, with are directed by hand movements.  It won't be he same as in the books where the channelors use their minds to control the threads, and literally look like they stand still to non-channelers, but it would make for a great visual element.  I'm picturing it as something similar to Tai Chi, and the threads being woven from the movements.

That sounds like Avatar's <element>-bending, which was very cool, and made for wonderful visuals.  However, it would cause a few plot problems in WoT, such as how Rand gets out of the box when he can't move.  There's even some discussion in the books about how the AS's hand gestures are probably only necessary because that's how they've been trained, whereas other channelers don't need them.

On 8/14/2019 at 7:25 PM, Cillian said:

I think Dr Strange laid down a good foundation for how it should look. In terms of weaving glowing magic threads into geometric shapes at least.

Sure, except that instead of just sparky orange energy flavored threads, we need about 15 different types.  And the budget for Dr. Strange was $165M for 2 hours; the budget for WoT, even if it's a megahit like Game of Thrones, would probably be $165M for 2 seasons.

I feel like if I were doing the SFX, knowing that there were going to be a *lot* of "weave" SFX shots, I'd want to really try to invent a "Weave generator" program, where I plug in some parameters, and it makes the weave CGI for me.  If they need to do every channeling SFX shot bespoke, they'll break the bank.

They might have some time to develop such a system; I think the only channeller POV in TEotW was LTT in the Prologue.  OTOH, if they make Moiraine a POV character earlier than she was in the books, it's going to become important a lot sooner.

One topic that's been on my mind lately, where I think the TV show could be either amazing or awful, is in its visualization of channeling.

The showrunners have a tricky task here, as there were many, many scenes in the WoT that hinged on actions that were entirely invisible to a non-channeling observer. 

When they show the POV of a channeler (which will be more often than not, if the show gets past the first few seasons), it seems like they will need to add CGI effects that convey the origin (Saidin/Saidar/True Power) and element (Earth/Air/Fire/Water/Spirit) of each thread in a distinctive way so that the viewer can tell the difference.

In my mind, the weaves form a sort of overlay atop whatever visible manifestation the power has, but the texture and color of the threads differ.  Saidin has a "sharp" look, as though made of needles of glass or ice, with high contrast, angles, clearly defined edges.   Saidar looks softer and more fuzzy, like actual thread or yarn, with smooth curves.  Elements give the weaves color (Earth/Air/Fire/Water/Spirit -> Brownish/Sky Blue/Sea Green/Crimson/Silver), and perhaps a bit of an aura (wisps of Dust/Cloud/Flame/Spray).  The TP overlays them all with sooty blackness.

It also seems like they should have consistent visualizations for a channeler's link to the Source, for Shielding/Severing, and for the Taint (perhaps a foreshadowing of the TP special effect).  They'll also need a way to convey the "goosebumps" sensation when Rand senses Saidar in use - perhaps similar to the way the Highlander TV show conveyed the "Buzz" when they sensed each other.

How do you visualize the weaves in your mind?  Do you think the show can afford to do it justice, without blowing its CGI budget?

I think I'll be happy if, after watching a season or two, I can distinguish the weaves depicted in the show on sight.