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Information

• Member: sarinthesky
• Title: A Parting of Ways
• Premiered: 2005-07-20
• Categories:
  • Drama
  • Character Profile
  • Serious
• Song:
  • Dire Straits Brothers In Arms
• Anime:
  • Naruto
• Participation:
  • AyaCon 2005, AyaCon 2005 (2005-08-19)
• Comments: Created as an entry to the Zettai Hentai AMV contest (www.zettai-hentai.net)
  
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  Choice of Music:
  
  'Brothers in Arms' was written as an ode about war, in ancient Scotland and today, as the thoughts of soldier on the battlefield, as he realises he is dying and will never return home.
  
  As the lyrics progress through the verses, he things first of everything he is leaving behind and will never go back to - "These mist covered mountains are home now for me"; and also that eventually all his comrades who he has fought together with for so long *will* return home, and eventually forget about him. He then thinks back on how they fought side by side and that even though they shared so much, they're now going their separate ways.
  
  And finally, as the world disappears around him and he slips into darkness he acknowledges the irony - "We're fools to make war on our Brothers in Arms" - that even those he has fought against, in the end, are one and the same.
  
  ---------------
  
  Synopsis of the Plot up to this point:
  
  Naruto and Sasuke are both orphaned at a young age, Naruto's parents are unknown, and he grows up without a family - what he wants most of all is recognition from others. Sasuke's whole clan and family were murdered by his elder brother, Itachi. Itachi shows Sasuke the power of the 'Mangekyou Sharingan' - an Uchaha clan ability which can only be gained by killing your best friend. Itachi then tells him that if he wants to avenge his family, he'll have to become strong enough than his current 'worthless' state, and this becomes Sasuke's obsession - to surpass and take revenge on his brother.
  
  They are put on the same team together, and become very competitive - Naruto is continually trying to reach the standard of the genius Sasuke, with Sasuke, at least outwardly, looking down on Naruto as one of the weakest Genin. However they learn to work together, and end up, though neither admits it, as close friends. As the series progresses, Naruto slowly learns to control the power of the Kyuubi, or Nine-Tailed Fox demon, within him, and becomes stronger and stronger, and starts to match and even surpass Sasuke, causing Sasuke to feel like he's going backwards.
  
  Sasuke also encounters Orochimaru, who imprints him with a cursed seal 'tennyo' or heaven, which when released gives him incredible power, but also corrupts his mind. He is initially able to control it somewhat, but it remains a temptation.
  
  Things are then not helped when Itachi returns to Konoha, with the intent of capturing not Sasuke, but Naruto, for the Kyuubi within him. Sasuke finally confronts Itachi, but even with his strongest attack - the Chidori, he is easily defeated, and his brother uses his Sharingan technique to remind Sasuke once more of the horror of the slaughter of his clan. When they return to Konoha, Sasuke right away challenges Naruto to a match; trying to prove to himself that he is still the stronger of the two, but it gets out of hand, and they end up fighting so seriously they have to be stopped before they kill one another.
  
  Cue the worst possible timing - the Sound Four - messengers from Orochimaru, find Sasuke, and tell him that they can show Sasuke how to be more powerful still. He thinks back on everything that has gone before, but still finds he cannot forget his desire to kill Itachi, and leaves Konoha to join them.
  
  A search party is sent out to bring him back lead by Nara Shikamaru, and consisting of a number of Genin. One by one they split off to face the Sound Four, until Naruto alone is left chasing Sasuke, who has gone through a ritual to allow him to activate level 2 of his seal. They finally face off at a place known as the 'Valley of the End' - a huge waterfall on the boundary of the Flame country. Here they fight, and both eventually learn to activate new levels - Naruto harnessing his Kyuubi Chakra, and Sasuke transforming using the cursed seal. They line up and prepare for one final attack - Sasuke's dark Chidori, and Naruto's Rasengan. They go at one another, and a huge energy ball builds up.
  
  As we cut back to them, we can see that Naruto lies on the ground, unconscious, and Sasuke stands above him, looking down. And whilst he knows that to kill his best friend - Naruto, means gaining the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, he does not do so.
  
  This is the point at which this video is set - as Sasuke contemplates all that has gone before, and everything that Naruto means to him.
  
  --------
  
  Interpretation:
  
  The reason I chose this song, it that at this point in series, it is effectively Sasuke's farewell to his life in Konoha - he's chosen to seek out Orochimaru and follow that path, and the 'Brother' that has fought alongside Naruto and the rest is no more; and it was this voice - that of the last bit of Sasuke who cares for Naruto, that is coming out, and follows the theme of the song as it slowly dies.
  
  So as we follow the music, first the guitar driven intro which sets up the tone of the music, and this piece - over the scene of the Valley of the End, the fight between the two as they clash. And as the music settles, we see the last scenes of Sasuke, as he looks down on Naruto.
  
  He thinks about how he will now no longer be able to return home, and belongs elsewhere now; he thinks back to Konoha, to his home, and thinks that now he is leaving, Naruto will return, and will eventually forget all about him, and their friendship.
  
  The next verse Sasuke thinks back on everything that made their friendship - their first big mission - the 'baptism of fire' - that they fought and protected each other, and how they did care for one another.
  
  Next, he thinks of everything that has happened to lead them to where they are - they came from different backgrounds, but shared a lot of similarities - 'we have just one world'; but ultimately Sasuke's pain at the loss of his family and his hatred of Itachi is what is different between them, they 'live in in different ones' - and this has caused their parting of ways.
  
  And as the final verse comes on, Sasuke thinks of where they are now. The sun fades, and his forehead protector with the leaf symbol of Konoha becomes untied, and drops to the ground - the Sasuke of Konoha and group seven is gone - "I bid you farewell, every man has to die." But despite the fact that he's chosen to go off, as it rains, he looks down at Naruto and acknowledges the irony, in the end, he is fighting his best friend.
  
  The final scene is him walking away, in despair, thinking of the people and things he's leaving behind as he disappears into the darkness.
  
  The title reflects this moment in their lives, as they finally split to follow different paths, a parting not only of themselves, but also a parting of their 'Way' or 'Nin-Do'- how they choose to lead their lives.
  
  ------
  
  Lyrics
  
  These mist covered mountains
  Are a home now for me
  But my home is the lowlands
  And always will be
  Some day you’ll return to
  Your valleys and your farms
  And you’ll no longer burn
  To be brothers in arms
  
  Through these fields of destruction
  Baptisms of fire
  I’ve watched all your suffering
  As the battles raged higher
  And though they did hurt me so bad
  In the fear and alarm
  You did not desert me
  My brothers in arms
  
  There’s so many different worlds
  So many differents suns
  And we have just one world
  But we live in different ones
  
  Now the sun’s gone to hell
  And the moon’s riding high
  Let me bid you farewell
  Every man has to die
  But it’s written in the starlight
  And every line on your palm
  We’re fools to make war
  On our brothers in arms
  
  -----------
  
  Production Notes:
  
  I first had the idea of doing a music video to this way back when (and it was to be to Fullmetal Alchemist...) but when I saw Episode 134, well, it just hit me how perfect it would be! I really wanted to show a history of their relationship, and not just have footage from the most recent episodes, so I went and dug out all my old Naruto episodes, and sat down and listened to the lyrics again and again, trying to think back of which parts of the story matched the theme of the lyrics. I must have taken hundreds of clips of various moments throughout the series, and thrown most of them out - I've never been so spoilt for footage!
  
  In deciding which scenes matched, the easiest decisions were that I felt that the intro and the final verse matched the scene of Sasuke watching the best, as they referred most to the here and now, to his thoughts as he thinks of his friend.
  
  The second verse I went through a lot of clips - I thought about including much more from their first fight along the road with the water nin, and later on their fight with Orochimaru. I chose to focus on the final fight of the Haku arc for two reasons - firstly I didn't feel I could have told the full story of all the different battles with the time I had for that theme, and wanted to do them justice, and secondly and more importantly, in line with the lyrics I wanted to focus on the first time they truly realise how much they meant to one another, and recognised themselves as 'brothers', which was showcased best during the final fight of the Haku arc, as Sasuke moves to protect Naruto, though he doesn't fully know why.
  
  The third verse I chose to show their upbringing, and that though they lived different lives, there were a lot of similarities, and it was the scenes by the riverbank I thought reflected this best - they're both walking/sitting alone, but they do meet, and recognise one another as much the same. However, there is one thing that in the end separates them - the fact that Sasuke cannot move forward to the future like Naruto because he is so traumatised by his past - which is what I wanted to show for the final part of the verse - the one thing keeping them apart is his hatred of his brother above all things, the same thing that is 'killing' him now.
  
  The final guitar riff which finishes the song felt very much like a conclusion to the song - and I felt fit perfectly with the conclusion of Sasuke's part (for the moment, at least) in the narrative of Naruto, as he walks away into the darkness.
  
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  Technical Notes:
  
  Created using Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5
  Footage - Naruto downloads - 134 Raw from Saiyaman, other episodes subbed by ANBU/AonE
  Clips taken using Bobyte AVISplit Classic
  
  Effects used:
  - to remove subs- cropping and resizing
  - to blend scenes together - opacity and fades, cropping, edge feathering
  - to match color tones in the video and create 'sunset' - color matching/levels
  - to create lightning effects - brightness/contrast adjustment
  
  Initial compressor - IntelVideo4.5 - I chose this as it created a 'curtain' like effect when fading from black (see Itachi clips and final fade) that I really liked
  Final codec - DivX4.5