▲Ergo Proxy // ATMOSPHERE BLOG #2▲

▲Ergo Proxy // ATMOSPHERE BLOG #2▲

This is part two of a three part blog series about atmosphere in media. I have broken down how to achieve atmosphere into four basic parts, which I will discuss in this blog.

Man, I can't believe I haven't blogged about this show Ergo Proxy yet. It is a masterpiece, and one of my favorite shows. It is a great example to use when discussing atmosphere, because it has such a distinct feel to it. It pulls on your emotions, sucks you in to the dreary world, and takes you on a bleak adventure with the characters. It's hard to explain how good it is, as I realize most excellent media is (at
least for me). I highly suggest watching it!

Now I will break atmosphere into four basic parts;

#1 // Audio

Audio is a big part of achieving atmosphere. This includes sound effects, mixing, and voice actors (tone/sound of voices). Ergo Proxy has excellent audio mixing, and creates a certain feel with atmospheric droning of environment noise, electric humming, or whatever else.

#2 // Coloring


Viewers are generally very visual, so how something looks leaves a huge impact. Color is a great way to set the mood or convey emotion. In Ergo Proxy, the coloring is very limited and dark. Everything is treys, browns, or tans. It can feel constricting at times, and you find yourself begging for color, begging to emerge from this bleak world. Just like the characters feel.

#3 // Pacing

This aspect is the least clear in my mind, and is subject to change. But as of right now, I think pacing plays a sizable role in establishing mood/atmosphere. Ergo Proxy sets it's own pace, and a lot of times forces you to slow yourself down and stride at the speed it's going. This really makes you take everything in, and also forces you to feel the weight and length of the characters' journey.

#4 //  Music

Notice how I separated "Audio" from "Music". I feel like these are two very different things, and Music is the most important of the three. Music has such an emotion effect on people, and it is very unclear why, All theories aside, we know is that it is powerful and an extremely helpful tool in successfully producing atmosphere. The music (or lack thereof in some instances)  plays along beautifully with the visuals and emotions in Ergo Proxy.

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These four factors of atmosphere are subject to change, and I expect some to be modified or added as my research and exploration of atmosphere progresses. In the next two parts I will pursue each point further, and try to nail it down more.

I know hardly anyone will read this, but at least writing these blogs is really helping me get a better grasp on atmosphere in media.

~Josiah▲