Smiling Sam...

[ash48]

Playing a round with gifs. :)

I was looking at this piece of footage recently (from 2.20 What Is...) and thought that the only time we really see Sam this happy and relaxed is in Dean's dream. Seems significant somehow.

Also, I adore this smile. His face lights up.

I'm sure this is deliberately made to look fake, or forced. Sam never seemed comfortable with Amelia's dad. Even at the end when they were sharing a "laugh". Or is that just me...

Comments

[cherry916.livejournal.com]

Yeah that second laugh, wow I cringe watching it now. It was so obviously fake.

Nice gifs bb!

[jessm78.livejournal.com]

I've often thought about that and its significance. Sam seemed so happy and relaxed, and I think Dean felt good to see him that way, but that totally changed when he learned that they didn't really get along.

OMG yes, that laugh is so cheesy it's painful!

Love the gifs!

[kazluvsbooks.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous gifs!!! They are so nice and clear. Beautiful Sammy.

and yes,the S8 one is so obviously fake, but pretty hair :)

[missyjack.livejournal.com]

oh i loved that laugh this season! i just thought it was a glimpse at what could be for Sam, and which sorta makes it bittersweet now of course. He seemed so open and relaxed.

I think it just looks "strange" becasue its such a rare sight. Its like i find on the rare occasion Dean laughs, to me he looks like jensen - because i have so few references for Dean laughing.

Let's hope Season 9 is a laughfest!

[tebtosca.livejournal.com]

LMAO that season 8 laugh was so fake. Poor Jared, he's been trying so hard this season

*pets*

p.s. I love his crooked teeth so much

[ash48.livejournal.com]

It is isn't it? It's not just my imagination? I can't think if it is Jared doing a really bad job of laughing, or if it's done to deliberately show how out of place he is in this environment. I like to think the latter. During all those scenes he never really did fit in.

[cassiopeia7.livejournal.com]

I'll have to watch the S8 scene again for context, but just from the gif, he does seem to be forcing it -- the line between his eyes makes him seem almost in pain. Then again, a deep belly laugh will contort your features a lot more than a soft chuckle will. *ponders* (And maybe I'm overanalyzing this WAY too much -- a re-viewing is definitely in order.)

[ayane42.livejournal.com]

wonderful gif's!!

i totally see the difference. :)

[womanofletters.livejournal.com]

I totally see the difference too. And is this deliberate, like the writers are saying even when Sam is happy, he's not truly happy? Like he can never truly get out of the hunting life?

I thought Amelia's dad reminded him too much of John. The military attitude and all. Or maybe I'm imagining that...

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I rather love that it's the way Dean's imagines him in his dream world. Happy, safe and doing what he had started doing at Stanford. There had to be a catch I suppose...

And thanks! I've been trying to get the hang of them...

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Thanks hun! I've been trying to make them Tumblr sized and that's really hard!

Very pretty hair! <33

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I can't help but look at that laugh and see the strain...it's as though the smile doesn't reach his eyes. I can't tell though if that's deliberate (as in Sam making a real effort to fit in and get on with dad) or we are actually meant to believe he is truly happy here.

Sam laughing is a rare sight indeed.

Hee! SPN a laughfest? I'll wonder what I've tuned into if we see happy, smiling boys. I won't complain though...;)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Oooh, you think it's bad acting maybe? Like we are really meant to believe he's happy here but Jared's not quite pulling it off? Or maybe I'm seeing the "fake" but it's not really there...or something.

I always thought the scenes between Sam and Amelia were strained, but I thought maybe that that was deliberate. A way of showing that even though Sam wanted a normal life, he never really fit in.

[daisychains1957]

Beautiful Sammy gifs, thank you :D

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I think the second one was forced (and meant to be) - especially if you compare it with Jared laughing at cons or interviews


Any excuse to spend half an hour looking through my convention photos!! LOL

[greyowl88.livejournal.com]

Hee! Gifs! :D Lovely this 'threesome'. Beautiful, the light grey/blue and black surrounding his face.

It's not just you feeling that Sam was never comfortable with Amelia's dad. I've always felt that way, too. It's quite uncomfortable to watch. That can't be bad acting. LOL ;D

[el1ie.livejournal.com]

First set are lovely, such a gorgeous scene.

Tell you the truth, if you hadn't said where this was on the second one? Would never have guessed it was from an actual episode. Doesn't look like Sam to me, doesn't look genuine either.

[colls]

making gifs the right size for tumblr is hard - at least with what I have. Yours are looking great!

The first set does look more relaxed and natural.
*stares at it for a while*

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Ha! I am ALWAYS overanalyzing, so welcome to the club!

Sam laughs at some joke made and every time I see it I think about how contrived it is. I mean, I think he wants to laugh and enjoy and be part of it all, but there's just something that makes it not genuine.

I actually really liked that ep. I thought the scenes with Amelia and her dad were painful but poignant.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :)

It might also be that Jared was a few years younger in "What is.." I suppose. Though, that moment in the ep wasn't nearly as relaxed and carefree as the one in 2.20...

[ash48.livejournal.com]

like the writers are saying even when Sam is happy, he's not truly happy? Like he can never truly get out of the hunting life?

Yeah. I wonder that too. When I watched that episode I remember being very excited because I thought they were trying to show us just how out of place Sam was in a "normal" life. I think there was a real effort on his part to be happy - but there was also an underlying "truth" that this isn't a life he could ever have. Dean had a "Hurt Locker moment" in one episode - I see this as Sam's. (Not sure if I'm making sense - if you haven't seen The Hurt Locker, it might not...)

And yes. Amelia's dad was there to remind us of John I think. I cant imagine John would be an easy father to meet either.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :D

[ash48.livejournal.com]

OMG! I love to see Jared laughing like that!

And I agree so much. Jared knows how to really laugh and I am sure if Sam was suppose to really feel that Jared would have used his natural laugh.

I can't stop staring...

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I'm trying! Oh boy, but I'm trying. You can't believe how long it's taken to work out how to do these. Not just the gifs but making them the right size for Tumblr (my original plan for these). I still haven't worked all that out so I decided to post them here. (only one made it to Tumblr...)

I am SURE the uncomfortable feeling was deliberate. I think if Sam was suppose to be comfortable and fell at home, Jared would have totally given us that.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

There is something very mesmerising about that gif - not just the laugh but the way his hair moves.... *stares some more*

[ash48.livejournal.com]

It's all wrong isn't it? We've never seen Sam laugh like that - so big. Though I can't tell if this was a deliberate attempt to show us a "new", happier Sam - having found domesticity. (nah...)

xx

[ash48.livejournal.com]

It's SO hard! It's driving me nuts! I can't figure out how to keep the quality and get it under 1mb. It must be possible because there are beautiful gifs all over tumblr. I'm determined to figure it out!

[womanofletters.livejournal.com]

I've never seen The Hurt Locker, but now it's on my (ever-growing) must-see list. Is there ever enough time in the day? :)

I'm assuming by "Hurt Locker moment" you mean a moment in which the character realizes (or perhaps the audience? or both?) that he or she will never 100 percent fit in? And can you elaborate on Dean's Hurt Locker moment?

No, I'd hate to have to meet John as either Sam or Dean's girlfriend. That would be uncomfortable, at best.

[womanofletters.livejournal.com]

Maybe ask Raloria? She's amazing with caps and images... (I mean, ask her for advice on how to do it. Not necessarily ask her to do it for you. :) )

[el1ie.livejournal.com]

In my sulking pouts over this year, one conclusion I'm coming to is that the actors are far more talented and nuanced than any of the writers...or at least lived in as much hope as I had.

[greyowl88.livejournal.com]

My AVS movie maker (a basic one I needed to get due to my new camera creating MOV files and the Windows Movie Maker not taking them) creates gifs by just putting stuff in the time line as usual and then when publishing you press GIF instead of AVI or WMV or whatever. And so it creates a gif for you. But it won't let you change size though. I got curious after you developed such interest in them so I checked my movie maker a short while back.

Of course Jared would have! :D No bad acting from Jared. (Or Jensen for that matter)
Btw, my english friend Olly is at season 4. Last night he watched Monster Movie and a few more after I had already gone to bed! I've created a true addict!! :D *g*

[maenad.livejournal.com]

It looks forced to me. One of the ... oddities I find in Sam and Amelia's relationship is that what I see doesn't match what I hear. They keep telling me that Sam craves normality, and sure, I can believe that. But it's hard to see how he got normality or happiness from his time with Amelia, or why he would want to go back to it.

So much of Sam seems to be missing from that relationship. Amelia never learns anything of importance about him. Sure, he mentioned that his brother died – but he can't possibly have told her how. He makes a few vague references to John. Other than that he's just ... absent.

That whole episode was about awkwardness, anyway. Castiel fit in badly as a hunter, jokes about the third wheel and all. As a supernatural being, Fred fit in really badly in a nursing home and leaked weirdness all over the place. The actor they cast as Amelia's dad is on the short side, so Sam looked bigger than usual – it makes me think of depictions of gods or heroes in ancient art, where they're often painted or sculpted on a larger scale so they stand out.

And the thing about that scene is 1) That's a kind of childhood anecdote Sam is really unlikely to have, 2) he can't really turn around and tell them any of his childhood anecdotes, so there's likely to be an awkward silence in a minute, and 3) ... it's not that funny. I mean, it's cute, sure, and worth a giggle, but Sam's response is a bit much.

So, yeah, I think it looks more like he's seeking approval than like he's relaxed and happy.

I'm overanalysing, aren't I? Sorry. Insomniac ramblings. :)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

The Hurt Locker is an excellent film.

My reference is partly about not fitting in and partly about that moment when you notice how different things are.

There's a moment in the film where the returning solider is in a supermarket - looking at all the food and realising how mundane and "normal" things are (and realising that he can't live like this...)

For Dean it happens when he returns from Purgatory and he's staring at the food dispenser at the motel. It's not exactly a moment of "I don't fit in" but rather a reflection of how different life on "earth" is to life in Purgatory.

I think of this moment of Sam's in much the same way. He's staring "normal" in the face and can see how different it is to the life he's been living. It might be something he wants but after all this time of not having it, he just doesn't fit there.

Ha...or maybe I'm over thinking it...;)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I find a gif maker that's pretty easy to use. The challenge is making them below 1mb. You loose a lot of quality trying to get them down to that size. I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and use Photoshop. I think that'll give me the quality and the mb size I'm after.

Yay new addict! \o/ (not that we can understand that or anything...;D)

xx

[ash48.livejournal.com]

*nods* I think they were giving it all they had and looking for those moments (like Sam rubbing is hand in that scene).

I wonder if Jared thought there might have been more going on like we all did. I know the actors aren't told the full character arc for the season (like Jared not knowing that Sam was actually soulless until Sam knew) - so Jared might have been playing it as though there was more going on than there actually was.

Or something. ;)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I've now got the basics, but I think the mix of good quality and keeping within the restricted size comes down to the gif program. I have to bite the bullet and use Photoshop in other words... (which I plan to teach myself how to use today...).

But I agree! Raloria does have wonderful caps and images. It takes skill to be able to manipulate images the way you want them.

xoxo

[ash48.livejournal.com]

You know how much I love your analyzing! Though the insomnia must drive you nuts. At least there is SPN to be talking about...

Essentially - yes. That's how I saw it too. I think the seeking approval is so important to Sam in this scene. It's probably in part so he can believe he CAN fit in. Amelia's dad (I really need to look up his name /o\) spotted that there was something different about him, so I imagine Sam would like to pass as "normal" to the outside world. I thought this scene was all about him not really pulling that off.

I totally buy Sam's desire for a normal life. Dean's too. I don't even mind them exploring that - I think it's an interesting issue, but I feel (atm) the show isn't sure how to resolve it. Even after all that happened with Amelia (and once again Sam admitting it wouldn't work), they are still dragging up Sam's need for normal.

The boys can't have normal while the show is running so they may as well move on and address it at the end of the series when they might actually be able to have a taste of a normal life (though I'd rather they settle down together and live in the bat cave).

Ooops - looks like I ranted a bit. I suspect there'll be much ranting to have after the next few eps...;) I'm ready!!

[womanofletters.livejournal.com]

No, I don't think you're overthinking it at all. :) There's a lot of subtext in Supernatural, put there by the writers and the actors, and yes, I can see it.

[womanofletters.livejournal.com]

So did you get to experiment with Photoshop? How did that go?

[womanofletters.livejournal.com]

Me too. Happy we're getting a new episode. Bring it on!

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Yes I did! Spent half the day working it out and it ended up being not so hard. Newest post shows the results. :)