The new intro is bad.

[Sepul-Coloratura 762]

This might not have been pointed out quite often, but I objectively think the new opening is worse than the old one.

Quote

"Oooh, the typical 'old stuff is always better and the new one sucks' guy. What are you? A hater? Haters always gonna hate, you know."

No. Let me explain why. Any other aspects of the new opening are good and vivid, colorful, quite properly shows all the new landscape and new characters in the show. It has nice storytelling too.

The biggest problem is in one particular cut. The shot where Thorax and Amber flying, (The moment when the first "My little pony~♪" starts) there is an awkward moment where not much is happening in the screen and there is nowhere to put your eyes on. And somehow it just comes out of nowhere and feels unnatural.

That same scene in the old opening is where Twilight jumps out of the hot air balloon and walks around Ponyville. We all know the main subject is Twilight and not confused because 

1. She is in the center of the frame, 
2. The camera fallows her, 
3. The context - we have been following her flying around a hot air balloon (both right to left),
4. She is the biggest and most colorful main subject on the screen.
5. Rainbow Dash completes flying to the end

In the new opening, that scene...

1. Something important like the main character should have appeared on the center. Because it's also an early part within the opening, we should be introduced to the main character and what the rest of the opening revolves around. A short intro (of an intro) with her in the hot air balloon isn't enough. In fast paced editing like this, things should be in the center of the frame, big and bold or distinguishable. Look at the making film of Mad Max : Fury Road for example.
2. The camera should have followed the main subject, which seems like Amber and Thorax, but when it happens, it's too late.
3. Either the opening should have started something different from Twilight in the hot air balloon or should have kept it and continued with Twilight jumping out of the hot air balloon. They should have kept the continuity of the context. Or they should have rearranged the whole thing to fit to the whole school thing which is the main focus on season 8 (and the later part of the opening quite fits this). Maybe she should have flied with her wings. And maybe it should have continued with her landing on school instead of shoving few fan favorite characters on the face while not being bold enough, so just staying awkwardly on the background. Maybe they should have focused on Twilight coming down from the sky and Starlight is waiting and them two starts to walk alongside together. And both scenes should have moved toward the same direction. (both left to right or both right to left). The new intro shows this on left to right while the hot air balloon was right to left.
4. they should have focused on one main subject and all others should have been in the background. I didn't even almost seen Twilight and Starlight in that shot.
5. The shot abruptly cuts to the next scene while Rainbow Dash isn't quite reached.

↑ This is almost 90% of the whole problem.

And also, the old opening constantly shifts from left to right to left to right, while the focus being on the center. So we keep switching our focus like watching a ping-pong match. It keeps being energetic while preserving consistency. The new one, is not that terrible, but it's quite all over the place. And when the mane six appears, the size of mane six in the frame is inconsistent and sometimes too small while other objects in the background is taking the attention away from the main one. 

↑ These are 10% of the problem.

I wish they fix these and make a better opening on the new season. If they don't see what's wrong (which I am afraid of) and not fix this, that might be the most disappointing thing in season 9. Because that would prove their incompetence (which they already showed in the editing aspect of season 8 episodes) or laziness or lack of budget.

Long story short,

1. Big and bold, one main thing at a time
2. Keep track of the main character
3. Center of the frame
4. Left - Right - Left - Right consistent movement
5. Cut nicely

 

 

 

Old intro

 

New intro

 

※ reference : https://mlpforums.com/topic/187408-analyzing-the-opening-of-mlp/

Edited September 1, 2019 by Sepul-Coloratura
※ reference : https://mlpforums.com/topic/187408-analyzing-the-opening-of-mlp/

[FlareGun45 2,221]

Think they'll change it again next season?

[Misty Shadow 7,867]

I completely disagree. I like the new intro better. The reason the camera does not center on Twilight in the new opening is to show off all of the new characters and the notable background characters. They did the same thing in the old opening, just to a lesser degree because there weren't as many characters back then. The reason the camera does not follow Ember and Thorax is because their flying serves as a scene transition, the same way Rainbow Dash's flying did in the old opening. The reason for the absence of the hot air balloon landing on the school in the new opening is because you can't land a hot air balloon on a school. People want to see their favorite characters on the screen more too, not a balloon. Your last two points are purely subjective and based on what you saw personally. The reason I like the new intro better is because the art and animation is more polished, I like the effort they put into redrawing most of the scenes instead of just lazily Photoshopping the new parts of the show in like the old intro did, and it shows off much more of what Equestria has to offer than the old intro did. 

[Twilight Luna 31,369]

The new intro doesn’t have Derpy in it anymore.

Edited December 28, 2018 by Twilight Luna

[Dark Qiviut 22,399]

The new intro sucks. Nearly every shot to the benches is so so busy. No central focus nor depth of field. You have only a second of two to show the RM5, but they're hidden by a crowded setting, a flat background that makes things look closer than they should be, a quick zoom out (ugh! ) or other characters in front. If you have a few seconds within the episode's story, this wouldn't be a big deal, but these are rapid-fire shots. It's really bad graphic design.

The old intro isn't anything to write home about, but it knew its depth perception, cleared the clutter, put the RM6 front and center, and understood what the audience should focus on.

Edited December 23, 2018 by Dark Qiviut

[Hierok 11,831]

3 hours ago, FlareGun45 said:

Think they'll change it again next season?

Don't think so. I think they should have changed it every season as much as the new one though. Now it seems odd they changed it with probably only two seasons left

[FirePuppy 735]

I think the only change they're gonna make for the Season 9 intro is Spike's wings. Nothing else.

[EpicEnergy 23,218]

It's not bad to me, because the mane six appear a lot in it, the theme song is still the same, and there are more characters! I think it's amazing! 

[ggg-2 3,553]

I will agree it does seem cluttered.

[O-78 28,606]

It is considerably busier and more cluttered than the old one. The old one was more pleasing on the eye in my opinion.

[Singe 2,111]

The problem is that they're using the same song with new visuals. It doesn't work well since the song and original intro visual was crafted to work alongside each other. Hence the scene after the balloon ride down has Twilight appearing as a stranger in a new town.

Frankly they should have changed the song to match the progression like have the Mane 6 sing together in harmony.

[Midnight Solace 5,132]

I think the only thing I miss from the old intro is the characters in the photo shoot. Instead of some characters we know and love, they replaced them with random background ponies from the School of Friendship.

[Sepul-Coloratura 762]

13 hours ago, FlareGun45 said:

Think they'll change it again next season?

No. I don't think so. I just hope so.

12 hours ago, CloudMistDragon said:

I completely disagree. I like the new intro better. The reason the camera does not center on Twilight in the new opening is to show off all of the new characters and the notable background characters. They did the same thing in the old opening, just to a lesser degree because there weren't as many characters back then. The reason the camera does not follow Ember and Thorax is because their flying serves as a scene transition, the same way Rainbow Dash's flying did in the old opening. The reason for the absence of the hot air balloon landing on the school in the new opening is because you can't land a hot air balloon on a school. People want to see their favorite characters on the screen more too, not a balloon. Your last two points are purely subjective and based on what you saw personally. The reason I like the new intro better is because the art and animation is more polished, I like the effort they put into redrawing most of the scenes instead of just lazily Photoshopping the new parts of the show in like the old intro did, and it shows off much more of what Equestria has to offer than the old intro did. 

Well, the reason I didn't like is because of there is nowhere to focus on the screen. Basic design and artistic principal. It would be proper if the cutting was long enough and took time to pan around the scenery. (and still, there is much more things to consider) But this is a 30 second cartoon opening with an energetic theme song. Even the season 7 opening where they put more characters in the screen, the focus was still prominent. And Ember and Thorax's transition was ok. What not ok was the transition between Rainbow Dash and Maud, Vinyl Scratch. The reason I pointed out Thorax and Amber was that they were the only two things in that shot that was possible to assume as a main subject.

I don't care if they use the hot air balloon or not. What important is they should have kept the continuity and narrative. 'Twilight rides a balloon → Comes down from the balloon'. The new one doesn't. It is disconnected. If they wanted to please people with their favorite character, I wouldn't mind. But then they should have make those the focus of the shot. If someone has to make a point, they have to choose and make a decision. Prioritize things. Either make Maud and Vinyl the main subject of the shot, or put them in the background for other main subject. The new opening didn't do any of that.

A fast pacing cutting like this is like passing a ball. If one thing fails to send the ball to the next, the rhythm and flow gets spoiled. And the ball needs a clear direction not to be confused. That's why I said we need one main subject at a time. The old opening didn't change for a very long time and only edited minor stuff just to add things, and I was hoping for a fresh new opening too, but it should have been done better.

10 hours ago, Hierok said:

Don't think so. I think they should have changed it every season as much as the new one though. Now it seems odd they changed it with probably only two seasons left

I'm hoping for minor adjustments. Or better yet, new opening for every new seasons from now on. Even montages from the show like Japanese MLP would work better, I think.

 

[Sparklefan1234 170,677]

The thing I dislike the most about the new intro is how fast it feels.

Give us a moment to understand what's going on instead of "party cannon-ing" everything all at once. 

Edited December 24, 2018 by Sparklefan1234

[Odyssey 5,716]

16 hours ago, Sepul-Coloratura said:

Oooh, the typical 'old stuff is always better and the new one sucks' guy. What are you? A hater? Haters always gonna hate, you know."

Actually I wasn't thinking that. First thing I thought was "huh, why's that?" 

I know you were trying to make a point (and i don't disagree with it either) but if you're going to make one, there's no need to assume what people think at first. Makes you and your audience look bad. 

[Jeric 46,851]

I’ll take the middle road and suggest that it improves on some things (several Mane Six characters are shown in locations to represent their personal journey over the course of the series), while other things feel more lackluster (the final shot on the benches). 

[DonMaguz 1,023]

I still like the old one better, but the new one is fine too.

I agree with @Singe about the song, probably because I'm used to watching anime where a change in the opening is usually done both in the song and the visuals to match the new season's atmosphere. With the old opening* this was done very subtle, so it was fine having minor changes through several seasons, but now they completely changed the visuals and the song remains the same, it feels a bit odd.

Edited December 24, 2018 by DonMaguz
'With the old song...', I meant with the old opening, as the song remains the same.

[Jeric 46,851]

1 minute ago, DonMaguz said:

I still like the old one better, but the new one is fine too.

I agree with @Singe about the song, probably because I'm used to watching anime where a change in the opening is usually done both in the song and the visuals to match the new season's atmosphere. With the old song this was done very subtle, so it was fine having minor changes through several seasons, but now they completely changed the visuals and the song remains the same, it feels a bit odd.

They may have missed the opportunity to use the longer version  of the song, or at least a different edit of that longer version. 

[Rhythm Red 6,484]

I’ll never get used to the new intro. The old one just has so much nostalgia for me, not to mention the fact that the new intro is themed around the school, which I dislike in the first place. 

[Berry Punch 30]

I actually didn't expect to see a new intro when watching season 8. I was really shocked.  It's just so... Different. Like, it's not FiM anymore. No more Ponyville in the intro, but everything takes place in the school of friendship.

[ExplosionMare 18,062]

You do have a point with there being too much to look at. It is a bit much, and while I believe they could’ve toned it down a bit, it also shows the expansion of Equestria (at least in Ponyville) which is kinda neat.

[OptimisticNeighsayer 478]

I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that the new intro is problematic, but I didn’t pay too much attention to the technical part—I just thought it gave the false impression that the School was always there, while the old intro reflected the development that Twilight and her friends had experienced over the seasons. 

[Tacodidra 61,163]

I enjoyed the new intro myself – I liked how they incorporated the new settings and characters, symbolizing the changes in the later seasons. Though I still think it has slight flaws, the most obvious one being the music. I don't feel it syncs with the new opening as well as it did with the old one, which could have been avoided with a rearrangement of the theme (which they already did once earlier in the show's run).

I was more disappointed they didn't change it for season 9 – with it being the last season and a special one (as the show crew has stated on multiple occasions), I think at least some changes would have been nice. Instead it seems they didn't change anything (unless I missed some little differences), for the first time in several seasons...

[Will Guide 21,360]

10 hours ago, Tacodidra said:

I was more disappointed they didn't change it for season 9 – with it being the last season and a special one (as the show crew has stated on multiple occasions), I think at least some changes would have been nice. Instead it seems they didn't change anything (unless I missed some little differences), for the first time in several seasons...

It would have been nice if they added Spike's Wings in the intro for Season 9 since he got those in S8 and the CMC got their Cutie Marks added for the S6 intro after they have earned them in S5.

[Cash In 22,312]

While I prefer the old intro, I don't have any quarrels with the newer one, as I feel that it does enough to show significance with all the characters and different locations.