MBR-AA063: Gemma Nude

Actress: Gemma (21)
Studio: Spice Visual – Blue Ribbon

Release Date: 2017-04-28
Runtime: 70 Minutes

7.4/10

Introduction

Gemma is a Gravure model hailing from the UK. Her debut in IVs was in 2016 with Spice Visual around a year following her arrival in Japan. She has made several films over the years with some of the largest Gravure producers and is likely the most recognizable and popular non-Japanese Gravure model in the industry. The film being reviewed is her final film with debut studio Spice Visual. Let’s see how she fares in her curtain call film. 

Production & Setting

Starting off the film we are treated to a short interview section in place of the status quo scene montage, once that is done we are off to the rest of the film and standard Gravure fare. The music throughout the film matches very well with the visuals, it is generally playful casual music, Gemma for most scenes isn’t doing anything that would contrast with this tone, and the backdrops and lighting work well to create a bright image, even if at times it can be noisy, more on that later. Beginning with the first scene, the setting is fairly basic, its a brightly colored and saturated room with a lot of white natural lighting from the patio doors. Gemma is on a white ball with a similarly colored bikini and hair tie, not to mention her blonde hair matches well with the color palette present in the scene, complimented by the wall color as well. This is a very pastel heavy scene visually and it meshes together well. There is some contrasting colors added later on via the wooden chair which serves to refocus the attention on Gemma just in case the noise was getting too overpowering. The scene itself basically consists of Gemma bouncing on a ball and interacting with items such as an orange bungee, the chair, or the ball, water is added later to give it a little more depth in the scene but overall it’s nothing special. The music is well pace, a simple and relatively upbeat guitar piece that works with Gemma’s actions, although her expressions could have used some more substance.
 
The next scene is once again a very brightly lit scene, with Gemma providing some contrast with the darker colors of her school outfit. The music is more dynamic with a more prominent percussion beat to supplement the guitar. It’s still a casual upbeat track and Gemma is more active during the shots. The scene is well shot, smooth transitions and movements, and the added plants give a much needed color saturation to prevent an overblown white out scenario, which is effectively what a noisy shot or scene is. Noise in a photo is when there are visual artifacts distorting the final product and this is caused by a variety of things. I am hijacking and adapting the term to explain how an overuse of grayscale colors can force a muted look on the scene but in a potentially less desirable manner. Luckily this scene has a ton of colors to aid with offsetting this issue. The music changes a couple times but still keeps in pace with what actions are being performed on camera. The more complex track mellows out during the final transition when nudity is involved. 
The following scene is that required shower shot. This scene follows a more pastel blue focused palette with some contrasting and bright bottles and such in the background. This is a more nudity focused scene with the music taking almost a middle eastern desert wandering vibe to it in some instances. The water sounds are solid, not loud enough to overpower anything but not quiet enough to be a silent set piece. Gemma’s outfit works well with the tiled walls but her facial expressions still need some work. The scene moves to a bathtub portion and the music slows down and becomes more guitar heavy accordingly. There is a rather weird ending to the scene without music but it’s still shot well, just the squishy sounds of skin and dripping sounds of water is a little off putting. Moving on, the next shoot is in a kitchen, its bright, still clinging to a more pastel palette, Gemma has a vibrant yellow outfit on and the music is much calmer while still guitar focused. Gemma goes from posing in the kitchen, on the counter, and then finally onto the table. Visually the scene is still well done, no sudden cuts or closeups, the pacing is solid and Gemma isn’t pushing the pacing in the wrong direction and neither is the music. A well done scene that is very heavily contrasted by the worst part of the film in the next. 
 
Not sure what they were thinking with this one, but basically we get a scene without music, audio that focuses far too much on the squishy sounds of oil on skin, Gemma in handcuffs that make some clatter, and a rather lifeless expression or unimpressed one from Gemma. The scene doesn’t have any outstanding visuals, the color palette is the typical pastel focused style seen throughout the film but it just falls flat due to a lack of saturation and the odd bird’s eye view camera angles. This was a weird scene and easily the low point of the film. Following the end of that six minute pause, we jump right into another quality shot scene. Flute music, Gemma with her hair down and in a pink outfit with contrasting vibrant pillows and furniture in the background. A good amount of overhead natural light serves to once again blow out the scene and amplify the colors without pushing it too far. The scene works with the music, culminating with the addition of a piano for the nude finale on the bed. This is likely the best scene for Gemma in terms of her expressions because while the music is the star, her more casual demeanor works with the tone. A perfect finale for a film that was well shot and produced, with excellent visual fidelity and music composition. 
 
Score: 8/10 (Production), 7/10 (Setting)

Music

The music throughout the movie overall suits the scene and is dialed in to Gemma’s performance. Guitar heavy tracks are the dominant type throughout and it creates a more casual yet upbeat atmosphere to each scene, complimenting what already is visually presented as a spring like vibe. The first scene has a very steady percussion beat that works well with the guitar, it doesn’t over power the lead instrumental and the guitar itself maintains this pattern for at least half of the scene. The pace picks up as Gemma begins the undressing part and the music takes a more progressive tone to it as it goes along with the ride in anticipation of something changing but not so fast as to get ahead of the scene. The only critique musically is that the sound does a fade away effect during the transition to the next shoot and it’s rather abrupt. 

The second shoot is a bit more dynamic with some electronic treble effects in the background and a far more pronounced percussion set to compliment the guitar. The beat is more active which is good, however, the scene it’s paired with isn’t really moving at a similar pace. The scene is more dynamic in it’s visual elements and the undressing sequence does have more movements and changes occurring in contrast to a rather simple bouncing ball seat scene like in the first but it is still a little mismatched, but not so much that it takes away from the scene in any substantial manner. The music does speed up and gain some more complexity as the scene moves towards the finale as the last bits of clothing are removed and during this part it does excel in amplifying the actions of Gemma. There is a final musical transition to a more laid back track during the final few minutes but it’s in a similar vein to the first shoot. 

On to the third shoot, the pool/shower scene. This music is a jazzy sax focused track with some interesting high notes. The background instrumental sets a quick pace but also a bit of a mysterious tone. Overall it’s a good track and a well done piece of audio work given the attention to the music and to the water flow. Once the undressing portion is over the sax is replaced by the guitar once more and we get a fairly prominent xylophone style percussion instrument in the background. This track has some odd loops as it ends and then starts up again in a noticeable manner but it works enough to overlook this aspect. The silent portion that follows is good audio quality wise but it’s weird, so, I’ll leave it at that. The penultimate scene is in the similar style to all prior tracks, although it is a slower tempo which is interesting given that Gemma is actually more active in this shoot. We get light percussion elements until the final nude portion when the guitar makes a more prominent appearance and finishes off the scene with a guitar duet. The actual penultimate scene is a travesty, besides being of average shooting quality at best, the audio production while solid is incredibly annoying and weird. No music, just the sound of clanking handcuffs and squishy oily hands. This scene brings down the entire film. 

The final shoot is the best of the entire film, visually and musically. It begins with an outstanding flute solo to set the tone to one akin to an explorative romp in a forest. It is musically complex with reverberating bass notes that add depth to the track and the pacing is just right with the added piano duet. Gemma is the most active during this scene and her pacing works perfectly with the alternating piano and flute tracks. Then if that wasn’t enough, as most of the clothes are off the flute exits and we get this beautiful track that feels like it was ripped from a slice of life anime a la Aria. Then it changes once more to a piano heavy track. The tempo is slower but the tone is more powerful. It signals the end of a journey based on the instrumentals and serves to show that these last few moments with Gemma are coming to a close. An almost perfect end with an unfortunately early timed film end without a fade component. The final bit of the film consists of the behind the scenes content and a regular upbeat guitar track to supplement.

Score: 7.5/10

Aesthetics & Performance

Visually the outfits, the backdrops, and Gemma were very well done. While the settings themselves were fairly standard within the genre and not a lot of creativity in their usage, they were still visually pleasing. Pastel was the name of the game throughout this film, with a more vibrant color variation used on Gemma to single her out and highly contrasting set pieces used at specific points in the shoots so as to avoid washing out the scenes with too much bright and soft colors. Gemma herself looked outstanding with great attention given to her hair, which would appear to be her most prominent feature. Her best outfit was her final one, both in terms of creativity and complexity, and in color. The attention given to Gemma’s hair in each scene is something to take note of as many shoots often have less complex hairstyles, this is not a bad thing and it does depend on the setting and the actress involved, but it is worth noting the effort at least to not just tie up the hair in a simple manner or leave it hanging, although when Gemma does it still looks great.

Performance wise the film needs work, discounting the silent oily hand scene where Gemma looked fairly uninterested in, the rest of the scenes where she is active throughout and largely in keeping with the music, her facial expressions are rather bland. However, I am aware that many actresses have had similar presentation issues in some Spice Visual films, so this may be an intentional direction by the production team. Nevertheless, it is passable, and it does work to an extent with the more casual explorative concept used throughout the film. Had Gemma been doing a shoot in some tropical island destination its possible the outcome would have been different. Overall, not a bad performance and as a complete product nothing was out of sync with the other, except for that one scene. 

Score: 7.5/10 (Aesthetics), 7/10 (Performance)

Summary

Overall this is a solid IV and a good end to Gemma’s time with Spice Visual. With the exception of one scene the rest were well done, if not a little uninspired. Music production was good, visual quality was good, performance on Gemma’s part was somewhat boring for my tastes but the thematic style isn’t off from other productions made by this studio, including others done by Gemma. In terms of a Gemma production, there are better IVs but this is still a solid visual experience if you are a fan. In addition there is the relatively rare aspect of finding a successful non-Japanese or East Asian Gravure model that is still active within the last few years, so there is that appeal that can certainly aid in propping up these films. Not a bad film for the most part, and Gemma looks good, so I’ll call that a win. 

Score: 7.4/10
Pros

– Music composition
– Visual fidelity
– Gemma (she is cute)

Cons

– That one silent scene
– A bit uninspired set pieces
– Gemma’s facial expressions