Genre Research for Film Opening

    It's a Musical!

    After giving it a lot of thought, I decided to finally stick with the musical genre.  I've previously done research on musical films, but I did some more digging to educate myself more. 

My research can be found below:

Musical Films:

In musical films, songs are intertwined with the dialogue of the film in order to further develop the plot. The structure of the film and where the songs are placed contributes to the progression of the storyline. Characters  burst out into songs and this suggests their passion for the subject or situation. In other circumstances, some characters wait to begin singing when the scene is close to ending or when they move locations and are alone. When directors make this happen, it's usually because the character is reflecting upon a recent situation or experience. The tone and mood that the message of the song conveys to the audience is crucial for comprehending the character's feelings and emotions. When the songs contain a slow tempo, it hints that the character feels melancholy about a certain moment and/ or experience. if the song is constructed by upbeat tempo, then the audience can infer that the characters are challenging each other. However, an upbeat tempo doesn't always symbolize tension, passion, or motivation, sometimes, it also represents joy and content. Overall, the style of the song selections aids in transmitting the intended tone and mood.

Moreover, the musical film genre may sometimes contain some form of dance.  So many factors can be revealed about the character through their dancing as it showcases their body language and movement. In dance numbers that contain one character, it can be noticed how the character exhibits their bottled up emotions through dance; the relationship that the character has with themselves is also exposed. In addition, a two or more people dance number can be implied to demonstrate the relationship between the characters. 

The production techniques of films are divided into three phases: 

1. Pre-production- the crew of the film is recruited and they formulate an inventive storyline. For movie musicals, songs are created and composed during this stage as composers work closely together with screenwriters to embed the songs within the scenes. 

2.  Production- after the plot is finalized, period of time during which the movie is recorded. For movie musicals, the production stage might take the longest time since shooting requires several takes of a specific song, acting scene, or dance number in order for there to be enough material to edit.

3. Post-production- after film is shot, the "editing process" . In this stage, the editors pair up certain music and sounds to scenes. It should be noted that in musical films, the cast usually records themselves singing the songs at a professional studio and then these vocals are paired up and layered with the singing scenes in the film.

Subsequently, sound is one of the main factors that contributes in making movie musicals so enjoyable. Some movies feature a character singing a solo. A singular voice can hint the absence of something essential to the character. On the other hand, in bigger musical numbers, the vocals from numerous people come together to show the unity within the community. Another factor of production evident in movie films is the set production. Lighting is another key factor that helps establish the mood of the scene. The costume and makeup featured in musical movies are often very natural. Most of the movie musical plots are non-fiction and the characters represent real humans. Nevertheless, some characters do require extensive makeup. Likewise, the camera shots, angles, and movements of musical films often follow the characters movements, especially in big dance numbers. Reverse shots are utilized to show the characters as they converse with one another. Long shots are camera shots that are primarily used in dance numbers; they are effective and appropriate because they exhibit the character's full body.

    La La Land (2016)

• Colors
• Bright colors = happiness (when Mia and Sebastian meet each other, they're wearing bright clothing)
• Neutral colors = Sebastian usually wears neutral and simple colored-clothing to match with this personality
• Bold colors = Mia wears bold colors as she's extroverted and unreserved
• Framing
• Long shots = these types of shots are evident in the musical numbers of the film, specially the ones that have dancers; they show the character's complete movement and body language
• Medium close-ups = these types of shots are used when the director wants the audience to feel connected to the characters (during Mia's first audition, a mid-shot is used to show her disappointment when she gets rejected)
• Sounds
• Music = the soundtrack includes many, versatile melodies, each which represent characters' emotions (the music of this movie is composed by Justin Hurwitz)
• Diegetic sounds = are used to make the movie seem more realistic (the car horns during the opening scene and the sound of the forks and plates during the dinner scene)
• Non-diegetic sounds = are example of this would be the songs in the film since in real life, characters don't break out into songs
• Lighting
• Dull, dark lighting = used to create a serious mood/atmosphere 
• Bright lighting = used to create an uplifting mood/atmosphere ("Another Day of Sun")
• Spotlighting = used to highlight a certain character/object (Sebastian being spotlighted as he's playing the piano)

    Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009)

• Colors
• The colors throughout this film are in black and white, since it was shot this way. However, the lighting aids in establishing a similar effect that color does.
• Framing
• Medium close-ups = these types of shots are used when the director wants the audience to feel connected to the characters (when Madeline shows Guy her musical skills on the trumpet)
• Long shots = these types of shots are evident in the musical numbers of the film, specially the ones that have dancers; they show the character's complete movement and body language (the tap number and when Guy and Madeline walk through the park)
  
• Sounds
• Diegetic sounds = are used to make the movie seem more realistic (the chattering and mumbling of people on the streets)
• Non-diegetic sounds = are example of this would be the songs in the film since in real life, characters don't break out into songs
• Music = the soundtrack includes many, versatile melodies, each which represent characters' emotions (the music of this movie is composed by Justin Hurwitz)
• Lighting
• Dark lighting = used to create a serious mood/atmosphere (when Madeline and Guy breakup)
• Bright lighting = used to create an uplifting mood/atmosphere (when Madeline and Guy reunite and the end of the film)

*** yes, I am a major Damien Chazelle fan***

Sources:

• Butt, K., Mrđen., D., & About Kathryn ButtKathryn is an MA graduate in Film and Television from The University of Bristol. After moving from the depths of the countryside. (2018, July 11). How you can make contemporary, iconic film musicals. Retrieved February 21, 2021, from https://www.raindance.org/making-film-musicals/

• PRODUCTION techniques By Ben ODONOGHUE. the production process the production process refers to the stages or phases that are required to complete a FILM, - ppt download. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2021, from https://slideplayer.com/slide/1431129/

• Samuelson, K. (2017, February 24). La la LAND: Ryan GOSLING'S weird keyboard is a real thing. Retrieved February 21, 2021, from https://time.com/4680243/keyboard-la-la-land-ryan-gosling/

• Guy and Madeline on a park bench. (2020, September 09). Retrieved February 21, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_and_Madeline_on_a_Park_Bench

HASTA LA VISTA!- go eat pineapple and watch La La Land :)