Gene Kelly, Please!

Ahhh! I have waited all semester to watch my favorite movie, Singing in the Rain and it was just as glorious as I had remembered! I was so excited to get to share the experience with my friends and fellow classmates and to see them discover and enjoy it as well. The energy and passion that radiates from every second of every scene of this movie is pure exuberance. I have often wondered what it is that sets this film and some of the other old classic movies apart from modern movies. Is it the use of three strip Technicolor? Or the angles at which the shots are filmed? Or the quality or style of acting? Or could it be the way the music and sound are done? Or is it the way the film is edited? What is it that makes these movies masterpieces? I wonder how the audience of today would perceive a film like Singing in the Rain. Musicals today, such as Chicago, have a very different style, not necessarily better or worse, only different.

One of the most visually interesting scenes that we did not have a chance to discuss in class was the musical number Beautiful Girls. The scene is a beautiful dance number full of light, airy choreography and charming lyrics. There is one shot in which the camera shoots straight down on the group of dancers surrounding the man singing. The are all looking up at the camera smiling and singing. This overheard style shot is rarely seen these days. If it is, I feel as though it is only in bar or club scenes or to scan over a traffic jam on a road, etc. This is the only time I have ever seen it used where the subjects in the scene are actually looking up and acknowledging the camera above them and are arranged in such a deliberate fashion.

Another scene in the movie that I have always been partial to, maybe simply because of my ballerina background, is the scene where Gene Kelly sees the elusive lady in green and imagines running up to her and dancing a beautiful pas de deux with her. It is interesting that this is actually a day dream within a dream, as the entire sequence is actually simply Don Lockwood explaining an idea for a number to R.F. It is not only beautifully choreographed (always the first thing to catch my eye) but also has impressive sweeping camera angles that dolly in and out seamlessly with the routine and the music. The use of the wind machine that was probably on a few feet off camera added a lot to the number, and it is interesting to think back to some foreshadowing that occurred earlier with the empty stage scene between Don and Kathy.

This movie is one that I could watch over and over again and never tire of it. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to share the experience with my classmates and hope to not only be able to appreciate it more, but also to be able to use some of what I have observed and learned in the projects later.

Inspirational Techniques

When I start to think ahead to our film project due later on in the semester, I am going to be completely honest, I feel quite overwhelmed. I feel as though my knowledge of the world of film making and my level of creativity are quite inadequate to take on such a project. Even with this short film editing assignment due Thursday, I still am not totally pleased with my finished product (and probably never will be.) I don't know whether I am simply doomed as a film maker or just need to learn more and become more confident and not be so afraid of messing up. Well, whatever the reason, I am still looking forward to working with my team in trying to create an interesting short film using a variety of techniques with inspirations from many places.

I, personally, was very impressed with the movie Sunset Boulevard and the way in which they used lighting to add to the mood and drama of scenes. I feel as though, depending on which genre of film, my group decides to make, lighting will play a large part in the feel of the film and the individual shots and scenes. Also, in watching Citizen Kane, I remember the shots of the person with his face half-lit and half in the shadow, fading into a flashback sequence. I think the use of flashback sequences can be very effective in drawing the viewer in and creating a more complex and interesting storyline. One movie that I think epitomizes the use of flashback sequences to tell a story, is the movie Memento.

ONe thing that I think will pose a challenge to our team, is knowing when it is better to zoom in versus "dolly" in (I realize we will not actually have a dolly, but move in essentially.) When Eric was showing us the documentary on film making, there was one scene that was particularly fascinating. The shot started out on kids playing outside, then it zoomed out until you could see that it was the view from out of the window, then it continued to move out until you could see both the scene outside of the children playing, but also the scene inside of the people in the house. I think that this technique, although it could prove to be quite difficult to master for us amateurs could be quite a dynamic and effective transition if utilized properly.

I am very excited about the team I am to be working with because I believe we all have different strengths and ideas to contribute to the project, and I think we will collaborate well. I know we will be able to learn a lot not only from the workshops and films in class, but also from each other, and I look forward to diving right into this project ahead.

I can remember in the past taking note of certain movies that just seemed to be rather dark to me, not necessarily so much just the content of the film, but rather the setting, lighting, mood etc were all also dark with lots of shadows. I can remember this kind of bothering me. Several mysteries or cop movies come to mind when I think of films that have that element of shadowy, dark lighting throughout them. Now, come to find out, this is film noir. While at first it was the noticeably dim lighting that first struck me about this genre, such as in the movie Sunset Boulevard, after learning more about the genre, this is far from its most interesting characteristic.

Voice over narration, dramatic camera angles, and a focus on flawed characters are also elements that distinguish this genre from other period films. The narration and the dramatic camera angles were the most obvious elements, however the focus on flawed characters was most interesting to me. There were never heroes in these films. While they may have been a character that you could identify with or a main character to follow, there was never a hero. Everyone was flawed. I think this partially has to do with the time in which these films were made and the things that were happening in the world at the time. Most of these films were made during or around WWII, when there was a definite distrust for human nature and society as a whole. Often the world of film imitates, if not exaggerates, what is happening in the real world at the time. The world was a dark place filled with flawed people in need of healing, and that is what is reflected in this genre of film very well. I also think this particular movie probably portrays the attitude of Hollywood at the time well. In the movie it is portrayed as very fickle and fake (not unlike Hollywood today) but as also a drastic contrast from the real world. A forced happiness. An exaggerated joy, that was not very present in the world at this time.

Wow! There is no way I would ever have the patience or creativity to be a director of a movie. This past week in class we discussed all of the people that worked behind the scenes of film. Whether it was in the preproduction planning stage or the post-production stage, hundreds of people are involved in making a motion picture come to life. What impressed me the most about the extensive preproduction process was how much work went into the storyboarding process and the planning of each individual shot. I had no idea how much thought went into all of these scenes before the movie even went into production. The script was turned into storyboards, then to rough animations, then models, then digital animations, and finally into reality on set. I can't image planning that meticulously that far in advance for something I can not even see. I am such a "let's just try it and see how it goes" kind of a planner. I suppose this approach doesn't make me much of a planner does it? I would be so impatience in this situation. I admire the dedication of Peter Jackson to his films very much. The fact that he went to such great lengths to plan for his movies and poured so much time and effort into these projects is evident in the masterpieces of film he created.

I was also fascinated by the post-production stage of sound editing. Sound is one of those things in film that goes unnoticed unless it is done badly. Because it happens so effortlessly in real life it never occurred to me just how much engineering must go into the audio part of movies. It seems like such a fun process with a lot of experimentation and serendipitous discovery (a process that I would very much enjoy.) I am probably more suited for more post-production jobs because I like to take things that are already in existence and work with them to enhance and improve them, such as in sound engineering, editing, etc. One of my favorite things that we touched on briefly in class was how sound engineers used a variety of different recorded sounds overlaying each other to create the desired effect. For example, elephant footsteps in reality are very quiet, however in the movie they wanted a much bigger effect so they took a variety of different recordings such as boulders falling and concrete crashing to make a new sound track for the elephants' footsteps. This last class further opened my eyes and gave me a new appreciation for some of the specific behind the scenes work that goes into the creation a motion picture. I am anxious to see what next class will hold in store.

The Early Days

When I was a little girl, my favorite movie was Disney's Beauty and the Beast, closely followed by the heart-touching tale, Milo and Otis. I loved movies as a child (so did my mother because movie time for me meant nap time for her.) I possessed a vivid imagination and always managed to transport myself into the shoes of Belle, Cinderella, or Ariel. I think I was always drawn to Disney movies because of the bright colors, touching story lines, humor, and most importantly, the lively musical acts. I love, love, love, love musical. I always have, and I always will. Looking back through the time line of my favorite movies from different phases in my life, they have always been musicals. From Beauty and the Beast as a little girl to the current pick, Singing in the Rain, I am a sucker for a well choreographed song and dance. When I was in elementary school, my very first "grown-up" movie was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which is of course yet another musical, and quickly replaced the Disney classic as my new favorite. Chicago, Holiday Inn, and My Fair Lady are all musicals that have been on the top of my favorite movies list for years now, and I predict that the next great musical I discover will join the ranks as well.

So why is it that I am so drawn to musicals? Is it just the dancer and performer in me, or I am subconsciously appreciating all of the work and impressive cinematography that goes into a good musical scene. Probably up until this point it was the former, however I hope that through this course it will be more of the latter. The more you know and understand about something, the more you appreciate it-- whether it be the science behind the human body, the story behind the lyrics to a song, or the work that goes into making a movie. I am ready to dive deep into the world of film making to discover new wonders in a world. As of now, I have only been able to appreciate and experience the surface level of this artful, however soon I will be able to appreciate it in a much deeper and more respectful way. Already, in only a few short hours, I have been exposed to so much new information about film and its making, from frames, camera angles, all of the people it takes to make a movie happen, to the roots and evolution of movies and film. It is so much to take in at once, however, I can't wait to pop a bag of popcorn and sit back and enjoy the show. (I suspect there won't be much "sitting back" in the class, but I am eager nonetheless.)