Musical Research
What is a Musical?
A musical film is a film genre where songs by the characters are mixed into the story and sometimes includes dancing. This genre started in the early twentieth century inspired by light opera and has continued to flourish through the twenty first century. These movies have been popular for a long time and many of the songs from these musicals have become hits in their own right. This genre is very popular as they usually are positive upbeat and leave the viewer with a good feeling when leaving the theater.
Content:
Musical films traditionally use elements that came from the theater. As such, the performers often act as if their songs and dances were in front of a live audience. The use of song and dance drives the narrative of the movie. Most musicals have come from an adaptation of a stage performance, for example “The Jazz Singer,” a play written by Samson Raphaelson was staged on Broadway in 1925. This play was adapted to a movie in 1927.
The lyrics of the musical are an important part as they serve to advance the storyline and usually contain words that have entered the American lexicon. The lyrics can be witty, risque, or patriotic. The lyrics of Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin, and Irving Berlin remained popular even many years later.
Ex: Cole Porter writing lyrics
Another important aspect of a musical film is the narrative. This is a change from the early days where the songs mattered more than the story. Now, the songs follow the plot rather than the other way around. For instance, “Hair” and its anti-war stance and “Rent” on its statement about HIV, musicals today reflect controversial revolutionary and debatable issues in American culture.
Overtime as the musicals got more complicated, a director and choreographer were employed to help shape the production. Choreographers such as Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse became popular in their own right and became a major visionary in guiding the physical and visual parts of it. Additionally, actors casted in the musical could either be singers, dancers or even non-singing actors who became a star in the musical project.
Ex: Amanda Seyfried was just an actor when she starred in Mean Girls, but made her singing debut four years later in Mamma Mia.
Production Techniques:
As the musical transitioned from the stage to the screen camera angles were used to give the viewer something they have never seen before. For example, in the musical “The Gold Diggers of 1933,” their camera shoots from a top down view of dancers circling and this shot portrays the dancers appearing like flowers.
In the musical film, La La Land by Damien Chazelle, Chazelle consistently uses a leitmotif which is a recurring musical phrase associated with a theme, subject, character or setting. In the film, the two main characters Mia and Sebastian have their own theme song. This melancholy, yet uplifting melody is repeatedly used in the movie during their scenes together. This score helps tie the message of love together throughout the duration of the film.
The musical “West Side Story,” uses different kinds of lighting throughout the film. Lowkey lighting is used frequently and marked by use of deep shadows with a high contrast between the brightest part of a scene and the darkest parts. Many of the scenes in this musical are in the dark. The use of lowkey lighting allows the viewer to feel the closeness between the characters as they interact with each other. The dark shadows lead to foreshadowing of the tragedy that occurs.
Marketing:
The audience for people interested in musical films is all inclusive as these films tend to attract both younger and older audiences. Although these musicals got great reviews they did not perform well financially. Sometimes movie musicals do better as time goes on. They seem to benefit from word of mouth to boost their ticket sales in later weeks. For example, “The Greatest Showman,” did not do very well its opening weekend, but slowly gained steam eventually making more than 436 million dollars worldwide. Musical films are primarily watched by females 18-30 because they tend to relate more to the plot of the film.
Movie posters are made to promote and advertise a film mainly to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. The poster is there to summarize the film into one shot to help draw attention towards the upcoming film. They help to connect the audience to the movie and encourage ‘buy-in’ to films many months before it is released. The poster usually shows the main character with a prominent scene from the movie.
Ex: The Greatest Showman movie poster with the main character P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman).
Samples:
The musical film Hairspray (2007) is a story that takes place in 1960’s Baltimore. A dance-loving teen Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) auditions for a spot on "The Corny Collins Show" and wins. She becomes an overnight celebrity, a trendsetter in dance, fun and fashion. Her new status as a teen sensation is enough to topple Corny's reigning dance queen and bring racial integration to the show. The movie uses many upbeat songs to push the narrative and make the story progress. The singing and dancing are performed by young characters with lots of energy and infectious dance moves. This movie is intended for a young female audience who can relate to the main character. The setting is in the 60’s during an era where blacks and whites are not treated equally. The poster shows all the main characters in a brightly colored background and the name of the movie in rainbow colors.
The film Grease (1978) is a story based in the 1950’s. A wholesome exchange student Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John) and greaser Danny Zuko (John Travolta) fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, their love is tested. This movie is targeted at teenage females and males because the characters are in high school and relatable to young adults. The effect that music had in Grease, was much of the dialogue and the music was intertwined and fit perfectly with the action and drama of each scene. The music in Grease easily made this film a timeless classic. The movie’s title is predominantly featured on the poster in the shape of a car. A ‘Greaser’ was a popular subculture in the 50’s who had greasy hair, greasy engines, and greasy food. The poster features Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John) the two main characters of the film standing intimately together.
Some Musical Movies to consider:
In the Heights (2021)
Annie (2014)
Frozen (2013)
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Les Miserables (2012)
