Post by Dave25 on Jul 22, 2018 9:45:54 GMT
I am really curious about how they are going to approach this. In the Beauty and the Beast movie, they had certain actors just doing the voices for CGI characters for the most part (Lumiere, Cogsworth, Wardrobe).
I think this artform on film only works if you stay away from the literal. For the voices that means to stay away from speaking. Because that would mean apologizing for the artform and chosen language, constantly separating the singing from the acting and switching in 1 line makes it cringeworthy. This artform is about sung thoughts, so we need to travel and soar with these thoughts. If you let the actors cry, speak or moan constantly it turns into a self-pitying literal mess. The essence of the artform lies in the opposite.
The setting and space should match this. It will not feel more raw or real for the audience if a pavement looks as realistic as possible. Play with cinematography, editing, lighting, create a dreamworld that is beyond real life. It is what in the character's mind that counts. Non-literal but respecting their sung thoughts. For example, if there would be a Miss Saigon movie, I like to see Last Night of the world as something better than life, not the cold concrete small empty room that was probably realistic, but in their minds it is sweltering, passionate and soaring. Show what's in their minds. Thuy's death does not have to be in an alley between a trash can and a clothes line either, because when she shoots him, it's the end of the world for her. Her worlds stops. So instead of some pedestrians singing the choir, why not take Kim to a big, black undefined space, holding Thuy while a creepy smoke surrounds her that turns into a choir of 1000 ghosts, like shades of guilt, singing (not necessericly mouthing the words, voice over will do), really turning it into a very haunting scene.)
For Cats, I think they should not have people in costumes, pretending to be cats. The given is so fantasy like, that animation is the only way to go. Just like the new animated Lion King that's in the works now. The only problem is the dancing, the current movement in 3 animation still looks off and like moving dolls, it has not yet reacted the perfection of 2d animation, so I don't think they will animate the dancing, but maybe use real dancers and then animate over that including the faces/voices of the announced actors?
In musicalfilms the only scenes that seem to work is where they really embrace their thoughts, for example a Whole new world in Aladdin, an animated musical, it's almost like a videoclip, it's like a rollercoaster ride, with their voices as the wind in your hair. Same goes for "The lady's got potential" in Evita, that scene is a whole movie in itself, a masterpiece, and this movie really understood the given of sung thoughts in undefined spaces, for example the duet between Eva and Che in this undefined space, which is just wonderful. The "high flying adored" is sung in a way where none of the other guests hear them, it's their thoughts. With more natural singers this movie could have been great. The other thing that sometimes works is if the singing is supposed to be a performance, or has a purpose story wise, such as in certain scenes in the Sound of Music but that is not the case most of the time.
A musicalfilm (any film) is a bunch of scenes, but especially in musicalfilms every scene and song should be almost like a videoclip. That does not necessarily mean fast editing, it can also be small, smooth and romantic, but that's the beauty of the possibilities of film. I have always seen Cats as a bunch of little concerts/performances. A collection of beautiful scenes. Like Walt Disney's Fantasia or maybe as certain parts in Sleeping Beauty.
I think this artform on film only works if you stay away from the literal. For the voices that means to stay away from speaking. Because that would mean apologizing for the artform and chosen language, constantly separating the singing from the acting and switching in 1 line makes it cringeworthy. This artform is about sung thoughts, so we need to travel and soar with these thoughts. If you let the actors cry, speak or moan constantly it turns into a self-pitying literal mess. The essence of the artform lies in the opposite.
The setting and space should match this. It will not feel more raw or real for the audience if a pavement looks as realistic as possible. Play with cinematography, editing, lighting, create a dreamworld that is beyond real life. It is what in the character's mind that counts. Non-literal but respecting their sung thoughts. For example, if there would be a Miss Saigon movie, I like to see Last Night of the world as something better than life, not the cold concrete small empty room that was probably realistic, but in their minds it is sweltering, passionate and soaring. Show what's in their minds. Thuy's death does not have to be in an alley between a trash can and a clothes line either, because when she shoots him, it's the end of the world for her. Her worlds stops. So instead of some pedestrians singing the choir, why not take Kim to a big, black undefined space, holding Thuy while a creepy smoke surrounds her that turns into a choir of 1000 ghosts, like shades of guilt, singing (not necessericly mouthing the words, voice over will do), really turning it into a very haunting scene.)
For Cats, I think they should not have people in costumes, pretending to be cats. The given is so fantasy like, that animation is the only way to go. Just like the new animated Lion King that's in the works now. The only problem is the dancing, the current movement in 3 animation still looks off and like moving dolls, it has not yet reacted the perfection of 2d animation, so I don't think they will animate the dancing, but maybe use real dancers and then animate over that including the faces/voices of the announced actors?
In musicalfilms the only scenes that seem to work is where they really embrace their thoughts, for example a Whole new world in Aladdin, an animated musical, it's almost like a videoclip, it's like a rollercoaster ride, with their voices as the wind in your hair. Same goes for "The lady's got potential" in Evita, that scene is a whole movie in itself, a masterpiece, and this movie really understood the given of sung thoughts in undefined spaces, for example the duet between Eva and Che in this undefined space, which is just wonderful. The "high flying adored" is sung in a way where none of the other guests hear them, it's their thoughts. With more natural singers this movie could have been great. The other thing that sometimes works is if the singing is supposed to be a performance, or has a purpose story wise, such as in certain scenes in the Sound of Music but that is not the case most of the time.
A musicalfilm (any film) is a bunch of scenes, but especially in musicalfilms every scene and song should be almost like a videoclip. That does not necessarily mean fast editing, it can also be small, smooth and romantic, but that's the beauty of the possibilities of film. I have always seen Cats as a bunch of little concerts/performances. A collection of beautiful scenes. Like Walt Disney's Fantasia or maybe as certain parts in Sleeping Beauty.
