Musical Film Scene Transition
EARLY PERIOD:
1929 MGM's "Broadway Melody" is a real musicals, cabaret and its "backstage views episode" interspersed gradually formed a parallel form of American musicals, "backstage musical", that is, a song and dance program on a real stage, plus backstage love story as a filling. 1930 The musical "Background Love" is a common narrative design, form and provide a framework for emotional cabaret, Hollywood musicals of this period of narrative and thematic processing performance is mainly as a foil for the front.
(plot from non-musical to musical)
Narrative feature: The main content of the story unfold around the dance and song.
Dance and song is not very close to link the story.
Conversion shots: narrative scenes and dance scenes are separated, in the development of the story, the shots are directly switched from dialogue and action of characters to the stage performances.
Transition music: directly from non-music to music
Transition lighting: directly from the lighting of story scene to the stage lighting, no special changes.
Changes of character expression: depending on the changes and developing of narrative plots.
1929 MGM's "Broadway Melody" is a real musicals, cabaret and its "backstage views episode" interspersed gradually formed a parallel form of American musicals, "backstage musical", that is, a song and dance program on a real stage, plus backstage love story as a filling. 1930 The musical "Background Love" is a common narrative design, form and provide a framework for emotional cabaret, Hollywood musicals of this period of narrative and thematic processing performance is mainly as a foil for the front.
(plot from non-musical to musical)
Narrative feature: The main content of the story unfold around the dance and song.
Dance and song is not very close to link the story.
Conversion shots: narrative scenes and dance scenes are separated, in the development of the story, the shots are directly switched from dialogue and action of characters to the stage performances.
Transition music: directly from non-music to music
Transition lighting: directly from the lighting of story scene to the stage lighting, no special changes.
Changes of character expression: depending on the changes and developing of narrative plots.
(plot from musical to non-musical)
narrative, shots, music, lighting and character expression is directly from stage scenes to life scenes.
EXAMPLE
MIDDLE PERIOD:
1940s was the golden age of American musicals, MGM musicals than ever "backstage musical" ,the movie has a more complex narrative, song and dance is directly related to the conflict of story, to promote the development of the story, and ultimately resolve conflicts in the climax song and dance performances. "Life is music," this approach to music freed from detention foreground and background environment .The main characters unfettered sing in any scenario, with the direct expression of the characters' inner true feelings by dance and song, and the audience does not will feel sudden. As the hippie culture of the 1950s and 1960s pop and rock music, musical films tried to use a variety of different kinds of dance and music, at the same time, musical began to shift the focus of the narrative theme of the service, song and dance scenes are in real locations.
(plot from non-musical to musical)
Narrative feature: The simultaneous development of the story and musical, sideshow.
Dance and song is closed to link the story, to promote the development of the story.
Conversion shots: In the narrative development process, the shots are directly transformed from the dialogue and actions to musical. At the same time, the shot is mainly focus on the character's singing and expression. Using singing to instead of dialogue, to express the characters' inner feelings.
1940s was the golden age of American musicals, MGM musicals than ever "backstage musical" ,the movie has a more complex narrative, song and dance is directly related to the conflict of story, to promote the development of the story, and ultimately resolve conflicts in the climax song and dance performances. "Life is music," this approach to music freed from detention foreground and background environment .The main characters unfettered sing in any scenario, with the direct expression of the characters' inner true feelings by dance and song, and the audience does not will feel sudden. As the hippie culture of the 1950s and 1960s pop and rock music, musical films tried to use a variety of different kinds of dance and music, at the same time, musical began to shift the focus of the narrative theme of the service, song and dance scenes are in real locations.
(plot from non-musical to musical)
Narrative feature: The simultaneous development of the story and musical, sideshow.
Dance and song is closed to link the story, to promote the development of the story.
Conversion shots: In the narrative development process, the shots are directly transformed from the dialogue and actions to musical. At the same time, the shot is mainly focus on the character's singing and expression. Using singing to instead of dialogue, to express the characters' inner feelings.
Transition music: First, the background music or accompaniment music gradually sounded, then the characters begin to sing and dance.
Transition lighting: most of scenes do not change, but some special plot, such as in conflict and climax of story, lighting change is depend on the development and needs of the story.
Changes of character expression: it is closely linked with development of story. People directly express feelings with song.
(plot from musical to non-musical)
When the music is gradually end, the shots directly to the dialogue and action, no significant changes in lighting, the story continues to develop.
PRESENT PERIOD:
Early 2000s, musicals downturn period. 2000 "Dancer in the Dark" focuses on the art of dance performance, changes in the performance of traditional musical elements and techniques, sound changes with different rhythms of dance beats to use for a variety of shots and lighting, while adding fantasy. 2001 "Moulin Rouge", 2002 "Chicago" has great innovation and breakthroughs in the visual arts and narrative.
(plot from non-musical to musical)
Narrative feature: a real-world representation and the dream world scenes with song and dance intersperse development. In the dream sequence, mostly using fantasy and flashback with musical scenes, such as " dancer in the dark", " chicago" and " mama mia". These films all set up dream sequence.
Early 2000s, musicals downturn period. 2000 "Dancer in the Dark" focuses on the art of dance performance, changes in the performance of traditional musical elements and techniques, sound changes with different rhythms of dance beats to use for a variety of shots and lighting, while adding fantasy. 2001 "Moulin Rouge", 2002 "Chicago" has great innovation and breakthroughs in the visual arts and narrative.
(plot from non-musical to musical)
Narrative feature: a real-world representation and the dream world scenes with song and dance intersperse development. In the dream sequence, mostly using fantasy and flashback with musical scenes, such as " dancer in the dark", " chicago" and " mama mia". These films all set up dream sequence.
Conversion shots: Although the basic shot switching is still transferred from the dialogue and action to the dance and song, but try to use the parallel montage and montage contrast, diversity lens, overhead, overhead shot, quickly sliding and pulled up, shooting angle diversification. Meanwhile the photographer uses different forms of lenses according to the development of story. For example, in "Dancer in the Dark", the character is anxiety in reality, the shots of the reality using a hand-held camera shake to express the characters' inner. When the screen is cut from the reality to dance scene, the camera remain stable to express the good expectation of the character's inner through song and dance.
Meanwhile, using echoing shots between from non-musical to musical and from musical to non-musical, for example, " moulin rouge", when actor first entered the room for the heroine singing and dance, the screen transforms from the inside of house into the out of house, the picture of dance is night over the city of Paris, then the end of the song and dance, the shots from the out of house to back house.
In "frozen" , When the music starts, the action of ELSA lifted his hands ready to sing, at the end of the music, the ELSA hands down, dance and song ended.
Transition music:
first ,the background music sounds, leads the musical scene
Characters sing directly into the musical scene
using surround sound to leads to music, for example, " mama mia", character open a music box, the music sounds, then switch musical scene. "Chicago", Prison scene, first, sound of water droplets, and then faster and faster pace, gradually forming a beat, the music sounds into musical scene.
Characters sing directly into the musical scene
using surround sound to leads to music, for example, " mama mia", character open a music box, the music sounds, then switch musical scene. "Chicago", Prison scene, first, sound of water droplets, and then faster and faster pace, gradually forming a beat, the music sounds into musical scene.
Natural light or black and white light alternates with colored light, in non-musical scene is natural light or black and white light, but in musical scene is colored light, such blue and red. " Dancer in the dark" and " Chicago" using lighting to express character emotion during scene transition.
Changes of character expression: it is closely linked with development of story. People directly express feelings with song.
