Artistic direction in any animated film is very important! In this episode, Paislee will discuss more about this idea and how it’s shaped animation today!
Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only. JSK Stories is not affiliated nor sponsored from any of the films discussed on this channel. Ratings and parental guides for each film may be found on https://www.imdb.com.
Greetings, pals! Wow, I can’t believe we are on our final episode of Season 1! Time has flown by! I truly hope you have had a fun time and that you have learned so many new things about film. Today we are going to look at the beautiful cinematography of the 2016 musical film, La La Land.
Cinematography is the correct term to use when describing the art of making actual motion pictures. This includes the lighting, the set, the choice of cameras and camera lenses, the movements and camera angles, and any special effects. All of the movies we have talked about this season have had excellent cinematography. La La Land, however, rises above many films because the cinematography was so carefully utilized to tell the story of Mia and Sebastian.
Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, this film takes place in sunny California, present-day. However, the cinematography evokes an older, more nostalgic time, taking inspiration from the golden-age of Hollywood. The opening dance scene, for example, was taken in one shot, meaning there wasn’t a pause at all. In fact, many of the musical numbers and scenes of the movie were taken in one shot. Chazelle took inspiration from the 1930’s works of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers for this “head to toe”, one shot filming. He also wanted the movie to be good for widescreen, something very common in the 1950’s.
The scenery and locations in which Chazelle decided to film also contributed to his cinematographic vision. He definitely didn’t shy away from rustic and vintage backgrounds, and embraced lots of color in his scenes. He also lighted each scene very intentionally, giving attention to where he wanted the audience to focus.
Cinematography is a wonderful thing because there are always different visions. That’s what makes movies so special! There are different stories and different artistic mediums to tell them through! That’s why I love watching different genres and styles, so that I can see stories told through different perspectives.
Well, I’m sad to say it, but that is all for our episode today and this wraps up Season 1! I can’t wait to come back for Season 2! Have any movie suggestions for me to watch? Be sure to submit them on jskstories.com! Thank you, and as I always say, have a POP-tastic day!