Sunday, October 25, 2015

Montages

Montages are a filmmaking technique where there is no dialogue spoken and instead just footage or animation is condensed, often to indicate a passage of time or to save on run time. In my opinion, montages can be a good technique when used correctly, but often times are just overused and cliche. Fortunately, for animated movies, montages are usually quite good and effective.

"Immortals"-Big Hero 6

This scene is from a relatively new movie, but gained a lot of fans due to its emotional core and lovable characters. In this scene, Hiro, the film's protagonist, develops new super suits for his college friends to help them defeat the masked man. The reason this scene works so well is that it balances each of the characters and shows each of their capabilities, all to a great song choice that gets the audience pumped for the upcoming battle. It also shows that nerds are the greatest people ever and helps convince kids that science and robotics are cool. 



"Touch the Sky"-Brave


Brave has one of cinema's most fierce and fiery female characters, Merida. This scene, which serves as an introduction to her character is very empowering and free-spirted, just like Merida herself, and shows that women can be strong too. Plus, the animation is beautiful and the song is perfect, with the lyrics being a sort of anthem for Merida's conflict.   
   

video used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA9nZrhFo4U#t=20



"Kingdom Dance"-Tangled

An inspiring and upbeat movie, Tangled has a notable montage right when Rapunzel enters the kingdom. This scene starts out with Rapunzel sight-seeing, but about halfway through, she starts a dance in the middle of the town square. At this point the scene starts to get really good. The scene continues as the dance draws more and more people in and the music builds and builds, until the dance ends and nightfall comes. What makes this scene so invigorating is the music. The dance that starts halfway through begins simple and elegant, but as the dance grows and the scene reaches its climax, it is an immersive and powerful piece of music that draws the audience in, making an effective montage that gets people smiling with its fast pace, energy, and pure joy.  



"Forbidden Friendship"-How to Train Your Dragon 

A bit slower-paced than your average montage, "Forbidden Friendship" is a beautiful scene that explores forming the unbreakable bond between Hiccup and Toothless. It is simple but charming; with lots of cute Toothless moments and little details that make you re-watch the scene over and over again. Hiccup's facial expressions and actions are especially fun to watch but easy to miss, like the little wave he gives to Toothless or the guilty walk he does when he annoys Toothless. Toothless himself also has plenty of little things to watch for, like the hesitation he has before touching Hiccup's hand, or his eyes widening when Hiccup first reaches out his hand with his eyes closed. Another thing that makes this scene so good is the music. The music is beautiful and unique, and builds to a magical moment when Hiccup decides to trust Toothless and Toothless decides to trust Hiccup.  



"Married Life"-Up

You saw this one coming. This scene has become well known for its emotional impact on the film and the audience. While the unusually sad ending to this scene is good and makes it unique, it is not the only good part about this scene. People have been saying that 'Pixar told a better love story in ten minutes with no words than Stephanie Meyer (the author of the Twilight series) did in four books'. And it's true. There is not a single word of dialogue in this entire scene, yet it still manages to tell the complete story of a couple from marriage to death. One of the ways Pixar does this is through the emotional core of this scene and the simple, believable characters that just experience life like any other person would. There is nothing too remarkable about Carl and Ellie's married life, and that is what helps the scene resonate so loudly with the viewers. By having the characters in believable situations, like broken bones and infertility, and showing that eventually death will come and you will grow old, it evokes a personal connection between the audience and the movie. It says so much with so little, and that is where the true beauty of this moment is.

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