2 Samuel 6:14

 
LOOKING INTO INSPIRATIONS

LA LA LAND's Plot

Aspiring actress Mia Dolan unexpectedly meets confident pianist and jazz fanatic Sebastian Wilder during a traffic jam, where they exchange a rather disrespectful interaction. Mia works at a coffee shop in the Warner Bros Studio backlot while Sebastian goes from gig to gig looking for a steady job, holding his dream to open up his own jazz club. Mia and Sebastian have multiple encounters in different, random places, which they see as a sign they are meant to be. They go on unprepared but intimate dates that allow them to develop a relationship. 

Mia and Sebastian move in together and become a couple, they both support each other with their dreams and help each other to achieve their artistic desires. Sebastian encourages Mia to write her own play after she repeatedly fails to gain a role in any production. Sebastian on the other side joins a contemporary jazz band that fuses his passion with modern rhythms. Mia doesn't know much about Sebastian's job but she keeps supporting him. She ends up going to one of his concerts where she realizes he is drifting away from his dream and his original passion. They end up in a discussion that puts their relationship at stake. 

After staying for a while at her parents' house, Mia receives an unexpected visit from Sebastian where he tells her she has an audition for a role. Excited to revive Mia's passion, Sebastian picks her up early in the morning and takes her to the casting call, where she ends up getting the role. This job, though, ends up taking Mia completely away from Sebastian, to the point she builds a life with another man whom she even has a kid with. Sebastian ends up going back to his original dream of opening his jazz club. Mia and her husband go to LA and accidentally end up at such jazz club, where a montage shows what Mia and Sebastian's life would've been like if they ended up together after Mia got the role, resolving at the jazz club, showing the reality is they both went their own way.

WHY LA LA LAND?

La La Land's story is not my focus of inspiration, but the way it is made, the color schemes that are used, and the techniques included. The musical numbers in La La Land really help pave the way for the story, especially using motifs that flow through the movie and create similar feelings in different films. The development of the song 'Mia and Sebastian's Theme' through the movie, as more instruments are introduced and the louder it gets, helps the story to develop along with it. 

How Damien Chazelle played with color is something I definitely want to include in my film opening. While describing my characters in a previous post, color was something essential for both characters, as they help show contrast in their purposes. Mia and Sebastian wear mostly primary colors through the beginning of the film, but then as their relationship develops, their colors start to combine, going from pure yellow and red to purple and dark blue. This is shown more through the characters' costume design, which will definitely be an important factor in my film opening.

Mise-en-scene is also essential in La La Land, shown in many scenes but mainly in the ones where dancing and singing happen. Usually when musical numbers that only include Mia and Sebastian happen. The 'Dancing in the Stars' scene is a great example of this. How it all foreshadows 'City of Stars', a song that strengthens their bond, and shows their relationship revealed in their intimate dancing. Another scene that stands out is the scene on the hill, where they look over LA and have their first dance together.

I want mise-en-scene elements in my film opening to help develop more context and tone than the setting. I want the background of my shots to show the emotions the character might be feeling and use it to combine the two characters' personalities. Using elements such as props, costume design, lighting, and location.

The dances, except for the opening number, are a big inspiration for my film opening's choreography. Having 2 main characters that are involved in a romantic relationship allows partner dances to occur. The techniques used in shooting these dances are some I also want to use in my film opening. Take as an example 'A Lovely Night' which is the scene on the hill with the view over LA. It's a long master shot that follows the two characters around as they dance, sometimes the camera stays still but the shot remains interesting due to the ongoing movement from the dancing. This is a technique I want to include in my film, to make the dancing the emphasis of the shot by letting that create movement.

There is a very quick scene in this movie that is a signature Damien Chazelle technique. The Whip Pan Shot. I want to try and include this in my film opening, maybe even try and make that the first thing that is seen in it. It's aggressive and quick, but satisfying, especially if it syncs with the music. The shot creates a sense of coherence and relationship between the two characters being shown, and I want to convey that same feeling in my film opening, developing context and a relationship between the two main characters.

After rewatching this film, I realized how much it works as an inspiration for my film opening. From its genre to its mise-en-scene elements, the shot and movement techniques used, and even the sound of the music. Damien Chazelle has an amazing style, Whiplash is another film that I love and also works as a secondary inspiration for my film opening. 

Chazelle, D., Chazelle, D., Gosling, R., Stone, E., DeWitt, R., & Simmons, J. K. (2016, December 7). La La Land. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3783958/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1