A Million Dreams for the Film I'm Gonna Make

Ladies, gentlemen, and all those in between, I present to you the true beginning of my journey.

IT'S CASE STUDY TIME, READER!

Before we take this huge dive together I should inform you that between this posting and my last one, I've come to settle for a sub-genre. When I first considered presenting a musical with a sub-genre of historical drama/romance, the idea terrified me. I was worried by the idea of finding an appropriate setting, should I have elected to have worked in an era such as the 1950s. On top of that, as an individual only beginning to understand music theory, the concept of emulating another style mortified me. Then it hit me.

Didn't "The Greatest Showman" present modern, contemporary music in their movie? According to the great Wikipedia, P. T. Barnum, the main character of this movie, lived from 1810 to 1891. I assure you that this time period did not contain the same pop/theatre music that is heard throughout the film. Despite that, the film had great success, racking up $113 million within its first five weekends in theaters, the profit almost doubling from $8.8 to $15 million during its first week according to this article by The Atlantic. 

Furthermore, outside of the world of film, the Broadway musical hit "Hamilton," which begins in the later 1770s, features rap and hip-hop in its storytelling. The musical follows the character of Alexander Hamilton, one of American's Founding Fathers, and his life's journey. Despite the fact that the music style doesn't align with the time period, this musical is told sung through these beats because the creator, Tony and Grammy Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, believed it was the best way to tell it, quoted in the New York Times for stating,

"That is part and parcel with the hip-hop narrative: writing your way out of your circumstances, writing the future you want to see for yourself. This is a guy who wrote at 14, ‘I wish there was a war.’ It doesn’t get more hip-hop than that."

While I recognize that this has little to do with film, I felt that it was absolutely necessary to include because it has helped me select this genre for my film. While I've yet to settle on my time period (look out for my next post!), knowing that I could still hypothetically uses my personal style in my music put me at ease. Should you, dear reader, wish to hear his brilliant tracks (although honestly, I would be slightly surprised if you hadn't at least heard about this phenomenal hit), I recommend clicking this link here for some preview tracks. If you have Apple Music you can listen to them in full!

Anyways, back to the beauty and genius that is "The Greatest Showman." When I watched this movie in theaters the day it came out, what really got me hooked was the opening sequence. While there is no current way to access this clip because the motion picture rights have yet to be released, here's a list I have compiled of shots from various trailers that I recall being present in this movie's glorious opening:

From 0:05 to 0:12, 1:10 to 1:12, 1:20 to 1:27, 1:33 to 1:35, and 2:16 to 2:19 in the trailer here.
From 1:22 to 1:26 and 1:53 to 1:55 in the trailer here.

The movie opens with P.T. Barnum, played by Hugh Jackman, in a long shot, his entire body illuminated by back lights, Jackman only in shadows as he starts to sing. From what I can recall, Jackman is highlighted by red of his jacket and the yellow-white lights of the stage in his area, the actor standing directly behind the bleachers. Through the opening, the camera plays to the mystery of this shadowed figure but remaining at a distance, Jackman executing a dance sequence that moves slowly and swiftly, the moments with a lack of movement leading to anticipation just like his circus aims to do: control the anticipation in order to retain the intrigue. There are a series of close ups and mid shots as well, though the camera tends to remain in the mid and long shot area in order to capture Jackman's dancing. When the song begins to transition from Jackman's lower register into his upper, the camera follows him into the area where he and the cast are filmed as they dance, the images changing every few seconds to illustrate how much there is to see, the ensemble in bright costumes and the area lit overhead like a stage would be, areas around unlit and dark, isolating the group in brightness in order to foreshadow how they will stand alone as a group of outcasts (spoiler alert!), but be a topic of conversation everywhere.

I feel it necessary to mention that while the opening track present on the released album is a full length of 5:02, the opening of the film utilized a cut section of this and faded out the instruments and chorus while the lead character of P.T. Barnum was steadily repeating the lyrics "It's everything you ever want, It's everything you ever need, And it's here right in front of you, This is where you want to be," (which occurs around 3:16 of the original track!). At the end of this clip, the camera is spinning around Jackman as the spotlight on him fades, the ensemble and stage disappearing as the dismal set is slowly revealed. As the lights fade in around him, blue tones emphasizing the contrasts to the red jacket that fades away along with his vision, the excitement in his face fades away, Jackman singing the lyrics once more as if he were humming to himself.

If that's not an incredible musical movie opening, I don't know what is.

I must however note that much of this majesty was enhanced by the brilliant work of Pasek and Paul, the composers of "The Greatest Showman's" score. If you're interested in hearing some of their work in this production or others, (Dogfight, Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land), I would recommend starting your search here.

Some new editions to your library of Amanda tunes:

• The Greatest Show from "The Greatest Showman"
• Alexander Hamilton from "Hamilton"
• A Million Dreams from "The Greatest Showman"

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (2017) | Full Movie Trailer in Full HD | 1080p. (2017, December 29). Retrieved March 07, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zOeiLhcgPo

Benj Pasek on Apple Music. (n.d.). Retrieved March 07, 2018, from https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/benj-pasek/311464527

Hamilton (musical). (2018, March 03). Retrieved March 05, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_(musical)

Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) by Various Artists on Apple Music. (2015, September 25). Retrieved March 07, 2018, from https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hamilton-original-broadway-cast-recording/1129446206

Sims, D. (2018, January 22). The Astonishing Success of The Greatest Showman. Retrieved March 05, 2018, from https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/01/the-astonishing-success-of-the-greatest-showman/551081/

The Greatest Showman. (2018, March 04). Retrieved March 05, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greatest_Showman

Weinert-Kendt, R. (2015, February 05). Lin-Manuel Miranda and Others From Hamilton Talk History. Retrieved March 07, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/theater/lin-manuel-miranda-and-others-from-hamilton-talk-history.html

Weinert-Kendt, R. (2015, February 05). Lin-Manuel Miranda and Others From Hamilton Talk History. Retrieved March 07, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/theater/lin-manuel-miranda-and-others-from-hamilton-talk-history.html

Zac Efron and Zendaya reveal the one thing Hugh Jackmans bad at. (2017, December 21). Retrieved March 07, 2018, from http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/new-movies/zac-efron-and-zendaya-reveal-the-one-thing-hugh-jackmans-bad-at/news-story/1ba42318c6e2c3fb705714aacbb5ff53