POST 36

Scene analysis for 'Singin in the Rain'

Scene 1: 'You were meant for me' 

Costume + Makeup- Both costumes fit the backdrop really well and the theme of the colours. Also, Kathy in this scene, looks quite innocent as she has blushed cheeks as well as light makeup which could show that she doesn't want to get hurt by this situation as she is a vulnerable girl. She's vulnerable in a way because Don is this famous wealthy actor who shows his love to Kathy but she isn't sure whether it is fake and he is doing it for the newspapers or whether it is real. Furthermore, the purple in Kathy's dress could show she is quite dreamy and wild as this colour is often associated with these things and she could feel that it is all a dream and not actually reality.

Props- The props in this scene make it more realistic to the viewer rather than a fake stage. The fan creating the wind makes her seen windswept as if by his words because he doesn't seem to be affected by the wind in comparison to her. She could not be expecting him to be saying all these things and the wind is showing her surprise and that she is taken aback. Moreover, the step ladder is what she seems to be comfortable around as she keeps going back to it and is used to. This could show Kathy as a character that she isn't a confident person and has to keep going back to what she feels comfortable with and she can't be confident without it. Also, Kathy is higher up on the stepladder until the end which could show the power she has over him where he is ore of her but she hasn't made up her mind about him giving her this power. Don recognises that Kathy is shy and so doesn't try to overpower her and make her feel uncomfortable because he wants her to like him. Additionally, Don introduces the props as if they were characters in this scene which indicates their importance to him and how much he is used to the props. It's as if he doesn't see them as objects and props but more people and characters showing his love for film and everything about it.  Likewise, the artificial smoke makes it look like they are in heaven which adds to this ideal that she may think that it is too good to be true and thinks it's a dream.

Location- The location from this scene is a movie set and he utilises this set to make it more romantic to fit what he is trying to say and do to Kathy. Don has created an environment which is a constructed reality as he has set it all up and this could convey what she feels like as she feels that it is all fake and that he is just playing a character like he is known to which she fears.  

Character movement/ performance- Near the end of the scene, they dance in sync which could show that they are starting to trust each other and Don is making sure to take every opportunity to look her in the eye but she looks away most of the time. This could show that she feels that if she looks in his eyes that she'll fall for him and that is what she is terrified of.

Camera Movement- The first establishing shot is a wide angle and shows where they are so the audience knows and how huge the studio is in comparison to them. The low angle shot in this scene shows how big they are and how even in such an odd angle, they still look beautiful and also, this shot allows you to see a close up of the clothes the actors are wearing. When the camera is far away from the set, it allows the audience to see the props and the cast clearly and understand the environment of what's going on. There is a close up shot of Kathy which shows her beautiful makeup and innocence to the audience which could show she takes good care of what she looks like and the director could have wanted the audience to see her innocent side and how pretty she actually is. Some shots of this scene are close up to see their emotions but far away enough to allow the audience to see everything around them. Moreover, there is a tracking shot in this scene which means that the camera follows the cast with their movement and they do this in this scene  because it allows the audience to see what's going on and see how big the studio is as well as how much space there is. At the end of this scene, the camera backs away adding an effective longing shot which could show the longing and love for each other they have.

Sound- Diegetic sound is used in this sound as they are creating the noise from their own voices and from turning on the props. Yet, the music that goes with them as they dance and in the background is not diegetic and has created a flowing elegant effect that adds to the romantic atmosphere that has been created.

Lighting- There is artificial lighting in this scene and Don shows this when he turns on the lights that brighten up the room and allow the audience to see the scene. Before Don turned on the lights, the studio was dull and boring but when Don does turn them on, it changes this dullness and reveals the beautiful set to the audience. The lilac purple lights really make the set look dreamy and it's as if she thinks it's all a dream which adds to this idea that she believes it is fake with him and that he's being fake. 

Editing- There is not much advanced editing during this clip as this film is from many years ago where their knowledge of editing was not very good so scenes were just put together but they were very creative with their camera movement and angles. 

Scene 2: Good morning' 

Costume + makeup- From all three people, their costume is quite formal and they all look quite dressed up and nice. Don and Cosmo are in quite similar clothing and even though, Don is very famous and wealthy in comparison to Cosmo but he still dresses similar to him showing that he is quite modest and he's not egotistical. The costumes could be similar between the two men because the director wanted to create symmetry in this scene as Kathy is usually in the middle of them both. Likewise, the colours of the costumes are quite muted but this could have been done by the producer to make the audience focus on the background and the dancing more than what the characters are wearing.

Location- The scene is from Don's picturesque home showing his fame as an actor and how well off he is and this is shown through his massive house which looks very expensive. It also shows how good he is as an actor that he has done so well to be able to afford such a beautiful home. Furthermore, the locations move between the different rooms in the home just showing how huge it is and how wealthy Don is. 

Props- Most of these props highlight Don's wealth such as the old paintings with large frames as well as gold plated objects. This implies to the audience that if the watchers didn't realise how wealthy Don is from the location , that the props show this and show his wealth. In this scene, they use different props to show different dance styles which could show how good they are at acting that they are able to use random everyday objects to convey a dance style which some people may find hard to do showing their creativity and quick thinking skills. 

Character movement/ performance- The characters dance and perform in this scene perfectly in synchronisation showing how close and bonded they are as a three which shows the progression from the start of this movie where Kathy and Don didn't get on to this scene where they are dancing and singing together. 

Sound- There is diegetic sound where their voices are singing but there is non diegetic sound as well in the background of the scene. The song in the background is very light, cheery and happy which could reflect the atmosphere and mood of the scene. The content and joyful  music builds the mood and helps the audience to enjoy the song and the dancing. 

Camera movement- The tracking shot throughout the scene follows the cast as they dance and move around the scenes. This shot allows the audience to know what is going on and how big the house is that they are able to dance around freely. This shot in a way allows the scene to feel more natural to the viewers as the camera just moves with them as if they aren't being told to and directed to and as if they are doing it freely. Likewise, the camera in some shots are not very close but close up enough to see their emotion. This allows the audience to know how they're feeling but because it is a little far away, the audience still can see the cast's dancing and movement. There are close up shots when the camera shows some props used like the rain coats which means that the viewers can see what they are grabbing and know what it is. In addition, the last shots are quite close up to the cast which allows the audience to feel as if they are there with them and can really see how they're feeling and reacting to what each other are saying.

Lighting- There is clearly artificial lighting as they are inside the house and the lighting is very vibrant and bright and allows the viewers to see everything that is going on and everything around the characters. Each character is clearly shown and their emotions are easy to see which stops any of the audience misunderstanding the feelings of the characters during the scene. 

Editing- There is not a lot of editing during this scene as this scene is taken from a movie from 1952 whereby their knowledge is not very advanced and so they have put clips together that they have filmed. They have a lot of long clips in this scene and this is because films were quite new during the time period this film was created and people wanted to see everything and didn't mind if the clips were longer than they are now as we are used to short effective angles. 

Scene 3: The final scene

Costume + makeup- The costumes during this scene are very formal and very glamourous. Their costumes are very formal because they are at the theatre and the producer has made people dress so smartly so the audience knows how important the theatre was and how a big of an event it was to watch a movie. The girl's dresses are sparking and extravagant which catch the audience's eyes and draw them into what they are doing and saying. The makeup during this scene is quite pleasant and is quite full on showing that the girls take great care with what they look like and what they wear which again adds to this idea that the theatre is a exciting event that people dress up for. The men have very similar suites whereas, the girls all have a variety of dress colours and styles which could show societies view that they have to dress up and spend a lot more time on themselves to fit into the standards set for them. 

Props- One of the props in this scene is the microphone on the stage that Lina and Kathy uses to sing and speak into. The microphone is huge and this producer may have wanted it this size to make sure the audience knows what it is and it shows the time this was from. As nowadays, we have access to tiny mics but as sound was new during this time period, this was all they new to create a large amount of sound when speaking. 

Character movement/ performance- Lina, whilst she is miming along to the song, does a dance as if to try and show off her skills and show off how easy it is to sing well even though she is not singing but the men start mocking her in the back showing their dislike for her and how they find her funny instead of skilled. Whilst, Kathy who is hiding,  is making sure to sing the best she can and not dancing and showing off but is just singing showing the differences in character that she is shy and modest but Lina is broadcasting skills she doesn't have. The boys start singing along to Kathy's singing and start dancing towards the rope which they pull to uncover Kathy to the audience, this demonstrates that they find pleasure in embarrassing Lina and they are overjoyed to show the truth. During the end of the scene, both Don and Kathy are singing to each other looking into each others eyes and this is different to earlier scenes where she was too shy to look in his eyes so this implies to the audience that she has fallen for him and she does believe it to be real. 

Location- The location of this scene is in a theatre and there is a lot of formal and very well dressed people watching a movie and then expecting Lina to sing. The actors are used to the theatre and you can see that there are very comfortable in this location apart from Kathy who isn't so used to be on stage in front of so many people. 

Camera movement- There is quite a lot of different camera shots like when the camera kept moving between Kathy and Lina and they are quite short clips which mean the audience doesn't get bored with the same shots of the same person and the audience's interest is kept high as there is different people speaking. The shot of Lina when she miming to the song is straight on and then the camera shows the audience which indicates that Lina is in front of the audience performing and by the camera being straight on, it's as if we as a viewer are there watching the performance happen. Whereas, with Kathy who is actually singing, the camera is shot from a side angle which shows her singing as well as the curtain right in front of her. This demonstrates to the audience that Kathy is hidden away and cannot be seen by anyone allowing viewers to understand the situation and that people believe Lina was singing. There is also a shot quite far away which is positioned in the middle of the two characters which again, allows the viewer to understand the situation and properly understand what is going on. The producer may have wanted to do this so that the audience are not confused by the situation happening. 

Sound- The sound is diegetic because Lina uses her own voice to speak and uses Kathy's voice when she pretends to the sing. The background sound of the song is meant to be created by a orchestra which is also diegetic but you do not actually see anyone making the music noise so it may be non diegetic and has been put in the background to match the singing as well as the happy atmosphere that there is. 

Lighting- As the location is from a theatre, it is very vibrant and bright and in every scene, you are able to see the characters very easily which stops any viewer from not knowing who it is speaking or singing. Also, the theatre and the environment around the characters is easy to view allowing the audience to understand where about the cast is and where about's they are in comparison to each other. 

Editing- The editing isn't too advanced in this scene as they just put clips together and the producer has made sure to show the audiences emotion during this scene as the producer wanted to convey the embarrassment Lina would face and viewers can see that through the laughter of the audience at her. At the end of this scene, Don's face in a shot stops and then the same face and expression has been positioned perfectly onto a billboard that Don and Kathy are looking at which is really effective in showing the skills of the editors that they have been able to stop his face in the shot and have it in the same position as a board.