La La Land is now available on home video for you to watch over and over again if you like being lifted up with “Another Day of Sun” and then having your heart torn out by the final, romantic but tragic musical sequence. But today, we’re going to stick with the brighter side of La La Land with an extensive breakdown of the lively, bright, upbeat opening musical number that takes place on a real Los Angeles highway.
Choreographer Mandy Moore (no, not the star of Tangled) participated in a detailed, close look at the “Another Day of Sun” musical sequence, talking about what went on behind the scenes, providing insight from what director Damien Chazelle was trying to achieve, and even telling where there are some hidden cuts. Watch the La La Land opening sequence breakdown after the jump.
This is something I would love to see done for several impressive long take sequences in movies. Mandy Moore provides some fascinating insight into how a sequence like this comes together, including what she and director Damien Chazelle are doing off-camera while the scene is unfolding in front of them.
There are so many technical details that you don’t even think about when watching the scene, like the audio system that needed to be set up so that actors who are much further back on the highway hear the music at the same time as those in the foreground. Without additional speakers, there would be a delay in when the sound would reach the actors further in the background, and that would throw the timing off for them just enough to create problems.
The post VOTD: ‘La La Land’ Choreographer Extensively Breaks Down the Opening Musical Number appeared first on /Film.
