tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24969765.post8073057697824251425..comments2024-03-19T02:27:08.584-05:00Comments on Ghibli Blog: Studio Ghibli, Animation and the Movies: Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea - Clip #6Daniel Thomas MacInneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01406180871529775448noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24969765.post-48104626744321393122009-04-11T21:25:00.000-05:002009-04-11T21:25:00.000-05:00Very good observations all around. When it comes ...Very good observations all around. When it comes to the music, it helps that Joe Hisaishi has worked almost exclusively with Miyazaki. Their styles match one another very nicely, and it's one of the more remarkable pairings in the movies.<BR/><BR/>A skilled movie director will, of course, understand the usual musical cues, and are able to play off your expectations. I was just watching Hitchcock's "Sabateur," and the climax, atop the Statue of Liberty, made brilliant use of sound. Even though North by Northwest essentially has the same ending, I felt Sabateur to be more gripping, more compelling.<BR/><BR/>Hollywood directors would be sure to understand the proper use of music and sound in their movies. Instead of merely assaulting us at every second - something Pauline Kael called, "Bam Bam Pow" filmmaking - treating the audio as an equal partner would yeild better movies.<BR/><BR/>And as for the Blu-Ray release of Ponyo, I'm greatly looking forward to it. All of the features from the deluxe DVD edition - including the 12-hour NHK documantary - will be included. I'm especially looking forward to the film's watercolor storyboards, which promises to look spectacular in hi-def. Let's hope that all these features appear in the eventual US release.Daniel Thomas MacInneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01406180871529775448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24969765.post-40932806748963402182009-04-11T17:42:00.000-05:002009-04-11T17:42:00.000-05:00Movie music really makes this one work, I think. T...Movie music really makes this one work, I think. Try watching the scene with the sound muted, and notice how right where the action would get raw and punchy with sound the scene goes drab. One cut becomes equal to another, and the straight cuts (especially shore -> submarine, but also when the climb up the stairs is abbreviated) fly right over our heads without the music to orient us. Having an extremely competent - one of the very best - movie composers at his back Miyazaki has that extra breathing room to lay out the scene, insert straight cuts, and make the mood turn on a dime from pastoral to menacing.<BR/><BR/>You could write an entire paper on how the principles of film scoring are analogous to the principles of animation. Having <I>some</I> kind of music that is matched to the action is <I>essential</I> when you need to sustain a flow of action over several straight cuts and sudden mood shifts - in an animated movie, and in any kind of movie. Because the abrupt transitions don't let you have anticipation and follow-through done by the animators, you need to have anticipation and follow-through done by the music. When people neglected to do so it resulted in jarring cuts - and some viewers would mistakenly blame the editor who spliced the film together!<BR/><BR/>Of course, this is all my armchair understanding of things. I just know what I like and know when I see it.serheinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24969765.post-25502295901817417332009-04-10T04:27:00.000-05:002009-04-10T04:27:00.000-05:00Good job on finding these clips (love #6). Can't w...Good job on finding these clips (love #6). Can't wait till the Japanese Blu-ray disc gets released...Ulrikhttp://blog.affenheimtheater.de/en/noreply@blogger.com