Pitch Perfect: Accapela on the big screen

Films about music tend to be very interesting. The added dynamic of music means that the film must not only be a good piece of work by itself but importance should also be given to the musical aspect of the film. The soundtrack and score become even more important since they are a reflection of the subject of the film. It is rare when a film about music is also a comedy but the two have been blended together in the 2012 film Pitch Perfect.

Beca is an uninterested fresher in Barden University. She wants to follow her passion of making music by living in Los Angeles and getting a record deal but is forced to attend college by her father who is a professor. Her father agrees to fund the pursuit of her passion if she takes interest in her college life and mingles with her fellow collegians. At the same time, Chloe and Aubrey have been handed the mantle of the Barden Bellas, an all-girl accapela choir. They need to recruit talented freshers to be a part of the group and approach Beca who agrees after being pursued for a while. Beca also meets Jesse, a fresher who joins rival accapela team The Treblemakers. The feud between the Bellas and the Treblemakers goes all the way till the end of the accapela year, culminating in the coveted International Championship of Collegiate Accapela. Beca is torn between her love interest, her loyalty to her sisters in song and her reclusive identity as she makes it through the college year.

Directed by Jason Moore, the film is about one particular aspect of music: accapela. Through the fight for the championship, the film depicts sisterhood, loyalty, passion, tradition and more. The protagonist is a secluded person who does not allow other people to get emotionally attached to her and is a self admitted recluse. The film shows her character open up gradually and accept the people around her as friends and eventually one of them becomes a love interest. Most of the other characters in the film are shrouded in mystery with not much revelation coming through the course of the film. The comedy is sparse and subtle. It is mostly slapstick which makes it come across as a similar treatment that is adopted in modern parody films.

There are many references to the 1985 film The Breakfast Club. It is shown in high regard with one of the characters suggesting that it has the best ending ever made in film. The original soundtrack of the film is also mentioned and some of the songs from the soundtrack are performed in this film, possibly as a tribute to the original.

The selection of the songs in the film is predictable since most are chart toppers, however, the composition and arrangement in the accapela-style is unique and refreshing. It is probably the best feature of the film since the story is very easily predictable and the treatment and jokes aren’t excellent. Another redeeming feature of the film is that each character is eccentric making for an interesting collective.

Pitch Perfect could never be considered a great film. The only redeeming feature would be if someone were to watch it for its music.

It Might Get Loud: Documenting a unique perspective on the guitar

The guitar is an instrument which has single-handedly transformed music over generations. Depending on the modifications to the instrument itself and the additional effects and amplification it is set up with, countless sounds can be produced from the guitar which has lead to experimentation and emergence of innumerable genres of music and their variations. The musician also matters when it comes down to splendid music because it is only the most skilled guitarists who can produce truly spectacular music from the instrument. It is probably these factors put together that convinced director Davis Guggenheim to make the documentary titled It Might Get Loud.

The documentary opens with Jack White hammering nails on a plank of wood on a farm, plugging it into an amplifier and producing music from it. This is followed by the opening credits which introduce the musicians in the documentary: Jack White, The Edge and Jimmy Page. A few excerpts from each musician reveals that they are about to meet at a warehouse and what they expect to learn or establish during the course of their discussion. The discussion, held on 23^rd January 2008, was the culmination of the film where the three musicians were brought together to discuss their views with regard to the guitar, each of them being a representative of a different generation and style of music but each being masters in their own right. The documentary was shot over several days before the actual meeting where each musician explained their origins and influences. This footage is spliced between the recordings of the discussion every now and then as the occasion calls for it. The finale of the documentary has the three musicians performing an impromptu acoustic cover of the song The Weight by the group The Band.

Director Davis Guggenheim covers different aspects to the musical instrument which is in the focus of the documentary. He chooses to tell the story through the eyes and words of the three musicians he is interviewing by allowing them to speak of their journey in music which automatically tells the story of the guitar’s timeline over many decades. He follows each musician as they retrace their roots and how they established themselves as the best in the world in a way that is endearing but voyeuristic at the same time. The audience is left in awe of the musician but also able to understand their modest beginnings and rise to fame.

The documentary is segmented into different chapters which chronicle the journey of music as a whole and the transformation of the guitar as well. The segmentation is also based on each musician’s personal experience as they talk about forming a band and breaking away from popular musical styles of their time to be pioneers in rock music. Each artist speaks of influential musicians who impressed them and talk about their own experiences when writing their own music. They speak in detail about their individual guitar playing style and what drives them to constantly strive to be better. During the course of the documentary, each musician picks out one of their songs and teaches the others how to play them to share a moment with their fellow musicians.

It Might Get Loud is a unique concept which documents the world’s favourite musical instrument through the eyes of three men who have mastered techniques to playing it. It is an interesting documentary as a whole but exceptionally enjoyable for rock music lovers.

Searching for Sugar Man: Documenting two fans on the search for a rockstar

In the modern world we live in, it is nearly impossible to believe that any information would be impossible for us to find. Apart from certain countries which have a strict government or military regime, everyone has access to information anywhere in the world. Therefore it becomes difficult to imagine a rockstar who doesn’t even know he is famous, or his fans not knowing anything about him – not even if he is alive or dead. But this is the story of Searching for Sugar Man which was a 2012 documentary directed by Malik Bendjelloul about events spanning a timeframe from the 1970s to the late 1990s between South Africa and the United States of America.

In the 1970s, the situation in South Africa was strife because of Apartheid rule. No information was allowed to enter the country and the state of the country was not relayed out to others because of an oppressive government system. The news and other media were highly censored as everything passed through the careful eye of the government’s departments. At this time, the albums of Rodriguez, a previously unheard of musician, reached the record stores in South Africa. His protest songs were apt for the situation and inspired many of the political activists and a few musicians as well. However, because of lack of information about the artist himself, rumours spread that he had committed suicide on stage in the United States as a form of poetic expression. In the late 1990s, with the end of Apartheid and more likely sources of information emerging, a record store owner and a music journalist joined forces to find every piece of information they could collect about Rodriguez and find the truth about whether he actually committed suicide or was still alive.

Searching for Sugar Man paints an almost unreal story. Although the premise of the documentary does occur during the oppressive Apartheid regime, it is highly improbable that an entire nation would be unaware of simple facts about a rockstar that they rated so highly. The strict flow of information in and out of the country does go to show that it would be possible for such an event to occur. Even the censorship where one of the songs is scratched off the vinyl goes to show that an oppressive political system can control flow of information the way it wants to. The fact that Rodriguez wasn’t aware of his own fame could probably go down as a collective result of his lack of success in his own country coupled with information being withheld from him by the owner of the record label he was signed to.

The documentary carefully plots out Rodriguez’s failure in America through the eyes of the men that produced his album. It then goes to South Africa where his fans speak about the inspiration that he provided during their freedom struggle, something he was entirely unaware of. It documents the story of two fans that set out to find information about him once the oppressive regime had ended and how they went about collecting facts and contacting his family before they could finally consider their mission accomplished. There are many excerpts of people who worked with him in the United States – from construction workers to record producers – as well as others in South Africa; musicians and anti-Apartheid activists he inspired. The documentary also has clips of old video footage and photographs being used wherever appropriate. However, the documentary fails to acknowledge the fame and success Rodriguez did enjoy in Australia; it chooses to focus solely on the situation in South Africa and the two fans that set out to find him.

The documentary uses original music from Rodriguez’s past albums, which he is credited and receives royalties for. The music is original and it is difficult to understand why his music wasn’t well appreciated, but it is easy to see why this documentary can be highly rated.

Queen Live at Wembley

When it comes to a music concert, all the elements have to come together on the day to have a perfect show. There are many small factors like avoiding technical glitches and excellent weather conditions, and much more, which come into play, but the main elements to have a grand success of a show are inextinguishable reserves of energy from the band, a well rehearsed set list and amazing audience participation. One of the best examples where everything has come together perfectly for a great concert is Queen Live at Wembley.

The concert film begins with visuals of the entrance to the stadium and shots of the stage and equipment being set up with a background instrumental track. Following this, Freddie Mercury walks out onto the stage with his microphone in his hand and drives the crowd wild by leading the band into their first song, the energetic track titled One Vision, which is followed up with Tie Your Mother Down. Here Freddie takes a break to speak to the audience and welcome them before continuing with a few more songs including the hit A Kind of Magic. Once again, Freddie takes a break from the music as he leads the 72,000 plus fans into a session of chanting for which he receives an amazing whole hearted response from the crowd. The band continues with the performances of classics Under Pressure, Another One Bites the Dust, Who Wants to Live Forever and I Want to Break Free before having an impromptu jam session on stage followed by guitarist Brian May’s solo performance of Brighton Rock which leads into the song Now I’m Here. The concert moves forward with a small acoustic set which includes both originals and covers. After this, the band puts in a stellar performance of Bohemian Rhapsody as they leave the stage during the third section of the song which has them singing in the style of an opera. During this bit, the video of the empty stage is shown with a translucent video and audio from the music video of the song. Just as the fourth part of the song kicks in, the band comes back on stage with fireworks, flashing lights and Brian May wearing a long white jacket as he plays the guitar solo followed by Freddie belting out his powerful vocals. This song is followed by the powerful and energetic Hammer to Fall before Freddie brings out a guitar to perform the last song of their set list, Crazy Little Thing Called Love. After leaving the stage for a few minutes, the band then returns for an encore which starts with a cover followed by the song Radio Ga Ga, a performance of We Will Rock You which has the audience full of energy and singing in unison with Freddie and a soul-riveting performance of We Are the Champions when Freddie goes backstage to return dressed in a crown and cape. The band then takes their leave as the instrumental of God Save The Queen can be heard with the crowd singing the anthem.

The concert shows the band in all their glory, especially vocalist Freddie Mercury. It has been hailed as one of the best concerts ever performed. Freddie Mercury brilliantly brings out his onstage persona to give the audience a great show which also allows him to engage the crowd. His pauses to speak to the crowd are riffled with mild humour as he treats his fans as friends by calling them his ‘beauties’ and speaks to them openly about matters of the band breaking up which were falsely reported in the newspaper.

The concert has some of the best performances by the band and is in fact one of the best live performances by any artiste. It is not only amazing from the perspective of the effort put in by the band but also from the full bodied participation by the fans in most of the songs and during the interludes. This concert is a phenomenon that can be a guarantee for goosebumps on more than one occasion.