For my second research update I decided to watch a comedy. One of the biggest parts of my film is the ability to use a wide variety of film genres. In my opinion comedy is one of the hardest genres to successfully execute. It is important that I do a lot of research when it comes to different types of genres. While I will be watching movies with all different types of genres I felt that this was the best place to start. When it comes to comedy there are many different kinds and different approaches to it. Considering what I will be working with I decided to watch and study an Adam Sandler movie. Adam Sandler is one of the funniest comedians of our generation and has found much success in the film industry so he is a great person to study.
The Adam Sandler movie that I recently studied was “Happy Gilmore”. This is one of if not his most popular movie. I learned a lot from watching this movie and did my best to pick out the parts of the film that really made it successful. One of the things that Adam Sandler does best along with most other great comedians is the flare for the dramatics. The main character of the movie is Happy Gilmore and he has anger issues. While anger issues can tend to get out of control Adam Sandler took anger issues and really dramatized it in order to gain more of a reaction from the audience. While a golfer with anger issue may yell and curse, Happy would go beyond that and throw his golf clubs a mile long, beat up on elderly people, and even fight an alligator. These scenes proved to be some of the funniest. Along with the dramatics it seemed that Adam Sandler used pain and punishment to his advantage and it was apparent that some of his intentional funny moments came at the demise of certain characters. These are all things that I would have to direct the talent on in order to execute a joke or action. This movie showed me that sometimes the funniest parts are done and not said.
When it comes to filming it was important to note of how light the scenes were. Comedies are meant to put people in a good mood and be light hearted and fun. One would be hard pressed finding a scene that is dark and gloomy. When filming for this particular genre I will be making an intentional effort of filming things in well lite areas where it brings a light feel to the scene and puts the viewer in a good mood that is uplifting and enjoyable to watch. Another element that is important is the music. I’ve noticed that there isn’t much background music playing throughout the movie. When characters are speaking it’s usually with no background music. The main reason why songs or instrumentals are being played is to set the mood or feeling for a particular scene, but overall it’s important to let the on screen talent shine and not distract viewers away from them. Additionally many of the shot were close ups. These close ups helped bring attention and focus to the characters and let the audience know that this dialogue is very important for you to pay attention to.
It was very interesting watching a movie from a director’s or producers point of view. It’s interesting how little details can really make a big difference in the outcome of the film. With any genre that I am shooting it’s important for me to set the correct mood and setting for each different genre. The producer has the power to control the viewer’s feelings and if I am able to successfully move the emotions and feelings of the viewer from clip to clip then my project will be successful.