The School of Rock

In the movie School of Rock, the director uses a great deal of editing and transitions to make everything flow together perfectly. The director uses good coherence, continuity, and rhythm when changing to a shot of each actor playing or singing in the battle of the bands. The rhythm he uses allows us to feel like we are part of the crowd listening to the show live. Although the movie uses many transitions, I don’t remember the director using a wipe, flip frame, fade-out/fade-in, or a dissolve transition technique. In the beginning of the movie the author uses glancing rhythms to make it seem like Jack Black’s band is terrible and gives us the reason for why the crowd boos them off stage. The movie doesn’t use the editing techniques of expansion and compression of time or slow motion. I would find it interesting if they were to have used slow motion in the beginning of their performance in the battle of the bands. This would add a little emphasis on the lighting and catch the viewer’s attention.

In the School of Rock, the director doesn’t use very much color in his scenes. He uses more of the cool colors in each of the scenes. His scenes are darker but he uses different effects to attract our attention, such as lighting and music. The cooler colors allow us to feel more comfortable because it makes the scenes appear more laid back. I feel that if the director would have made the school uniforms more colorful, it would have made some of the scenes livelier. The director uses bright lights during the concert to give it that rock band feel; it captures the viewer’s attention and makes it feel like they are at an actual concert. In the film there aren’t any scenes that are in black and white and I feel that it is better that way. In comedy genre films its tougher to shoot in black and white and still keep the viewer’s attention. It is also hard to shoot a film in black and white these days because it is so unpopular and many people prefer color versus black and white.

The sound effects and dialogue play a very important role in the movie School of Rock. The use of Dolby-Surround Sound in this movie plays a very important role because in that way you are able to hear every note played on Black’s guitar or hear each word from the three singers. It also again gives you the feel like you are watching the performance and their practices live. The subjective point of view throughout most of the movie is Jack Black, it however changes to some of the students when they are asked question by Black or are conversing with him. The director uses sound as a transitional element. He does this when the students and Black sneak out of the school to go to audition for the battle of the bands. The movie does not use any voice-narration, voice dubbing, or subtitles.

The movie uses a few different types of musical score. The director uses the Mickey Mousing technique when the band is playing on the stage. When they are playing on the stage the music coming from their instrument or microphone it is in direct collaboration with their movement. The director also uses generalized score, he uses this when Black and his students sneak out and go to the audition. By using this technique it allows him to create that adrenaline rush of sneaking out and cutting school. This last example also uses a form of traveling music. The traveling music is used as background music and creates a sense of sneakiness. This technique pulls you in and makes you want to be a part of the action and be a rebel again. Overall I feel this movie has a great balance of musical score. Through the use of Mickey Mousing and generalized score, the movie pulls you in and makes you want to take part in every step along the way.