The Pentatonix and Todrick Halls' "Wizard of Ahhhs"

The Pentatonix are an amazing a cappella group that became famous by winning the third season of The Sing-Off. They combined in 2013 with Todrick Hall, a semi-finalist on American Idol and a YouTube star to create a music video based off the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz. In a sensational way they managed to use modern songs to tell a six minute version of this movie. They of course included the films most renowned song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, at the end of the video. The lighting was a mixture of flat and natural elements that brought out different feelings throughout the length of the video. For example, it was very bright during the Munchkin City sequence since it was supposed to be happier, and used a lot of darker and green lighting when they met the Wizard of Oz since it was supposed to appear more sinister. One thing that definitely stood out was the coloring. In the beginning, the colors were very desaturated and a sepia tone to go along with the theme of being on a farm during that specific time period. It very closely followed the coloring of the original movie. When it transforms from the drab farm to the land of Oz, the colors become very bright and saturated and make it seem more mystical and dreamlike. The editing of this video consisted of a lot of dissolves into the dreamlike state and cuts when the actions were supposed to be portrayed as more chaotic. They used a lot of closeups of the different characters which really enhanced their presence. Obviously, the main part of this video is sound, and a lot of it is diegetic. It is seen on screen because everything that you hear is coming out of the mouths of the singers and beat boxer. The sound that is created is the motivator for all of the actions on screen and the music describes what they are doing in a creative and different way.

Oz the Great and Powerful

A few weeks ago I went to see Oz the Great and Powerful. It is a prequel to the amazing Wizard of Oz and tells the story of how Oz came to the world of Oz and became the wizard. I thought the film was very imaginative and appealed to all types of people. It was a movie that anyone can appreciate at any age. One of the coolest things that I liked in the film was how they began with a 4:3 aspect ration and in black and white rather than widescreen and in color. I thought it was very clever how they did that like in the original Wizard of Oz, although it probably wasn't as shocking as seeing a film in color for the first time.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about Oz the Great and Powerful was the animation and special effects. The animators and special effects team did a fantastic job creating the world of Oz. The animated landscapes were incredibly beautiful and I also thought that the flying monkeys were very cool looking. Another place in the film where the special effects team excelled was turing Mila Kunis into the Witch. It was very interesting seeing someone like Mila Kunis play the ugly Wicked Witch of the West.

Overall I thought that Oz the Great and Powerful was a good film but did not live up to and certainly was not better than the original Wizard of Oz. 

Thoughts on OZ The Great And The Powerful

"Oz The Great And The Powerful" is a prequel film to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". The star of the film James Franco is a magician who ends up in the this mystical land, complicating the lives of several witches, Evanora, Glinda, and Theodora, played by Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams and Mila Kunis. As the troubled magician tries to cope with his struggles with the women, he soon finds himself heading down a path that exposes him to his prominent destiny.

Director, Sam Raimi seems to have created a colorful and vibrant style of the land of Oz for all types of audiences to experience with a great sense of familiarity and new astonishment. The colors are so beautiful and practically pop out of the big screen. Disney used this similar approach of bright colors and outstanding effects for their fantastic film, "Alice In Wonderland". I think anyone could be excited about the release of this film.


For me, the most outstanding part of the HD trailer is the clearly the opening. We (the audience) are brought back to a Kansas in a dilapidated state, in all black and white footage. Those scenes immediately bring back direct memories of the original Oz movie, which was created by King Vidor. With the drastic difference between the black and white scenes and then the magnificent rainbow, and then the vibrant colors of the main plot, creates even more drastic contrast.When it comes to the for three leading female actresses, Weisz is certainly not the most evil of witches we’ve ever seen but has the potential, and Mila Kunis seems to be a little out of place. But, Michelle Williams seems to have effortlessly slipped into her role as Glinda the “good” witch who would go on to, as we all know, give a girl named Dorothy some very important ruby slippers.

I really think everyone should go out and see this film. I doubt Raimi is going to upset anyone.







Enjoy!

The new Wizard of Oz!?!

  Walt Disney Pictures recently announced that they will be coming out with a new film called "Oz the Great and Powerful" a prequel to the classic 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz."  The story is that of a man named Oscar Diggs a struggling magician for Kansas who is transported to Land of Oz.  Once there Oscar, played by James Franco, is told he has been prophesied to take down the evil witch and must use his powers of illusion and "magic" to defeat her.

  This new film pay homage to the original and directly incorporates aspects and even characters in order to give a fuller understanding of how the Land of Oz from "The Wizard of Oz" came to be.  I personally think that this film has a very interesting storyline and will cleverly tie together the story of "the man behind the curtain" aka Oz, a character who was super important in the original but was very mysterious and never fully developed.  The potential for a solid plot combined with Disney's excellence in special effects and most recently 3D advances are all aspects that could make this movie very good in its own right.  However there is another aspect of this to consider.  Even if this movie is terrible, and I mean awful, I will still make a substantial amount of money primarily because it is tied to the original.

  I think that this movie in all likelihood will be pretty good and enjoyable, although I'm not entirely sure how I like the idea of trying to add to a great and well known film that has stood alone for over 60 years. Regardless of how I feel about this, I will go and see it to check on how it matches up in comparison…something I think almost anyone who has seen the original "Wizard of Oz" will do.  So although I do not know for sure if this movie will actually be good or not I am certain that it will be a box office hit.