hamilton fans have long loved the stage
production but the film version on
disney plus brings whole new meaning to
key moments in the story
yippie kai movie lovers i'm jan and in
this video i'm revealing 11 surprising
and often satisfying ways the hamilton
movie enhances or changes our experience
of the musical
in other words i'm explaining why it
matters who films who edits who directs
your story
just before we begin many thanks to the
sponsor of this video full cell
university
one of the nine cameras used to film the
show by cinematographer declan quinn
was set up to capture overhead shots of
the stage
because that angle can be rather
disorienting for viewers
it's used sparingly during the final
movie but one of the moments where it
does make an appearance is during
satisfied
it's a fleeting shot from above but it
heightens our understanding of
angelica's distress and also gives us a
bird's-eye view of the clever lighting
design where the lights converge on
angelica as the words drowning drowning
rewind echo
around the stage all of that emphasizes
the sense of the world
closing in on angelica and being at the
center of a figurative storm an
explosion of emotions
the film's quick overhead angle
therefore adds to the disorienting
experience the whole song and its
choreography as the lyrics and dance
moves rewind to earlier in the show
as hamilton's film editor jonah moran
told the art of the cut podcast that
view is something people never see in
the live stage show even in the
mezzanine you still don't really get
that perspective
there are a lot of comments about
laurens and hamilton on my previous
videos huge thanks to everyone for those
and many of you saw the often lingering
looks exchanged between them as the show
pointing to their being more than just
close friends
indeed in the film the way the camera
often goes in for close-ups of the two
of them
seems to highlight that or at the very
least leave it open for interpretation
there are many examples of this in the
first act including stay alive where the
camera moves in when lawrence tells
hamilton he'll fight charles lee
then the camera goes in even closer
lingering on lauren's reaction to
hamilton's reply
the camera pushes in as well during the
story of tonight which is also poignant
for being one of several ways the show
foreshadows both lauren's death and the
moment hamilton discovers this and
tomorrow there'll be more of us which
again
includes an extended moment between the
two men in real life hamilton wrote many
affectionate letters to laurens
including
one where he says i wish my dear laurens
it might be in my power by action rather
than words to convince you that i love
you
historians tend to say they can't be
definitive whether the two were lovers
ron chernow who wrote the biography
which inspired lin-manuel miranda's
musical
calls their relationship the most
intimate friendship of hamilton's life
adding that at the very least we can say
that hamilton had something like an
adolescent crush on his friend
and according to chernow after lawrence
died hamilton never again
revealed his interior life to another
man as he had to lauren's he shut off
some compartment of his emotions and
never reopened it
lim manuel miranda told ew that when you
watch this movie you have a house seat
that never existed
and he's absolutely right as one of the
cameras had a view towards the audience
thanks to a hole cut into the back of
the set and it's from that entirely
fresh perspective that we first meet
king george as he strides past us
emerging from the shadows to be bathed
in red light
that shot from behind really adds to the
drama of the king's entrance
nicely building up to his first moment
in the spotlight
during live performances you might only
spot how dripping with madness king
george is if you're near enough to the
stage
but now that the film gives us all the
best and same seat in the house as the
hamilton team put it
no one can miss just how drenched in
sarcasm and saliva
jonathan groff's performance gets yes
thanks to the filmmakers going right in
for lots of close-ups
everyone can now appreciate gruff sauce
as miranda nicknamed him as he
enunciates and projects his way around
the stage
and groff himself told variety that he's
always been quite the spitter when it
comes to performing live
hurricane takes us inside hamilton's
head and reveals his thinking behind
making his affair with mariah reynolds
public
as he reflects on his life the show's
lighting and choreography put him in the
eye of a storm
still at first then with people from his
past and present
including his enemies friends lover and
mother spinning around him
in a call back to the literal hurricane
that ultimately led him to leave his
hometown for america
the show's staging and story are
underscored by the film's camera work
for director
thomas kale using a steadicam to film
this scene meant they were able to use
the lens to create a closeness to
hamilton's decision
by really being up close with lim manuel
miranda
as kale told ew there's a way that the
steady cam floats which feels a little
out of time so it felt like a chance to
be with hamilton in the midst of this
stillness before the explosion
and that creates a sense of anticipation
from what's about to come
given the potentially disorienting
effect of overhead shots
it's totally fitting that they pop up
again during the reynolds pamphlet
where we see the effects of hamilton's
document about his extramarital affair
going public
the scene on stage is already a crazy
one with several of the main cast and
the ensemble dancing around throwing
leaflets into the air and generally
reveling in hamilton's self-inflicted
downfall
for me the overhead shot of hamilton in
the middle of this chaos adds to the
scene's sense of deliriousness
smug celebration sharden freuder and
general feeling that the world is
crashing down around him to use
miranda's words
the overhead shot highlights the fact
that despite being surrounded by people
he's very much
alone it does this by giving us a quick
but clear view of him as a lone figure
in the center of the action
being circled and taunted by a gleeful
jefferson and king george
while madison tosses his pamphlets up
into the camera and all the while they
sing
never gonna be president now on top of
that the aerial shot
also reveals one of the male dancers
writhing around on the floor
seemingly mocking the kind of move that
got hamilton into this treble in the
first place
and all of that together dials up the
wild nature of the scene
another way the film enhances the story
is using close-ups to reveal different
perspectives by focusing on the actors
performances
during helpless just after alexander and
eliza first meet we see angelica's
reaction from the side
i'll leave you to it just for a second
before the camera moves to her sister
because this song is eliza's point of
view however when we get to satisfied
the story gives us a different viewpoint
on that evening and the film mirrors the
way the narrative refocuses by literally
reframing the situation so that we now
clearly see the reaction on angelica's
face in that moment as this time the
camera pushes in on her
i'll leave you to it overall this whole
number and the way it's shot and edited
in the film
continues to build the show's major
theme that history is different
depending on who tells it
of course satisfied is really emotional
but much of it is performed at a
breakneck
pace to underline both angelica's
brilliance and her distress
and the stage itself is frequently full
of activity during the song
to reflect that lyrical speed and action
on the stage and because renee elise
goldsberry's so expressive
editor jonah moran chose to use lots of
quick cut close-ups so that you can see
that emotion
and it flies right at you just like the
song is flying right at you
by the way fun fact director thomas kell
told scream rant that the way satisfied
goes into the mind and the heart of
angelica skyler was heavily influenced
by the scene in pixar's ratatouille
where the critic takes a bite of the
food and in that moment you go into his
eye and you go back to his childhood
and then he has this visceral and
emotional connection to the food
when a hammer fan asked renee elise
goldsberry on twitter about her favorite
hairstyle in the show we got a little
insight into another thing that changed
for the movie
angelica has several different looks in
the musical and normally goldsberry's
favorite is the high bun she wears
towards the end
however for the filmed version the
actress chose to change up her early
look
so instead of wearing a wig as she does
on stage for the first part of the story
she went with her own hair with some
added volume in the back as she didn't
want her usual
lace front wig on screen in the film as
i mentioned in my hamilton things you
missed video the lyrics run at a
breathtakingly fast and furious speed
so having access to captions right there
on the screen where it happens is great
both for those with hearing loss as well
as everyone else
even if you already know every line of
the show off by heart
seeing the words pop up on screen means
for example
you can now easily see how specific
lyrics are tied to specific dance moves
gestures and facial expressions
and that can be rather revealing because
as choreographer andy blankenbueller has
said
every movement on stage furthers the
story in some way
and i talk more about that in my video
on the show's secret character
also in a production where the lyrics
are jam-packed with multiple meanings
historical references hat
tips to different musical genres witty
retorts and wordplay
being able to read each and every line
on screen makes it easier to notice more
of those amazing details
of course some but not all theater
productions have sur titles but having
captions
right in front of you during the film
means you don't have to look to the side
or crick your neck to read what's being
said
as can be the case in the theater
speaking of lyrics if you've seen the
show live or listen to the soundtrack
you'll likely notice that a couple of
moments are censored for language in the
film on disney plus
that was to avoid getting an r rating
rather than the pg-13 rating the movie
ended up with
first of all in the song yorktown the
f-bomb is muted during hercules
mulligan's line when you knock me down i
get the
then in the second act during
washington on your side
jefferson and madison's exclusive in the
line
is overlaid with sound which miranda
called a record scratch to erase it
the change means the film was accessible
to a wider audience than it would have
been otherwise and as miranda told fans
on twitter you can sing whatever you
like at home
even sync up the album and if you feel
inspired to learn the kind of skills the
hamilton filmmakers used to make their
amazing movie
check out full cell university whose
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you'll gain practical experience while
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giving you a feel for the role each crew
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degree program
merges the artistic concepts of
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these degrees are offered in an
accelerated format to get you into the
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if you want to find out more about these
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visit fullsail.edu flicks in the city to
learn more
that's fullsale.edu flicks in the city
so what moment stood out for you in the
film and did you notice any changes
let me know in the comments below and if
you enjoyed this don't forget to
subscribe and leave a thumbs up
to learn more about all the other
amazing details in the musical and how
the show changed history tap left for my
full hamilton playlist or tap right for
something else you're sure to like