RENT: Live from Broadway (Film) - Thoughts — Page 3

I just saw the movie last night. I generally liked the entire movie. My biggest complaint was two things: 1) the sound was not very loud in my theatre or it was the movie...I don't know which but it just didn't give me that Rent vibe but that's not that big of an issue. 2) I generally did not enjoy the closeups...I felt they were a little TOO close. I like being able to see actor's faces so I can feel what they are feeling but it was just too close at some points. Case and point when Michael McElroy was singing the "I'll Cover You (Reprise)" the camera was just way too close on him. I mean I know you want to see his emotions and pain from Angel's death but I mean the entire screen was consumed by his face. They needed back away a bit. Plus I would've liked to seen more distance shots where you could see the whole cast acting during the whole ensemble songs then them trying to weave in and out of the characters. But that's just my personal opinion. I thought the actors were all phenomenal. I especially enjoyed Renee's performance of Mimi. I think she acted the role perfectly.

---

Roger, I thought it was just me but I am glad someone noticed that there were shots that were out of focus. I noticed it more in Act I. I just thought my eyes were tired from work.

---

I just got horrible news of just how correct my earlier notes on the poor videography and editing may just destroy this valuable play. When I saw the show last night I had brought about 14 people with me. All of them RENT newbies wanting to see it because I'm such a fan and got them excited. Today a few of them confessed they really didn't "get it" because they couldn't tell what was going on half the time and where people on the stage were. They liked the singing and thought the performances were great. But they said it jumped from place to place so often and was so close they couldn't tell where the characters were coming or going. It's hard to get emotionally involved when you are always in their faces. One person just said he so busy from all the motion he wanted to walk out. For people who have never seen RENT before they don't really know the set up of the stage. They don't know there is a guard rail on a second level at the back of the stage where Mimi can "Come out tonight" the film cuts straight to a close-up so no-one knew where she came from and where she was. No-one knew there was a second level on stage right for the Life Support meeting. It just curt to close-ups. eventually it was shown but not until closer to the end of the song. I can understand those on the sight who love the movie, love the play. But they have most likely seen the play and know how the stage is and how the staging is set-up. Plus its easy to look past somethings flaws when you love its core. In the film we rarely get a sense of what the stage actually looks like, where they are on it, and how they interact with each other upon it.

Is this the legacy we leave behind for RENT? Please, please, please re-edit this play/film. We need establishing shots to set-up where people are on the stage. Medium shots to see how they interact with each other. It's far more efective to see Mimi and Rogers look into each others eyes as they hold hands in a medium then to shoot to a close-up then follow their bodies down and hold hands. We get it, they are holding hands. but the real power of the scene is in their look. At the end the song is "When I look into your eyes" not "When I hold your hand" The power of more medium shots and far less snappy edits should not be underestimated. Even though the show is full of action the spoon feeding of cutting to each person as they sing in close-up makes for a very disjointed experience.

I love the play RENT. That is why I'm being critical of this filming of it because I want the best captured version of it to remain in the archives forever. I know they have the footage to re-cut and re-edit to. Please to all of you I plead we must have them re-edit this show if it goes to dvd. We are all very close to it and as I said earlier its easy to look past its flaws when you love the play and have seen it quintuple times. But its a confusing mess for the uninitiated. The least they can do is stop cutting to the out of focus shots. But we must say something to the filmmakers or it won't change.

It is at this moment I ask all of you to stand up and Moo. Even you people who loved it to begin with, what if it could be even better and you just didn't notice. I have worked in the film industry for 18 years producing, directing and editing everything from music videos and live events (So I know about the MTV style of motion cameras and movement, MTV never cuts to an out of focus camera and never cuts to a camera still finding its shot zooming in, just about, just about, tweak, tweak, there, and then we immediately cut to another camera in close-up) Plus I have filmed dramas and tv commercials. So I know my stuff. We need to make this better. At least for the performers sake as they did an amazing job. Mimi's real tears will haunt me in my sleep. Very powerful performances. Just hurt by mistakes in a poor edit.

So as I run on... Let's call this the "Live RENT rough cut" I can understand the filmmakers had time pressures to get this out in a short time. But we the fans must stand up and implore them to re-edit it for the DVD. If we don't now then we leave a poor example of the amazement that RENT is for our grandkids. I would just say that's an insult.

So where do I begin? Ok so i've seen this on stage 3 times and of course on film multiple times (and will see the tour again with Adam and Anthony). I'm not going to say this film is perfect, but I can say it's pretty damn close to it. I have seen many musicals on film (i'm talking of the legal kind) and have to say this is very high on the list of those shows that have been filmed. The close-ups were awesome, this cast acted the s--t out of the show, there was not a dull performance what so ever. I loved being able to see the raw emotion on each actors face, upclose and personally, especially Justin Johnston and Renee Elise Goldsberry. When those two were crying, it too brought tears to my eyes. My only complaint was the sound in the theatre, it didn't feel like a 'rock' show because the sound was just so mousey and low, i'm sure if and when it's released on DVD it will be a different experince (let's hope). All I can say is i'm dissapointed that more people didn't come out to enjoy this experience (at the theatre I was at). It's a beautiful film and to be cherised. If you haven't seen it yet, I suggest you do...just two performances left :)

Saw this at South Barrington, Illinois (AMC 30 so the seats were extra nice! :)) and I ran into a problem with my memory.

For a week, I forgot all about it. Come Last night 6:47 (Started at 7) and 20 mineutes away, I am on here and I realize that is was Thursday, the night I had my tickets for. I threw my shoes on and ran out the door (Forgot to turn the TV and everything off). My car was in the shop so I had to ride my bike to get to my friends house. He also forgot about it. We left 2 mineutes later and got there during Today 4 U.

I was pissed that I forgot about it. Anyways, I enjoyed the movie alot. I loved Contact and being able to see Mimi crying during Your Eyes. I can't wait for the DVD!

I agree that people who have never seen the show may have come out confused. I think the film was filmed the way it was for fans of the show. I have seen it onstage, seen the movie and can sing it from note one to the last (Including the Stevie Wonder version of Seasons of Love). So I knew what was going on. Still, I feel that it was filmed poorly. It was just too jumpy, even for me and my friend (Who saw it onstage twice) When I can clearly see the silver filling in the back right of someones mouth, that's a bit close for me!! And, in my opinion, if Mr. Larson were still alive, I don't think he would have wanted it to be filmed that way. Also, now that I know that the bulk of the show was filmed in August, it took away a bit of the excitement. We got August's show with the original cast spliced in for the finale. So we didn't really see the entire final show. And I would assume that the performances for the final show may have been a bit more exciting. I could be wrong but while watching it, I just wasn't getting that "final performance" feeling from the cast. Just my random thoughts.

---

I saw it last night on 84th and Broadway. There were not many people there. I agree with the previous posters who were surprised at how moved they were be the film. I went to see the show 9/6 and was very unimpressed and pretty disappointed. However, last night, in the theater, I was very moved and got all caught up in the emotion, and found myself in tears several times....just like back in the early years of the run. I think that it was great to be able to see the actors subtext and expressions. When I saw this cast live...I really only was impressed with Eden, Tracie, and Justin. However, I loved Adam and his voice seemed to hold up better on film than it did live. I agree with The Quibbler- I certainly found Adam serviceble, but in a much different way. I always thought that Rene-Elise was much to pure and not edgy enough to pull off Mimi...it was almost like watching Audra McDonald playing Mimi. For some reason I also liked Will Chase less as Roger in the film than I did live on stage. I am so glad that I went to see this though, because it gave me the emotional experience that I wanted to get seeing the show live back on 9/6. I certainly will want this if it comes out on DVD.

---

Hi Crushgroove,
I can see the attempt at adding a verite look but it didn't work thats all. I'm not the one saying there are issues with the shooting/editing in some parts. I'm not on a slam mission here, I only want the best version of the show to exist. You say they used many cameras and I can see that. That is why it is imperitive to use the right shots in their cutaways. I'm not saying the whole show is a mess in fact the opposite. I love Rent and this was an amazing performance. The video was colorful and vibrant and the filmmakers got it 80% right. Not only my opinion but many others accross the web feel that if you read the talkbacks. I just want the show remembered at 100% is all and not let something as silly as a cinema style get in the way of that amazing show.

This is the opportunity to speak up for that best version going to the DVD. Wouldn't you like the best version preserved? I know from working in the industry that it can be changed at this point. Especially since it was shot digitally on HD. Unlike film I know that each camera, you say there were 12 kept rolling so alternative shots exist to replace those that are out of focus and disjointed. I also know that the footage, every single frame resides on a series of harddrives that simply have to be re-attached to the computer and the project folder opened. HD footage unlike film and video is now kept on harddrives instead of tapes. It's cheaper and makes it possible to bring footage back, re-edit, or use it for other shows. So the entire film could be brought back up ready to re-edit in an hour of two. They will also be using an non-linear AVid suite so the redit is simply recutting the spots that don't work as well. Mainly it's re-examining it with a second set of eyes. But I'm telling you it's no a big deal to fix any problems and they could.

Again I'm just out for the best version ever. You may not have noticed these spots where it didn't work but after several viewings in the future they will start to stick out. I also know as a filmmaker that after I finish a film it takes a viewing several weeks later to notice mistakes or bad choices I made in the edit. Then I go back and re-cut those spots. When you are close to a project it's sometimes hard to see it objectively. That's why we have a rough-cut, then re-cut it, watch it, tweak some more, come back and do a final fine-cut. Because of the tight time schedule I think they never had the chance to objectively step back on some decisions before delivery. I just hope they are listening and take the time to adjust a few things. It's not an insult to the director or his talent or vision. He did an amazing job of capturing much of the spirit of the show. He just needs to take one last crack at the edit. Isn't the memory of RENT worth one week in an edit suite to take it to perfection. I believe it is.

I just came back from seeing it. I felt very nostalgic watching it. I loved it because it made me think of the times I've seen Rent live and I'm glad that this production was filmed. I especially loved the treatment of "Contact" and the finale. "Christmas Bells" worked as well as it could on film and I appreciated that as well. I thought the encore was kind of anti-climactic, but o well, what can you do. I'm glad I got a chance to see it live as many times as I did and I'm grateful that the show was [legally] filmed for future generations to experience it.

~Steven

my two cents on the camera work....

i didn't notice it the first night, but when i saw it the second night, the shots that seemed out of focus or overly shaky could be seen as what mark is filming with his camera. it's just a thought, but thinking of it that way made it make more sense to me in the context of the film.

---

Hi lstbutifulgrl2,
I thought of that idea that they were trying for a gritty documentary feeling through shots from Mark's camera and perspective. The problem is it doesn't make sense because he's no where near to give us that POV (Point of View) shot. Plus the language of film requires that if that is the intention then you must first justify it with a set-up shot ahead showing Mark with camera rolling then cut to the shakey out of focus shots. Nope it's just bad shot choices and some poor footage amongst a lot of great footage. Like I say, style or not it didn't quite work and they should take this opportunity to tweak that stuff that didn't work for the DVD.

2 TIMES!!!! that's how good it is!!!!! Skip the Eagle Eye, go see Rent!

---